I have a number of questions as to why the Cubs fell off the Webb chase.

It’s been known for almost a week that the Cubs had dropped off the pace on the Brandon Webb sweepstakes.

It was made official today.

Webb was signed by the Rangers. I’ve held off on saying anything here until I saw what the contract was.

I thought it was a good idea for the Cubs to sign Webb at the right price and I felt that price was about $4 million plus incentives for one year. That was something the Cubs should easily be able to afford and had little risk associated with it.

As the Cubs fell out of the chase last week, I assumed it was either because the price tag had gotten too high or that the Cubs’ doctors had thrown up a couple of warning flags making the Cubs shy away from the former D-Backs ace.

Well, all I have to say after seeing what the Rangers were paying Webb is that it had better be due to medical issues that the Cubs were eliminated. The Rangers are paying Webb $3 million plus incentives to play in 2011.

If the Cubs weren’t the ones that backed off this pursuit and it was Webb that turned them down, then the Cubs have some serious issues.

If they weren’t willing/able to offer Webb $3 million for 2011, it shows that this team is in a much more serious financial bind than we think they are.

If the Cubs actually did offer him that much or more and Webb turned them down, we have to start to think about why.

Poor player facilities to help as Webb rehabs?
An unproven pitching coach?
An unknown entity as manager?

So now a number of questions remain as we are a month and a half away from pitchers and catchers reporting.

Will the Cubs make an attempt to sign anyone else?
Can Fukudome and Silva be moved?

If the answer is ‘no’ to these two questions, the roster is pretty close to being set…and it looks pretty depressing.

Next up…Brandon Webb?

With the Cubs unable/unwilling to trade any position players, they are probably going to look at adding at least one more player and that player will then be a pitcher and most likely a starting pitcher at that.

There has been talk about Matt Garza being acquired in a trade with the Rays, but the only problem with that is that the Rays don’t appear to have any interest in trading Garza.

All this talk is oddly similar to the talk about the Cubs trading for Heath Bell last year. People kept saying that the Cubs were trying to get Bell…but in the end, the Padres had absolutely no interest in shipping him off.

So that brings us to the only other reasonable Cubs rumor right now…and that is the possibility of signing former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb to an incentive filled one year contract.

With Wood signed for well below market value, and Peña deferring half of his $10 million, the Cubs probably have about $5 to $6 million left to pay someone else.

Bringing Webb in with a base salary of $4 or $5 million might not be a bad idea…but one has to scratch his head at why the Cubs think they need even more starting pitching.

It’s another high risk/high reward thing with Webb. It’s very possible that Webb is no better health-wise than Mark Prior. Both have had shoulder problems. Both have missed a lot of time with their old team. Like Prior with the Cubs, the Diamondbacks were waiting and waiting for the last two seasons for Webb to come back, and he never did.

If the Cubs get Webb, what is the possibility that the result will be any different than when the Padres signed Mark Prior?

The D-Backs could have kept Webb…but with the option on his contract so large, it didn’t make sense for them to take that risk. At the same time, if they thought he had anything left, don’t you think they would have at least made some effort at re-signing him this year? They haven’t.

Jim Hendry has taken chances on a lot of players recovering from significant injuries. Some of these have turned our great…Ryan Dempster being the best example. Others…not so much…Wade Miller, Xavier Nady.

If the Cubs truly want Webb…they are probably going to have to outbid the Rangers for him which probably means he won’t come any cheaper than $4 million.

This might not be a perfect move for the Cubs, but unless they trade Fukudome, there isn’t much left this year that they can do.

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And speaking of trading Fukudome, there are some rumors out there that the Cubs and Giants might be in negotiations for swap Fukudome for Aaron Rowand.

Rowand has 2 years and $24 million left on his deal, while Fukudome has 1 year and $13.5 million. This on the surface may not sound like a very good deal as the Cubs would have another crappy contract stuck on the books for an extra year. If this trade were to be made, you would have to assume that the Giants would be giving the Cubs a significant amount of money along in the process ($10.5 million to compensate for the difference in contract values?).

Both Rowand and Fukudome do have no trade clauses, so a lot would have to happen to get this deal done. With that said, keep your eyes out for the possibility of something like this sort of swap involving Fukudome occurring at some point in the next month.

Starting pitching roulette

It appears the Cubs are indeed trying to make some inexplicable moves involving the starting rotation.

I say inexplicable because there are such glaring holes on this team outside of the starting rotation…but here is what we currently know as far as what is happening with the pitching and the Cubs at the winter meetings…

First, the Cubs are looking to shop Tom Gorzelanny (aka: Sloth). Gorzelanny has been somewhat injury prone, but he has been a very good soldier for this team since they picked him up a season and a half ago.

Sloth is also a lefty and is under team control for a little while yet, so he will be relatively cheap.

I would say at this point that Gorzelanny should be one of the top contenders for the #5 spot in the rotation…and even if he wasn’t the #5 guy, he has no problem moving back and forth out of the bullpen and the rotation the last couple years. He has actually shown some glimpses of being a very good pitcher too…and in fact had a couple of decent seasons while with Pittsburgh. He’s no Cliff Lee…don’t get me wrong, but as a serviceable lefthander, he can be very valuable on a team. With all that said, the Cubs might be trying to trade him a bit early as Sloth could be a valuable commodity come the trade deadline in July.

So with Sloth on the block, the Cubs, as I’ve reported before, appear to be looking for another starting pitcher. Right now their focus at the winter meetings for this spot is Brandon Webb who basically hasn’t pitched in 2 years due to arm troubles.

Webb is a former Cy Young winner (and 2 time runner up) and pretty much blew out his shoulder at the very beginning of the 2009 season.

Last year the D-Backs kept waiting and waiting for him to come back, and he never did (something the Cubs are very familiar with).

Look, I know the Brandon Webb will probably come cheap ($3 to $4 million)…but we’ve seen what happens with pitchers like him who have shoulder problems (Mark Prior) and the fact that Webb wasn’t able to return at all last season should be a huge warning flag to any team.

So my question is, why can’t we save those few millions, keep Sloth and then go after a good first baseman like Adam Dunn…oh…um…Adrian Gonzal….oh…crap…Lance Berkm….dammit….

Never mind.