Hey Jim--If you could pick up one of these at the Winter Meetings, it would really help me out.

 In case you missed it last night, Chase Utley hit his FOURTH and FIFTH HRs of the 2009 World Series, tying Reggie Jackson for most HRs in a World Series. By the way, Chase's line for this postseason is .314/.435/.686/.1.122. Chase scoffs at all the Yankee fans trying to declare ARod "Mr. October."

With the World Series finally winding down (or winding UP, if you watched last night's game), there's actually some Cubs news floating around out there.

Kinda.

First up, the Tribune tells us that the stage "is set" for the Cubs' Organizational Meetings. What a yawner. That's like telling us Soldier Field is "ready" for U2 to roll into town.

However, there were some interesting tidbits tossed in at the end:

"The Cubs' organizational meetings run Tuesday through Friday in Mesa, Ariz., and Hendry should know by the end of the week how much he'll have to improve the club. Hendry will huddle with his key advisers, including assistant general manager Randy Bush, to map out a strategy for 2010."

(snip)

"One player of interest is second baseman Akinori Iwamura, a left-handed hitter who served as the Rays' leadoff man in 2007 and '08 before playing only 69 games because of injuries in '09. The Rays have to make a decision on Iwamura's $4.85 million option one day after the end of the World Series.

If the Rays re-sign Iwamura, it will be only to trade him. If they packaged Iwamura with Pat Burrell in a deal for Bradley, the Cubs might wind up paying only $3 million to $4 million to offset the differences in their contracts. They could then try to spin Burrell off to another team this winter."

Wouldn't it cost us a lot less just to get Milty into counseling? Maybe send him and some selected fans to a corporate retreat with trust falls and all that? And plus, we wouldn't be stuck with Pat Burrell when it's all over?

Think about it, Jim.

Bruce Miles once again plays the role of the voice of reason, this time with regard to the Milton-Bradley-for-Vernon-Wells rumor:

There's a report out of Toronto talking about a possible Cubs trade of Milton Bradley to the Blue Jays for Vernon Wells:

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/bob_elliott/2009/10/31/11588...

There's even a quote in the story from a "Cubs official": "It's early on, but we think this one has legs. But they aren't the only team we're talking with."

Let's stop and think here a minute, shall we? First off, the highest-ranking of Cubs officials who make these kinds of decisions don't talk about them and not in those terms. Certainly Jim Hendry and Randy Bush don't. And today, a Cubs person reacted with incredulity to the report, asking if anybody really thinks the Cubs would take on the kind of money Wells has coming as part of a ridiculous seven-year, $126 million contract that runs through 2014. (The Cubs already have an outfielder of their own with a ridiculous contract.)

So the bottom line is that there are no "legs" or any other body parts to this rumor. It is not happening.

I am praying that Bruce is right on this. Hendry seems to have a 2005 stat book when it comes to his man-crushes on certain players. I am shocked SHOCKED that the Brian Roberts rumor has yet to rear its ugly head.

Itching for a big signing? The best I can do this morning is to inform you that the Cubs are negotiating with John Grabow for a two-year deal in the $7.5 range. Really? We can't find something other than a medicore middle reliever to throw $6.5 million at? Wendell Kim? A third base coach? Again, I can't help but think of Milty's psychotherapy. . .

ESPN can't resist kicking us when we're down, pointing out that Joe Girardi, passed over by the Cubs for Lou Piniella, has the Yankees on the brink of (another) World Series title, while Lou is presumably watching reruns of Matlock with a cocktail in his hand at Del Boca Vista, Phase II:

Girardi is managing a $200 million ballclub in the World Series and, as I'm writing this, is one win shy of the team's first title since 2000, when Girardi left the team for, coincidentally, a second go-round with the Cubs.

The Cubs, as usual in early November, are a month into waiting 'til next year.

When the Cubs job opened after the 2006 season, I was firmly in the Girardi camp. In his lone season with Florida, he proved to be a quick study, managing a young, talented and low-spending team to contention in the NL East. But Girardi is no one's patsy. He didn't get along with owner Jeffrey Loria and was fired shortly before winning the NL Manager of the Year award.

The Cubs had a chance to hire a manager for the present and the future, but they went a different way, hiring the more seasoned Lou Piniella to skipper a team that was being hastily, and expensively, built for a World Series run. If you've been paying attention, you know how that worked out. Did general manager Jim Hendry & Co. make a mistake?

Finally, baby Cubs like Starlin Castro, Josh Vitters, and Andrew Cashner will play in the AFL "Rising Stars" game on Saturday. Catch it on MLBN.