Good night sweeheart, Well its time to go

The 2009 Chicago Cubs baseball season, full of expectations and hope has finally come to an end.  What better way to end a season than a disappointing 5-2 to Doug Davis and the Diamondbacks. I will not waste time recapping the season, but will offer my thoughts on suggestions for next year.

Players I expect to see gone

Aaron Heilman-One of Jim Hendry's mistakes this year. Heilman was brought over in a trade at the beginning of the season to be another arm in the bullpen. Heilman is teh classic case of a pitcher who has the stuff to be a solid pitcher, but has never quite reached his potential. Heilman will have to try again somewhere else, because he just did not produce.

Heilman vs. Right handed batters-8 home runs(gave up 9 all year), 43.2ip,5.50 era,.289 BAA(according to cubs.com and baseball-reference.com)

Milton Bradley-Enough has been said here about this situation. Bridges have been burned and he needs to go. Bradley is not to blame for the Cubs failures this year and is just a bad fit for the clubhouse. The Cubs will have to pick up a good chunk of his salary to get rid of him.

Aaron Miles-Brought in for his versatility and to help replace Mark DeRosa. What originally looked like a good signing, imploded in the Cubs face. He just did not produce this year and got in to Pinella's dog house very quick. Miles has another year on his contract so the Cubs might have to suck it up and just  out right release him.

Rich Harden-Harden is an interesting case. If he would be willing to come back for a one year deal the Cubs might be willing to sign him. Harden is dominant enough when he is on to earn a big contract from someone willing to take a chance on him.

Kevin Gregg-Brought in to close and failed. There is not much more to be said about that. Pinella stuck with him far too long.

Key questions

1. Who will hit lead off/Be the run producer the Cubs are looking for?

Theriot did a pretty good job there this year, but can he last a full year there? He tends to wind down towards the end of the baseball season due to the wear and tear of the baseball season. If Theriot is the guy next year the Cubs will have to find someone off the bench that can give Theriot a few days off.  If Theriot is not the guy, maybe it will be someone they pick up through free agency.

Whether Cubs fans believe it or not, Alfonso Soriano is a huge key to next season success. Soriano tried to tough it out this year and play on one leg and it hurt the Cubs. When Soriano is hot, he has carried the Cubs in the past.  If he is healthy and the Cubs pick up a lead off hitter and a rbi guy or combination of the two, the Cubs will have a potent line up.

2. What to do with Sean Marshall and Jake Fox?

Will he start? Be in the bullpen? Pinch hit? Marshall has done everything to the Cubs have asked him to do, and that includes playing left field this year for an at bat. Marshall was decent out of the bullpen, but I believe the Cubs need another lefty besides Grabow (who is expected to return).  Tom Gorzelanny could be the other lefty as well, but he will probably compete for a fifth starting spot next year.  If Gorzelanny is in the bullpen next year, what happens to Marshall? This will be an interesting question that could be brought up this off season.

There is no doubt that Jake Fox can hit, but where will he play? LF? Soriano is there. 3B or 1B? Definitely not an option. Do not be surprised to see Fox traded somewhere where he can get at bats. It would be nice to see him play full time but there is no real spot on the team for him.

3. What is the budget?

This is a question that can not be answered until the Cubs sale is fully complete. Hopefully the sale will be complete by the time winter meetings come around. With the answer to this question not being known, it is hard to talk about potential free agents.

4. Will Milton Bradley be traded?

The Cubs will definitely try to do this, but will anyone bite? A couple of sites have mentioned a few teams being interested, but as stated earlier the Cubs will need to pick a big chunk of salary. Picking a big chunk of salary also affects the budget.

However, if there is a decent budget, here are potential free agents to look at. The numbers are no indication of who I think should be looked at the most. These are just a few guys that could potentially fill spots for the Cubs.

Source (http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2001/05/2010-free-agents.html)

1. Chone Figgins
2. Mark DeRosa
3. Jack Wilson (contract has a 2010 option)
4.  Akinori Iwamura(2B)
5. Bobby Abreau
6. Marlon Byrd
7. Carl Crawford (2010 option)
8. Xavier Nady

-Mike Moreau