CHICAGO: JIM EDMONDS AND COLLATERAL DAMAGE

So, the Chicago Cubs have come to terms with the aging Jim Edmonds. In the process they have harmed this team and several editions to come. It's not Brock for Broglio, but it's not good.

The Basin is fully prepared to believe Jimmy has something left in the tank. Moreover, except for Houston, the NL Central is a small park division, except for Houston CF, thereby hiding Jimmy's declining defensive speed. He'll still hit some homers and he'll still make some rally-killing defensive plays. It was almost unfair to him to play in a totally unsuitable park, about the size of Yellowstone. No problem with his potential.

Still, he takes up a roster spot at what cost? There is no room on the big club for Jimmy and Felix Pie. What do you lose when you send Pie to the Minors? First, you lose the best defensive Outfield in late inning, lead-protecting situations: Johnson, Pie, Fukudome. It doesn't get any better than that, defensively. Second, you lose the confidence that Pie was building, learning to become a slap hitter at the big league level. There was some progress being made. That will be hard to sustain. Third, you lose a world-class pinch-runner, a laser-like weapon for targetted situations. Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, you are tampering with the chemistry of a team in a successful roll with obviously good cameraderie. Pie was a combination little brother and mascot to Soriano and Ramirez. Even not buying into all the Edmonds-was-a-toxic-teammate Angel/Cardinal gossip, he will not be the enthusiastic, zany kid who has been a part of this team's success. He also has a Spanish gap. That's a lot of change in environment for two or three (if you count Zambrano) of your biggest stars. Finally, you remove a lot of motivation and organizational commitment from Pie. He has burned up every minor league he's gone to. He's got nothing left to prove in lower leagues. The big team has essentially told him "You've served your time on the farm. There's no purpose in your going back down there. We'll work you into the big club gradually while you learn to hit the ball on the ground. Now he's going to feel betrayed. He was doing his part and they went out and got some old, Anglo guy to take his roster spot. Felix will be back but there's no guarantee his boyish enthusiasm will return with him.

Let's just say Jimmy has a good run this year--300 Plate appearances, .250 average, .300 OPB, 12 Homers and 55 RBI with decent defense--Was it enough to justify jiggering the roster and screwing around with the shining star of your organization. My take is, "No".

I give the Cubbies credit for agression and creativity but I'm thinking this was a serious case of "Overthink".

Since nobody wanted to talk about the race discussion yesterday, maybe this more digestible topic will be to your liking.