All three have expressed they will do whatever it takes to bring a championship to Chicago.

Now I know every new manager, GM, VPBO says that to appease the fans but not every group has already done it once together. 

Here is a list of five free agents I believe Theo and company will be targeting this offseason. 

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It's time to turn the page on this season and build for the future. Big salaries need to be dumped and prospects need to be acquired.

Jim Hendry needs to sell hard and fast to get what he can for these five players still on the Cubs roster.

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Randy Wells has been one of the worst starters for this Cubs team since coming off the disabled list on May 28.

Since coming off the DL, Wells has zero wins with three losses and an ERA well over 7.00. Hitters are averaging well over .300 against Wells in the span.

Now I understand getting Wells back on schedule and having him try to find his groove. But on multiple occasions, Mike Quade has said he wants to win and turn this debacle of a season around (at least for his and every Cubs fans pride).

Wells is not the place to start.

Rodrigo Lopez has an ERA under 2.00 in his last three outings. He's clearly in a groove. Why not keep him that way?

The correct managerial decision in this situation would be to move Wells to the bullpen. With the awfully underperforming starting rotation the Cubs have, we all know the starting pitchers sometimes can't go longer than five innings. When that happens, it's perfect opportunity to throw Wells out there in a long-relief role.

Better yet, send him down to the minor leagues. Have him get his groove there for a few games. Have him pitch against lower-quality hitters and boost his confidence. Knowing this organization, it is possible Wells didn't have a long enough rehab stint.

All of these ideas seem great, but as fans of this ballclub, we all know it will never happen. It makes sense, so why do it, right?

That seems to be the current philosophy of the Cubs.

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So why do the Cubs get a mediocre grade of C even when they rank third in average?

They fail to drive runs in.

The Cubs rank 24th in RBI with 235 driven in.

The "Flubs" rank 25th in home runs with 44 dingers. Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays has almost half that number by himself.

They rank 21st in runs with 259.

They don't even draw walks. They are dead last with only 160 walks. The Yankees have 90 more walks than them.

Pitching: D

The Cubs staff should be better than they are. Plain and simple. They are the most under-performing staff in the entire MLB. 

The Cubs rank dead last in ERA with a 4.82. 

The Cubs rank 24th in saves. 

The "Lovable Losers" rank dead last in innings pitched. 

The Cubs lead the league in walks allowed. 

The most astounding stat to me is that they are dead last in complete games with NONE. Not one starting pitcher has pitched a full nine inning game.


Fielding: F

Now you might be thinking an F for fielding percentage is a little harsh. No way. 

The Cubs rank dead last in fielding percentage, double plays, assists and putouts. 

They lead the league in errors. 

Can someone say a team that lacks fundamentals?


Coaching: C

I give a lot more credit to Quade and his staff than I should. I don't know if it is out of pity or just because I think he deserves the credit. 

He has had a tough go with this team. 

He has under-performing, overpaid, over-the-hill stars up and down this roster. 

He has players who can't stay healthy. 

He might as well be a Triple-A manager with all the young guys they have up on this team. 

But he falls in love with certain players, and he hangs them out to dry. For example, in Zambrano's last start, he gave up seven earned runs in only six innings pitched. He threw over 130 pitches. What? Also, Castro is hitting over .300 from the leadoff spot and only .265 (about) from the three-hole. Yet, before tonight he constantly hit Castro third. 

He makes bonehead decisions. Tonight he started rookie D.J. LeMahieu at first base. He had never played a game at the position before. 

Considering the injuries and under-performing players, Quade has done what he can. For that he deserves, at least, a little credit. 

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The Cubs get no love.

Yes, I understand they are a pretty good bet to lose. I understand they have gone over 100 years without a MLB Championship. That doesn't mean they aren't talented. 

The Cubs deserve more love. 

Starting Pitching

Don't deny it, the Cubs can pitch. Pitching has never been their fault. 

The top three in their starting rotation are one of the best in the National League. Randy Wells is a solid No. 4 and Andrew Cashner has proved himself to be a decent fifth starter.

Ryan Dempster is always a solid bet to win 14 to 17 games. His ERA never gets above four—he averages in the lower threes—and he also is usually healthy. Every year as a starter, he has averaged around 200 innings.

Carlos Zambrano may be a head case, but he can pitch. If he stays healthy and finally gets his head leveled, watch out. He has the capability to win 18-plus games. He has way too much talent to not be able to do it.

Matt Garza is a lot like Big Z—he pitches like his hair is on fire. Already in the young 2011 season, he struck out 12 in his very first start as a Cub (a career high).

Randy Wells, in his first season as a Cub, put up rookie of the year-type numbers. He went through a bit of a sophomore slump but still had a decent 2010. He only won nine games but last year's Cubs team was very bad. He pitched almost 200 innings and struck out 144 batters. He is still young but has the potential to be great.

Andrew Cashner showed flashes of talent in his first major league start. He did leave with shoulder tightness but only gave up two hits and one earned run. In the AA and AAA last season, Cashner posted a 6-1 record with a 2.05 ERA. The kid has talent.

Bullpen 

The bullpen is one of the best in the division. 

The potential of a Marshall-Wood-Marmol backend of the 'pen is scary to think about. 

Carlos Marmol is the real question in the bullpen. He is young and wild. Literally. 

He still has control issues which can get him into trouble. He already has one blown save this year, but when Marmol is on, he is unhittable. When he's off, no one can hit him because he can't find the zone.

Kerry Wood is going to be the key in the bullpen. He still has talent and his veteran presence will be a key guide to the young guys like Jeff Samardzija and James Russell.

Offense

On paper, they should be scoring runs in bunches. But they're the Cubs so of course they can't.

Fukudome, Castro, Byrd, Ramirez, Pena, Soto, Soriano and Barney should be getting on base and driving runs in like it's nobody's business.

They have a deep bench too.

Colvin, Baker and DeWitt have showed flashes of being able to hit.

If the Cubs can put it together, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Defense

Their defense is an issue.

Starlin Castro is still young at shortstop. He has a tendency to make boneheaded decisions and his defense still has to catch up to his hitting.

Geovany Soto is also a question. He knows the pitching staff well and knows how to handle them. The question is, can he throw anyone out?

Alfonso Soriano is the biggest Achilles Heel in the outfield. When a $100 million player needs to be taken out for a defensive replacement in the ninth, you have problems.

If manager Mike Quade can teach this team to play slightly better defense, they will be okay. 

Coaching

Mike Quade might be the best offseason investment for this team. He is a new, fresh manager in the major leagues. He takes the red line to work and he does not have any marketing deals. He's down to earth and knows his players well. 

What's the difference between Quade and Piniella? Fire and approachability. 

Quade could be the difference maker. He understands what it takes to win. He went 24 and 13 as an interim manager last season. The players like him. If he keeps his feet on the ground and the Cubs' heads out of their asses, this team wins the division by at least five games.

Prediction

If Mike Quade keeps this team together and doesn't lose control, the Cubs have the potential to make a deep run. Maybe I'm overly optimistic but I think this could be the year. The Cubs will win the division over the Reds by three games.  

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It's the atmosphere of the city. It's the attitude of the fans in the city. It's the love and passion the fans share for the teams in their city. It's the revenue these teams create for the city.

Let's take a look into what makes Chicago great. 

Atmosphere

If you walk through downtown Chicago any day of the year, you will never fail to see someone wearing any Bears, Bulls, Hawks, Cubs or Sox apparel. The citizens of "The Windy City" live and die by their teams. 

For example, go to the United Center for a Blackhawks home game. The atmosphere you will experience during this game is unlike any other NHL game. I've been to quite a few games and none compares to a Blackhawks game at the "Madhouse on Madison." 

At the Madhouse you have 20,000 nutcases on their feet screaming bloody murder and cheering for their country during the national anthem. Not to forget about everyone singing, "duh-duh" after every Blackhawks' goal. This atmosphere is unlike any other. 

Don't forget about the afternoons and evenings you could spend with 40,000 other drunk idiots at Wrigley Field. With the skyline beyond the fence and the rooftops in view, nothing compares to a summer night at Wrigley Field. Win or lose they still booze. 

U.S. Cellular Field on the South Side is no slouch either. All the theme nights at "The Cell" or the fireworks after a White Sox home run make these games a memory of a lifetime. 

Sports Radio

I understand sports radio is good in any big city. But does your town have Dan Boers and Terry Bernstein? How about Jason Goff or Laurence Holmes? I am a radio major in college and the enthusiasm and emotion these guys put into their broadcasts are unlike any other.

They exemplify the true Chicago fan.

These radio hosts do not hide their bias towards one team or another. It is known Boers and Bernstein are both big Cubs fans. It is known Goff hates the Cubs. They burn with passion over their Chicago teams.

The Fans

I don't even think an explanation is needed. Chicago fans burn with passion. We're ignorant, cocky, know-it-alls and everything in between. Some of us, admittedly so, are fair-weather fans. Some of us grow up and die by one team.

Arguments can be made about New York, Boston or LA. But nothing, and I mean nothing can compare to the passion, the fire and the enthusiasm of Chicago.  

Lack of Winning

Yes. You read right. The lack of winning makes Chicago the greatest sports city. Baseball hasn't seen a championship in 11 years. Football hasn't seen a championship in over 20 years. Basketball hasn't seen one in 13 years. Yeah, yeah. Hockey did last year but prior to that they hadn't seen one for over 35 years!

The Chicago Cubs, widely considered by some, is America's team. This team has been the laughing stock of the entire MLB for the past 20 to 30 years. They haven't seen a championship in over 100 years!

Through all this futility, the fire burns. Look to other cities.

LA won a championship last year in basketball. The Lakers are always the top team in the west.

Boston won a championship two years ago in basketball, within the last decade two in baseball and a top team in hockey.  

New York is home to the evil empire. Enough said. 

Chicago? Home to futility yet fandom. 

History

Even through this futility of the last decade, Chicago has a rich history in sports. 

The Bulls were the best team in the NBA through the 90s. They also arguably had the best team in NBA history in their 72 win season. 

The Bears are home to the Super Bowl Shuffle and one of the most dominant Super Bowl performances in 1985. 

The White Sox recently won in 2005. They have a rich history of being a great baseball team. Their fans bleed black and white. 

The Cubs are the Cubs. They haven't won a title in over 100 years. Yet, they are home to the most beautiful gem in Wrigley Field. They also have some of the most passionate fans in all of baseball. 

The Blackhawks have had some of the best players in NHL history: Pierre Pilotte, Bobby "Golden Jet" Hull, Denis Savard, Glen Hall, Keith Magnuson, Stan Mikita and Tony "O" Esposito are enshrined in the rafters. All are arguably some of the best players to ever lace up skates in the NHL. This goes without mentioning a 2010 title. 

Why This Is Important

Cities live and die by their team. I will concede to that. No one does it like Chicago. No one lives through this futility, survives a great fire, a flood, blizzards, summer heat, winter cold, the hawk of the lake and still continues to be considered one of the greatest, and in my opinion, THE GREATEST, sports town in America. 

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Bradley recently did an interview with ESPN's Colleen Dominguez. He told her that he felt like a prisoner in his own home when he was in Chicago. Also that he received hate mail with no postage mark on it. When asked if this mail came from inside the organization, Bradley told her that he hoped not but maybe it could've.

Hendry told ESPNChiacgo.com, ""That's absolutely ridiculous," Hendry said. "That couldn't be farther from the truth. I think it's time maybe Milton looked at himself in the mirror. It is what it is. He didn't swing the bat; he didn't get the job done. His production was the only negative, or lack of."

On the "bright side" Bradley had nothing bad to say about Hendry. Bradley thanks Hendry for the generous waste of money that was spent on him.

Bradley hit .257 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI after signing a hefty $30 million deal. This off season he was traded to the Mariners for Carlos Silva and cash.

Hendry wants to move past Bradley once and for all.

"We've done our best to move on," Hendry said. "We thought we helped Milton move on, too, by putting him in another place, and that's how we approached it. It's just time to go about our business."

Ryan Dempster took the time to defend us Cubs fans.

"The fans, they pay for their ticket to come in [to the ballpark]," Dempster said. "They have every right to boo if they feel you're not giving 100 percent or not your best effort. They love their Cubs. Chicago fans are very forgiving."

Dempster also put it perfectly when asking if African-Americans have trouble in Chicago.

"Anytime you struggle, it can be tough no matter what the color of your skin is."

Bradley, it's time you move on from the supposed bad treatment from Cubs fans. Move on and try and succeed for once. Good luck in Seattle.

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He was asked if race played a role in the "city's hatred" for Bradley. The response he gave to ESPN was repulsive.

"I got the same mail Latroy [Hawkins] probably got; the same mail Jacque [Jones] got," he told Colleen Dominguez on ESPN.

News flash Milton: Cubs fans everywhere didn't hate you because you were black. We hated you because you got paid an enormous sum of money and you sucked. You sucked beyond the acceptable level of sucking.

When you are making around $10 million a year and batting .257 with only 12 home runs and 40 RBI, you are more than deserving of the bad treatment you get. You can't even blame injuries on his poor performance; he played 124 games last season. 

Bradley told Dominguez that Cubs fans expect miracles out of their players. If that doesn't happen, you get booed and hate mail. Not true.

Look at the players who have played for the Cubs. The mediocre ones.

Mark DeRosa wasn't making miracles happen on the field. He was a gritty ball player who got the job done. Something Bradley didn't do.

Ronny Cedeno is another good example. He hit .252 in the few years he had with the Cubs. He was awful, but he played a role. He wasn't paid a lot of money and the fans didn't expect much out of him.

Fans expected a lot out of you, Bradley, because of your salary and the great year you had with Texas. We didn't expect miracles.

Also, look at the names he threw out to Dominguez: He said the same mail that Jones and Hawkins got. Both names bring back awful memories and make me cringe.

With the Cubs, Jones actually wasn't bad the first season. No hate mail.

His second season was a different story.

In season number two, 2008, Jones hit a respectable .285 but only had five home runs and 66 RBI. Not good numbers for a major league ball player of the caliber he was supposed to be.

What about Hawkins?

In 2004, Hawkins posted a 5-4 record with a 2.63 ERA. Usually decent numbers for someone who is the middle reliever. Not the closer.

It gets worse.

During his career with the Cubs, Hawkins had 29 saves in 42 opportunities. That's 69 percent! When you are supposed to be the shut-down guy in the back of the pen and you save 69 percent of your saves, you deserve the bad treatment.

Bradley was traded for Carlos Silva in December. This is Bradley's eighth team in 11 years. Bradley claims he has moved around due to injuries. I beg to differ, sir.

In Oakland and Texas he caused trouble. He was thrown out of games and even tried charging the mound a few times.

Chicago was no different. He was suspended on Sept. 20 of last season for the final games of the year. (Best birthday present ever, if you ask me.)

One of the last quotes from Bradley on ESPNChicago.com says that Bradley hints that everyone who booed him was racist. I take offense to that.

I go to a very diverse high school on the south suburbs of Chicago. White people, like myself, are actually either the minority or on their way to being the minority in my school. I am the farthest from being racist.

Milton, please get over yourself and come to your senses. Chicago isn't racist. Chicago Cubs fans aren't racist. Chicago would welcome you back to visit. We won't take you back to play, though, because you just down-right suck.

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I can tell you one young kid who will for the Cubs.

Call me crazy, but Tom Gorzelanny is going to get the fifth starter spot on the Cubs' staff.

We know who the first four are. In no particular order: Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, and Wells will be the top four. The fifth is up for grabs.

Off-Speed

Gorzelanny has an off-speed pitch—something former Notre Dame standout Jeff Samardizja has not really developed yet.

An off-speed pitch is something that needs to be prevalent in any major league pitcher's repertoire for them to succeed. In the MLB, you can't blow people away with a fast ball. They will catch up to it.

Take Kyle Farnsworth for example. Remember him?

He was a hard-throwing nut case. He threw the ball hard and that was about it. He sort of had a slider and nothing else really. What happened to him? Never made it in the show.

Don't turn Samardizja into a Farnsworth. Keep the kid in the bullpen if you don't want to waste his talent in AAA, and let him develop his change-up and slider. Once he does that, then let him fight with Gorzelanny.

Last Season

Last season, Gorzelanny had seven starts and posted a 4-2 record. He was very good down the stretch.

Gorzelanny showed he can pitch effectively last season. He isn't amazing, but he is effective.

Gorzelanny struck out 40 batters in 38.1 innings pitched over his seven starts and 13 total appearances. Batters had a .262 average against him. Decently effective, if you ask me, and something I can live with.

Gorzelanny only walked 13 people over his 13 appearances for the North Side Crew. One walk a game is a better average than Carlos Zambrano (4.1 walks a game).

Conclusion

Let the kid prove me wrong. Slide him in that fifth starter role for the start of the season, and if he can't handle it, then take him out. I think Gorzelanny more than deserves it. Let the kid shine.

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Right now on the Cubs' depth chart, young gun Tyler Colvin is the starting center fielder. As of now, I don't see the Cubs taking a risk on the young guy by throwing him into the mix right away. At least I wouldn't.

For those of you who think Colvin is more than ready, do the names Felix Pie and Corey Patterson ring a bell? They were in the same exact position as Colvin. We all know how the two of them turned out. Let's not let Colvin turn out the same way. Give the kid some time. He's 24.

Let's look to the stats and contracts between Fukudome and Granderson.

Fukudome in 2009 was mediocre at best. That is being generous. He hit .259 with 11 home runs and 54 RBI in 146 games. Pretty amazing. Not.

Yes, his defense is very good in the outfield but that is not why he makes the big bucks.

Fukudome's contract is pretty ridiculous for the lack of production he provides. In 2009, Fukudome made $11.5 million. In 2010 Fukudome will make $13 million. In 2011 he will bring in $13.5 million and then become a free agent in 2012. For platoon numbers, Fukudome is not worth the big money he is making.

Let's take a look at Granderson.

In 2009, Granderson played 160 games. He did bat .249 but he had 30 home runs, 71 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. Besides his batting average, pretty good numbers.

In 2009 Granderson made $3.5 million. Granderson doesn't make above $10 million until 2012. The highest he makes is in 2013 if the club picks up his option. If not, free agent market.

Who could the Cubs give away?

If you look to the lack of talent in the Cubs farm system, they have a few names they could shell out. I could see the Cubs and the Tigers agreeing on a trade that includes Josh Vitters and a couple of pitchers. The Tigers SHOULD have a very keen interest in Vitters. Brandon Inge is always injured and when down, Vitters could fill that void.

Pitchers that could be included could be Samardzija, Cashner, and maybe someone like Caridad who showed promise or Gorzelanny who is still fairly young and talented.

If I were the Cubs and the Tigers, I would do a deal that looks something like this.

Josh Vitters, Tom Gorzelanny, and maybe Cashner or Samardzija for Granderson and a prospect from their system. Seems like a fair deal to me.

Jim Hendry, let's get it done.

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