The ball doesn’t drop for a few hours, but the Cubs may have taken things into their own hands today by signing Aaron Miles and trading Mark DeRosa to Cleveland. The Cubs and Jim Hendry must have more up their sleeve in the next few days, because on the surface, today’s moves look completely insane. But hey, it wouldn’t be a Cubs-type move without at least a little insanity attached.

The Miles for DeRosa talent swap saves a little money, but DeRo’s production last season was nothing short of great, equaling his adept glovework and trademark versatility. Losing 21 home runs and 87 RBI from a lineup that was streaky throughout 2008 is going to be extremely difficult to replace. I know the Cubs brass is aware of that fact, and I hope that this move signals that the Peavy deal is back on and Milton Bradley or Bobby Abreu will be starting in RF in a few months.

Whether or not those moves take place, I look forward to asking Hendry the question in person in a couple weeks. We’ll be bringing you exclusive coverage of the Cubs Luncheon on Wednesday January 14th just ahead of the 24th Annual Cubs Convention later that week(end). Yet to be seen: if Aaron Miles will appear at the convention. Something tells me he’s not going to get a hero’s reception at the Hilton or at second base.

Also, do the Cubs not realize that a player in his contract year is likely to perform exceedingly well? I was looking forward to seeing how many more game winning RBIs DeRosa would have this season, and how many stopper-type wins Marquis would pile up. Marquis is all but gone. That’s an 11-win pitcher. Ack. Anyway.

We’ll be watching all things Cubs closely in the next few days. Best wishes to DeRo in Cleveland — man that guy was clutch. Who will be the next team leader to be traded to the Indians? Derrek Lee? Carlos Zambrano? Ryan Theriot?

Have a Happy New Year, Cleveland!

Christmas is only a couple days away, and it’s a great time to be indoors if you’re anywhere near Chicago. You’re probably indoors right now. Congratulations. And Merry Christmas! Along with celebrating the holidays, it’s also time to get excited if you’re a Cubs fan. The Cubs Convention in January (held indoors) is less than a month away, and between now and then it’s likely that the Cubs will sign a right fielder to replace last year’s huge free agent signing. Once this merry-go-round starts, it’ll never stop.

In today’s episode (download - mp3) we discussed Adam Dunn’s wish to become the Cubs next right fielder, and in tradition of past holiday episodes of Cubscast there’s an extra ingredient to that conversation that we hope you’ll enjoy.

If you’re indoors and very bored this week or next, have a listen to a holiday episode from years past:

Holiday 2007 Episode (download - mp3)

Holiday 2006 Episode (download - mp3)

Have a safe and happy Christmas, we’ll be back on Monday January 5th (or sooner if news breaks).

UPDATE: Congrats to Larry, this week’s winner! His winning caption was “And for my next trick, I’ll make Felix Pie disappear!.”

As announced on yesterday’s episode, the Cubscast Video Caption Contest is back! To submit an entry, simply watch the video below and enter your caption as a comment on the thread. Everyone is welcome to participate (even people who may or may not get any playing time on the 2009 Cubs). First prize this week is a Cubscast Prize Pack which includes a Cubs book. Official Photo Caption Contest Rules.

Comment/Enter the Caption Contest

Contest ended on Monday December 22nd at 10 a.m. CT..

Thanks everyone that participated!

UPDATE: Congrats to Adam, this week’s winner! His winning caption was “After weeks of attempts to move Jake Peavy to the North Side, Jim Hendry and Padres GM Kevin Towers are unable to pull the finger.”

As will be announced on today’s episode (going live later this afternoon after the Ron Santo announcement), the Cubscast Photo Caption Contest is back! To submit an entry, simply click on the photo below and enter your caption as a comment. Everyone is welcome to participate (even fans of the third team in the trade). First prize this week is a Cubscast Prize Pack which includes a Cubs-related book. Official Photo Caption Contest Rules.

Contest ended on Monday December 15th at 10 a.m. CT..

Thanks to everyone that participated!

In today’s episode of Cubscast we got to interview Alan Alop, the co-author of the new novel “The Best Team Ever” about the 1907 Chicago Cubs. But the book is much more than a historical retelling of that first ever Chicago Cubs World Series winning team. While all the baseball is real, there is also a fictionalized story that drives the narrative, taking the reader back a hundred years to a Chicago that was quite different, and much more wild, than the Windy City we know today.

We’ll be giving away a few copies of Alan’s book in the weeks to come, and you can also order it and find out more about it on the book’s website, 1907cubs.com. The book will no doubt make a great holiday gift for any fan of the Cubs, or simply any fan of great writing and fascinating novels.