MLB Nl Central

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

Just because something is corny, doesn't mean it can't be done. Saying what you are thankful for on Thanksgiving is an American tradition. Sure, it may be a bit played out -- and some would even say lame -- to write a column about things we're thankful for in a given sport. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna spit in the face of all the great Americans before me who began the tradition and kept it alive for all these years. So, let's do it, baseball-style.

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs and veteran relief pitcher John Grabow have agreed to a two-year contract. The 31-year-old lefty came over to the Cubs in a midseason trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates -- a team with whom he had previously spent his entire six-season career.

In 75 appearances in 2009, Grabow compiled a 3.36 ERA. He's a valuable commodity in late innings, not only because he's tough on lefties, who hit just .222 against him last season, but because he's nearly equally tough on right-handers -- who hit .238 against him.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

The Reds are at a crossroads. They've compiled some nice young talent at the major league level with guys like Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Johnny Cueto (plus the injured Edinson Volquez) and they have some prospects close to the big leagues in Drew Stubbs and Yonder Alonso, but that might not be enough to get them quite over the top in 2010.

This winter the Reds have to decide what to do with their roster. Should they keep some of their older, more expensive players and gun for what might be a weak division, or should they sell off on the veterans and try to rebuild a core around the younger guys before they leave town?

---

---

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

The Pittburgh Pirates wrapped up their record 17th consecutive losing season last month by avoiding 100 losses with a rain delay. During the season, they traded away four Opening Day starters, plus two starting pitchers and two of their better relievers. It might be easy to say that the Pirates have their work cut out for them this offseason if they want to avoid losing season No. 18.

It's not quite that straightforward, though. The team does have a pretty solid core of youngsters, so anything they do this winter has to be accomplished without blocking players like Lastings Milledge and Andy LaRoche from getting at-bats so that the team can accurately assess just what they have in those players.

---

---

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

Considering the Cubs were probably the most disappointing team in baseball in 2009, they definitely have their work cut out for them this offseason in order to return to being a legitimate contender. I guess Cubs fans should take solace in the fact that a winning season was considered a colossal failure -- after all, they have had a winning record in three consecutive seasons for the first time since the Nixon administration now. It's simply a sign that the bar has been raised in Wrigleyville. No longer content to play "lovable losers," Lou Piniella's Cubs are determined to win it all. New owner and lifelong Cubs fan Tom Ricketts has guaranteed the Cubs will win a World Series under his watch.

After altering the best Cubs team since 1945, general manager Jim Hendry has to find a way to get some of that magic back in 2010. He'll have to start by unloading one of the biggest mistakes of his career.

---

---

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

The Cardinals increased their win total from 86 to 91 in 2009, and in so doing they won the National League Central going away. They had both the presumptive NL MVP (Albert Pujols) and two of the top candidates for the NL Cy Young (Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter) on their club.

Despite that very good season, there were promptly dumped out of the playoffs in three games by the Dodgers, and they suddenly find themselves facing an uncertain offseason with key free agents and the contract of a certain once-in-a-generation first baseman looming over everything. To say this offseason is important for the Cardinals would be an understatement.

---

---

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

If I wanted, I could copy and paste the main points of the Brewers "Footprints in the Snow" from last year and they'd still be valid. After losing CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, the Brewers failed to address their pitching woes and dropped from 90 wins and the wild card to 80 wins and a long winter.

Their offseason this year should follow a similar track, only now with the added pressure of Prince Fielder's ticking free agency clock. The Brewers are experiencing the worst feeling a small-market club can; that of the window closing. What can (or will) GM Doug Melvin do to avoid squandering his team's chances?

---

---

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

After hanging in contention until early August, the Astros bottomed out with a 23-36 finish in the season's final two months. That culminated in Cecil Cooper's firing and Brad Mills' hiring. The squad Mills inherits is full of both veteran players and holes that will make it hard for him to returnthe team to where owner Drayton McLane thinks it belongs -- the top of the NL Central.

That's because the Astros are currently caught in Ed Wade Purgatory. He can do just enough to keep his veteran squad in pseudo-contention, but probably not quite enough to get them into a real playoff race. That won't stop him from trying, though.

---

---

The Brewers will not pick up Braden Looper's $6.5 million option for next year, Tom Haudricort of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting. They'll have to buy his deal out for $1 million, and it's all being done in the name of financial flexibility for the team to pursue more pitching on this winter's free agent market, according to GM Doug Melvin.

That's an understandable stance since Looper wasn't great in Milwaukee in 2009 (he won 14 games, but had a 5.22 ERA and poor peripherals) but it really leaves the Brewers with Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Jeff Suppan, and probably Dave Bush (he's seen by some as a non-tender candidate now that he's entering his last year of arbitration and will likely be due a raise on his $4 million 2009 salary, but that seems unlikely with Looper's salary off the books) as starting pitchers right now. Melvin better have some plan in mind or things are only going to get worse for the Brewers' pitching staff.

Once the baseball season ends, most players (or at least the ones that don't play winter ball) do everything they can to enjoy the few months of downtime they get with their family and friends before the rigors of spring training and regular travel begin again in February. Pirates' pitcher Ross Ohlendorf is a little different. After his breakout year with the Pirates in 2009, he's spending the early part of his winter break on an internship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And he's writing a blog about it.

Ohlendorf is already well-known to some baseball fans because of his college career. He went to Princeton, where he wrote his senior thesis on sabermetrically evaluating major league teams' first-round draft picks over a set period of time. So he's obviously a smart guy, and he's never been afraid to admit it. In fact, he sounds pretty excited about this internship. Click after the jump to read part of his first (and so far, only) post.