Recently in Wittenmyer Category

Jim Hendry said he considers the just concluded general managers meetings at the O'Hare Hilton fruitful and said that the abbreviated format seemed to encourage even more dialogue between GMs than the usual spread-out, longer sets of meetings in the past.

But just how successful those meetings were won't be known until he finishes dumping Milton Bradley - presumably by the winter meetings in Indianapolis in less than four weeks - and knows how much of the $21 million left on that contract he has to eat, and what player he gets in return.

``We were real pleased with the meetings,'' said Hendry, who joined assistant GM Randy Bush in meeting with ``seven or eight'' teams Tuesday night just ahead of Wednesday morning's wrapup. ``We felt we got a little direction on the path we might want to go. It was productive.

``We'd like to make a few moves before Indy. Then it really clears up. We don't have a lot of quantity to add. We want to make a few adjustments.''

The Cubs say that Ted Lilly's surgery last week doesn't change their minds about allowing Rich Harden to become a free agent without making an offer.

And it shouldn't.

Some critics of that sentiment have suggested the Cubs must try to retain Harden, but the team is right to let him go.

Harden's a good guy, and his talent is unquestioned.

But a history of injury problems and a thin free agent market for high-end pitchers almost guarantee Harden's ability to command a multi-year deal and suggest a strong possibility somebody will wind up overpaying for him.

Even in a season his balky shoulder didn't seem to be a problem until the final two weeks of the season, Harden was a pitcher who needed to be managed with extra rest between starts, when possible, and who averaged nearly 18 pitches an inning in 2009 -- making him a five-inning pitcher far too often.

Whether he rebounds to look at dominant as he did the first month the Cubs had him in 2008 (and for glimpses in '09), the risk is too great for a team looking at '11 and beyond for payroll flexibility (with contracts expiring) to make fundamental changes that extend and strengthen its competitive window.

Randy Wells is locked in among three healthy returning starters. Lilly may well be ready to pitch again at a high level by May. Jeff Samardzija may be ready to step into a starter's role next season. Tom Gorzelanny is a competitive candidate for the fifth starter job.

And lefty Sean Marshall is more than deserving of a full-fledged chance to start -- not to mention the fact he has a pretty decent track record as a starter-reliever swing man for this team the past two seasons, making him a capable stand-in for Lilly even if Lilly is out until the All-Star break.

Harden? At worst he'll create more instability in the rotation for a big-ticket price. At best, he's a dice roll not worth taking.

The groups trying to lure the Cubs out of Arizona and to the Naples, Fla., area for spring training are continuing to push, with a press conference scheduled today.

But no matter how strong their bid looks at the end of the day, a move to Southwest Florida for the Cubs would be foolish.

Watching the rain while pondering whether it's ironic or simply coincidence that the Cubs appear to be getting rained out in their first attempt to play a game in October this year.

Meanwhile, other random rain-delay thoughts include that T-shirt Ted Lilly was wearing yesterday touting the return of free agent teammate Reed Johnson: ``With Reed We Will Succeed.''

I've got a few other T-shirt ideas for these guys.

Keep him or trade him? Love him or hate him?

Call him your ace or call in a cavalry of physical and psychological therapists?

In other words, what do the Cubs do with Carlos Zambrano?

Lou Piniella said before the game that as he looks to next year he doesn't see much need to bolster the pitching staff.

And Ryan Dempster, last year's Game 1 playoff starter who's signed for three more years, along with Aaron Heilman and Carlos Marmol showed what he meant in a game they kept low-scoring until Jeff Baker had a chance to win it with a homer in the ninth.

What if the Cubs' Derrek Lee hadn't started slow the first five or six weeks of the season? He might have 40 homers and 120 RBIs and challenging Albert Pujols for the MVP award.

What if Milton Bradley was never signed by the Cubs? Considering they're 16-9 (.640) this season when he doesn't play, they might be on their way to a 104-win season.

And if Aramis Ramirez (14 homers, 61 RBIs in 76 games) hadn't been on the DL for two months? And if Tylver Colvin's 1-for-3-with-an-RBI debut means anything about his long-term big-league ability?

If, if, if. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

At least the Cubs have finally, clearly begun to lock their sights on making the most of next year and hitting the ground running toward actually contending again.

Milton Bradley, we hardly knew ye.

Only 5 ½ months into the first of what was supposed to be three seasons for the Cubs worth $30 million, the oft-slumping, more-oft-distracting Bradley was suspended by the Cubs for the rest of the year over comments he made to the media in recent days, culminating with an interview with the Daily Herald Saturday in which he took shots at media, fans and even the organization.

The chances of him returning to the team next season reside somewhere between those of the team making the playoffs this year and Hack Wilson being named NLCS MVP next month.

With that in mind, we look back on the Life of Milty as a Cub, in quotes from the 40-RBI man himself:

Not surprisingly, given his reaction to adversity and even to basic media questions this season, Milton Bradley appears to want out of Chicago as much as many in the organization seem to want him gone.

The Daily Herald's Bruce Miles got Bradley aside in the clubhouse this weekend and asked, among other things, if he had enjoyed his first season in Chicago.

``Not really,'' Bradley told him. ``It's just not a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment. There's too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly. Everything is just bashing you. You go out there and you play harder than anybody on the field and never get credit for it. It's just negativity.

Sam Fuld made another diving catch Monday night in the outfield (great play even if it turns out he trapped it) to end the fifth inning in a one-run game - raising again the question of whether this guy should get more playing time as the Cubs look toward next year.

And what about Andres Blanco - Mr. Spectacular almost every time he gets a start in the middle infield?

If the Cubs proved anything in their 2-0 win over Milwaukee Monday night - other than they still can't hit - it's how important fielding is to a team that expects to win.

You want to know what the Cubs got for their $91.5 million when they signed Big Z to that five-year extension two summers ago?

Then watch his starts Friday night in New York and next week in Pittsburgh.

Lou Piniella said he's looking forward to hanging out with Ozzie while they shoot some sort of commercial Thursday.

Derrek Lee said he's sure it'll be exciting when the Cubs and Sox face off today at Wrigley.

But really?

Usually there's something on the line for at least one team -- when you're playing in June, somebody's still playing for something.

But now? It's hard to imagine anything even worth bragging about, win or lose -- anything worth getting worked up about.

``Seems kind of strange, doesn't it?'' Piniella said. ``It really does. Playing them in September.

``I'll get a chance to hear a little bit of [Ozzie's] chatter. I enjoy talking to him about baseball, and about life in general. He's a philosopher.''

Piniella was in an upbeat mood after Wednesday's game, but he wasn't joking about Ozzie.

``Really, I enjoy talking to Ozzie,'' he said.

Maybe that's it. Maybe that's what today's one-day circus with the sagging tents is all about.

Talk. Chatter. Crosstown banter between two ships passing in the night during seasons adrift.

Maybe in all that talk, somebody will have sense enough to ask for directions.