At the "Meet the Management" gathering at the Cubs Convention (listen to it here), somebody brought up the Peavy puzzle and Jim Hendry explained that unfortunately Peavy isn't a free agent and it's a violation of MLB rules to talk about him.
Luckily, it must be okay to talk about him behind closed doors because yesterday the Cubs made another move that would appear to be part of this Peavy Puzzle.
They shipped off Felix Pie to Baltimore for pitcher Garrett Olson, who the Padres apparently wanted way back in the time of the Winter Meetings Rumors.
In real life meetings that I've been in, the Powers That Be want to show the clients the people who will be working on their business.
Maybe it's the same with the Cubs?
Like a new business pitch - in this case you and I are the clients, the Powers That Be are Cubs Brass, and the workers would be the players...
At this year's convention there were a couple of minor leaguers who we hadn't seen before (can't remember their names), and I thought it didn't bode well for the "name" guys in the Cubs minor league system (I don't know...Josh Vitters? Sam Fuld? Etc?) who may be part of this Peavy Puzzle as well.
On the other side of that coin there's Sean Marshall.
He was at the convention, which led me to think that maybe he isn't part of the Puzzle.
Silly logic, of course, but I was an art major.
Every time Lou talks about Marshall, he uses the word "swing man", meaning he can start (Hey Rich Harden, need another week before your next start, dude?), or come out of the bullpen.
I think there aren't a whole lot of guys with the temperament and skills to be a "swing man", and Marshall's already done it and done it well.
To me, he's way more valuable as one of the best "swing men" in the league vs one of a bunch of 5th starters, and if Jim Hendry can get Peavy AND keep Marshall well, now you're talking.
On the other hand, there may be another Cub You Like suddenly becoming a Padre in order to make this Peavy deal happen.
You never know, but...steel yourself.
Lastly, do not forget to take a minute today and think about Martin Luther King.
