Good evening folks, it's been nearly three years since I have been to glorious Chicago. That is going to change when I intend to come up for a couple of games in late June with a couple of my friends to see both a White Sox and Cubs game. Now I know that there is a Chicago Tour feature on the sidebar, but I feel it needs to be updated. I do have a couple questions I'd like to ask you guys:

1) I am looking for a cheap hotel, nothing too fancy, but somewhere in a good part of town. Preferably near an El stop.

2) Where are the greatest pizza joints in the area?

3) Besides the touristy sites (i.e. Sear's Tower, Navy Pier, Hancock Tower), where else are there unique places in Chicago to visit?

Feel free to give me any more tips, and I may have more questions as I go along. Thanks!

Sigh, well we will miss you Rich. Recent reports have come out stating that he was on the verge of signing and it appears that the Texas Rangers are the lucky winners here. Here is the article: http://bases.nbcsports.com/2009/12/report-harden-could-be-on-verge-of-signing.html.php

As always for my posts, Rotoworld's spin on the deal:

According to Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com, the Rangers have agreed to a one-year, $7.5 million contract with right-hander Rich Harden.

The deal also comes with an $11.5 million option for 2011. It's a bold move by the Rangers, who have had their fair share of money problems this year, but it makes more than enough sense. The club has quickly filled a hole left by Kevin Millwood's rumored departure to Baltimore and snagged one of the filthiest pitchers in the game. The 28-year-old Harden posted a 4.06 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP and an incredible 10.9 K/9 in 26 starts this past season.

The contract is about what we generally thought he'd take; Not to much of a shock, but agonizing, considering if we never signed Bradley he'd still be a Cub. Thanks, Jim.

Rotoworld is reporting this. Here:

Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Yankees have acquired OF Curtis Granderson as part of a three-team blockbuster deal with the Tigers and Diamondbacks.

The Yanks did really well here, snagging the 28-year-old Granderson for Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson and Phil Coke. It's a small price to pay for a player of Granderson's talent and personality. As part of the three-way deal, Detroit will receive right-handers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from Arizona and Coke and Jackson from the Yanks. The D'Backs, meanwhile, receive a questionable return in Edwin Jackson from the Tigers and Kennedy from the Yanks. Granderson can be used in either left or center field in New York, giving general manager Brian Cashman some flexibility in negotiations with free agent outfielder Johnny Damon. It's safe to say the Tigers now have the payroll flexibility they wanted while securing a tremendous haul of young players.

Here's another article here that's not a source such as rotoworld. the Miami Herald is reporting this as well here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/baseball/wires/story/1371851.html

more to come I'm sure.. Big win for the Yankees, looks like we could have made a similar deal but this is definitely a huge blockbuster. Hendry must be on the phone with either Damon or Cameron now.

This article issued by the Chicago Tribune suggests, while although a longshot, rising star Castro could make the opening day roster. The article can be found here.

Here's an exerpt

If the Cubs start the 2010 season with Starlin Castro at shortstop, it won't be without the prodding of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.

Castro isn't on the 40-man roster, but he will get a spring training invite and an opportunity to break camp with the Cubs if he has an exceptional spring.

It's a long shot, considering Castro began the season in Class A last April and doesn't turn 20 until March 24. But the Cubs are so sold on his future that they already have told incumbent shortstop Ryan Theriot he might move to second base in the not-so-distant future.

This article appears to be going off both speculation and "what if" scenarios by the Cubs coaching staff. It does make me wonder if Ryan Theriot may make the shift over to second base immediately, and thereby prompting the Cubs to sign a stopgap until Castro is ready to play in 2011.  Having Theriot at 2b is perfect: his range from there would be just fine and we could dump Fontenot, Baker, or Miles, or two of them, for other positions that we need to fill.

So who should be the stopgap? I wouldn't mind signing Miguel Tejada to a 2-year deal, but that may be too expensive. Maybe Scutaro or Orlando Cabrera could be signed as well, all speculation here of course.

This article does make me feel somewhat relieved about the future of the Cubs. In addition with the signing of Jamarillo as the hitting coach, young prospects such as Josh Vitters and Starlin Castro may be able to make an impact on this team as early as September of 2010 (that's why we should hold on to them, not trade them for someone such as Granderson).

So my off season plan: somehow sign Scutaro, Cabrera, or Tejada as SS and Cameron at CF. Yes, this makes our team incredibly old yet , but these players will be stopgaps for Vitters, Castro, and Brett Jackson. Giving us a lineup next year with Cameron and Tejada//Cabera///Scutaro wouldn't be awful either. I don't see how you could go wrong with this plan..

Today, Cubs 2b Mike Fontenot was granted the final Super-two spot after beating out Micah Owings and Adam Jones. The full article can be found here: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091111&content_id=7655452&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

This may sway the Cubs to not give him his raise and just either trade him or non-tender him. It would be sad to see the LSU duo broken up, but if it means saving money for perhaps a better player, then well it might be a good move. My question is, why doesn't they allow all three of those players the right to Super-Two eligibility? Did Fontenot receive it by a flip of the coin or by another way?

Oh and it's great to be back on this board regularly again :)