Rockieshome.com | Colorado Rockies News, rockies Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary - <div>Jim Hendry was waving a caution flag, the Cubs general manager knowing full well his offseason moves to date haven't exactly washed away the stench of an awful October -- or made the last 100 years any easier to accept. </div>Hendry, who gets high marks for being aggressive, pleads for patience, insisting his product shouldn't be judged until spring training opens next month or by Opening Day on April 6 -- the later deadline perhaps a nod to always-on talks for leadoff hitter Brian Roberts. Fair enough because as the Cubs stand today -- poised to unveil switch-hitting Milton Bradley, who's expected to wear Sammy Sosa's old No. 21, as their new right fielder -- they look no better than the team that left so many disappointed three months ago. In fact, you could argue they look a little worse than the club that won a National League-best 97 games in 2008. Let's first look at the key players they have lost: All-Star closer Kerry Wood, power-hitting second baseman/right fielder Mark DeRosa and durable fifth starter Jason Marquis. Wood will be replaced in the bullpen by right-handers Kevin Gregg and Luis Vizcaino, who will set up new closer Carlos Marmol. Two arms to replace one. But Marmol was one of the best setup men in Baseball. We don't know how he will take to being the every-day closer. If you don't believe this is a major adjustment, just ask LaTroy Hawkins for details. DeRosa will be replaced at second base by Aaron Miles and in right field by Bradley. Another 2-for-1 scenario, except Miles isn't considered an every-day player, and Bradley's fragile past -- physically and emotionally -- suggests he won't be playing in the 149 games DeRosa appeared in each of the last two seasons. Marquis, who won 23 games in 61 starts the last two years, will be replaced by... That's where the caution flag comes into play. ''You deal with what you have on the wall now until somebody else is added,'' Hendry said. ''We'll still look at some possibilities.'' Let's hope so. And let's hope they include San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy on the mound and a speed boost for the lineup. The Bradley deal -- Hendry's biggest splash of the offseason -- is set to be announced today at Wrigley Field, after a morning physical in Chicago. Outside of a few diehards who want to believe every year is the year, and one particularly upbeat radio personality who has ordered up a new set of pompons -- score one for Mike Murphy -- the Bradley acquisition is a little anticlimactic. Manager Lou Piniella was promised a new left-handed bat for his lineup, and he gets his wish in Bradley. There is no argument that Bradley is a top-tier talent. He led the American League with a .436 on-base percentage in 2008, the first year he gained All-Star status. He also had career highs in batting average (.321), home runs (22), RBI (77) and runs (78). All impressive numbers, especially the OBP. It towers over the still-respectable .376 mark put up by DeRosa, whose trade to the Cleveland Indians last week essentially cleared a spot in the lineup -- and payroll -- to accommodate Bradley. DeRosa's crime is he hits right-handed, and Piniella entered the offseason insisting on having an athletic, power-hitting, lefty-swinging addition to his lineup. Bradley and his big numbers fit the bill. But keep in mind, DeRosa drove in more runs (87) and scored more runs (103) than Bradley and hit only one fewer homer. DeRosa was a key reason the Cubs led the NL in scoring last season. There have been suggestions that Bradley and his interesting personality will light a fire under a Cubs team that sleepwalked through its last two trips to the playoffs. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Players who sulk as much as Bradley don't suddenly grab everyone's attention at crunch time -- especially in a veteran-dominated clubhouse that is presided over by the fieriest manager in the NL. No, the steady yet quiet Derrek Lee sets the tone. Alfonso Soriano, despite the wrath he gets from fans, keeps things loose. It's a nice balance in the majors' most unusual clubhouse. No other stadium has smaller quarters for the home team. Mix that with a daily media mob and fan expectations that have been ratcheted up regularly since 2003, and all of the ingredients are in-house for a massive explosion. And Bradley has one of the shortest fuses in Baseball. The best hope for the Cubs and Bradley is that his talent offsets his personality. That and his injury history not catching up with him in a league that doesn't allow the part-time breather known as the designated hitter. But the lefty bat wasn't the biggest missing piece to this lineup. The Cubs need a legit leadoff hitter, along the lines of Roberts or the suddenly available Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels. Get a real leadoff hitter -- and, no, Miles doesn't qualify -- and you can move Soriano to the No. 3 spot. Bradley then hits cleanup, Aramis Ramirez fifth and Lee drops to sixth. Suddenly, things are looking better. But we're not there yet. If this is the midterm of the offseason, Hendry doesn't get a letter grade. At this point, he gets an incomplete -- and he knows it.

Jim Hendry was waving a caution flag, the Cubs general manager knowing full well his offseason moves to date haven't exactly washed away the stench of an awful October -- or made the last 100 years any easier to accept.

Hendry, who gets high marks for being aggressive, pleads for patience, insisting his product shouldn't be judged until spring training opens next month or by Opening Day on April 6 -- the later deadline perhaps a nod to always-on talks for leadoff hitter Brian Roberts.

Fair enough because as the Cubs stand today -- poised to unveil switch-hitting Milton Bradley, who's expected to wear Sammy Sosa's old No. 21, as their new right fielder -- they look no better than the team that left so many disappointed three months ago. In fact, you could argue they look a little worse than the club that won a National League-best 97 games in 2008.

Let's first look at the key players they have lost: All-Star closer Kerry Wood, power-hitting second baseman/right fielder Mark DeRosa and durable fifth starter Jason Marquis.

Wood will be replaced in the bullpen by right-handers Kevin Gregg and Luis Vizcaino, who will set up new closer Carlos Marmol. Two arms to replace one. But Marmol was one of the best setup men in Baseball. We don't know how he will take to being the every-day closer. If you don't believe this is a major adjustment, just ask LaTroy Hawkins for details.

DeRosa will be replaced at second base by Aaron Miles and in right field by Bradley. Another 2-for-1 scenario, except Miles isn't considered an every-day player, and Bradley's fragile past -- physically and emotionally -- suggests he won't be playing in the 149 games DeRosa appeared in each of the last two seasons.

Marquis, who won 23 games in 61 starts the last two years, will be replaced by...

That's where the caution flag comes into play.

''You deal with what you have on the wall now until somebody else is added,'' Hendry said. ''We'll still look at some possibilities.''

Let's hope so.

And let's hope they include San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy on the mound and a speed boost for the lineup.

The Bradley deal -- Hendry's biggest splash of the offseason -- is set to be announced today at Wrigley Field, after a morning physical in Chicago.

Outside of a few diehards who want to believe every year is the year, and one particularly upbeat radio personality who has ordered up a new set of pompons -- score one for Mike Murphy -- the Bradley acquisition is a little anticlimactic.

Manager Lou Piniella was promised a new left-handed bat for his lineup, and he gets his wish in Bradley.

There is no argument that Bradley is a top-tier talent. He led the American League with a .436 on-base percentage in 2008, the first year he gained All-Star status. He also had career highs in batting average (.321), home runs (22), RBI (77) and runs (78).

All impressive numbers, especially the OBP. It towers over the still-respectable .376 mark put up by DeRosa, whose trade to the Cleveland Indians last week essentially cleared a spot in the lineup -- and payroll -- to accommodate Bradley.

DeRosa's crime is he hits right-handed, and Piniella entered the offseason insisting on having an athletic, power-hitting, lefty-swinging addition to his lineup. Bradley and his big numbers fit the bill. But keep in mind, DeRosa drove in more runs (87) and scored more runs (103) than Bradley and hit only one fewer homer. DeRosa was a key reason the Cubs led the NL in scoring last season.

There have been suggestions that Bradley and his interesting personality will light a fire under a Cubs team that sleepwalked through its last two trips to the playoffs. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Players who sulk as much as Bradley don't suddenly grab everyone's attention at crunch time -- especially in a veteran-dominated clubhouse that is presided over by the fieriest manager in the NL.

No, the steady yet quiet Derrek Lee sets the tone. Alfonso Soriano, despite the wrath he gets from fans, keeps things loose. It's a nice balance in the majors' most unusual clubhouse. No other stadium has smaller quarters for the home team. Mix that with a daily media mob and fan expectations that have been ratcheted up regularly since 2003, and all of the ingredients are in-house for a massive explosion.

And Bradley has one of the shortest fuses in Baseball.

The best hope for the Cubs and Bradley is that his talent offsets his personality. That and his injury history not catching up with him in a league that doesn't allow the part-time breather known as the designated hitter.

But the lefty bat wasn't the biggest missing piece to this lineup. The Cubs need a legit leadoff hitter, along the lines of Roberts or the suddenly available Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels.

Get a real leadoff hitter -- and, no, Miles doesn't qualify -- and you can move Soriano to the No. 3 spot. Bradley then hits cleanup, Aramis Ramirez fifth and Lee drops to sixth. Suddenly, things are looking better.

But we're not there yet. If this is the midterm of the offseason, Hendry doesn't get a letter grade. At this point, he gets an incomplete -- and he knows it.