After defecting from Cuba in April of 2009, pitcher Juan Yasser Serrano has signed with the Chicago Cubs. The deal will not be finalized for up to a month due to paperwork issues, but the right hander will be joining the team in Arizona soon. The Cubs official press release states that Serrano will start in the Cubs farm system, most likely with the Daytona Cubs in Class A. Serrano pitched for Cuba at the 2005 Pro-Am defeating the United States in the tournament. The deal is for a reported $250,000 for the Cuban who is rumored to have fastball that peaks at 92 MPH and a good breaking ball. In the coming days we should know more about the Cubs newest prospect. Keep an eye on this kid the next this season in the minors.

Cubs’ right hander Carlos Zambrano appears to be the leading candidate to be the opening day starter when Chicago beings the 2010 season against the Atlanta Braves on the road. The 28-year-old pitcher had a disappointing 2009 season in which Zambrano battled injuries and inconsistency on the mound. Nine wins last season was Zambrano’s lowest win total since his second year in the MLB in 2002. Lack of run production from his team mates didn’t help “Big Z” in the win column as the Venezuelan ace actually had a lower ERA than he had in 2008 or 2007. Cubs manager Lou Pinella told the media that he expected Zambrano to start the Cubs’ season for the sixth consecutive year. Pinella also spoke to Zambrano about have higher expectations for him this season. “Sweet Lou” talked to Zambrano about setting the goal of winning 17-20 games this season and pitch over 200 innings. It appears that Zambrano has worked hard this off season having lost some weight in preparation for the season.

There’s nothing better to do during these cold winter months than day dream of Wrigley Field in the summertime. Oh, how we yearn for the days of the green of the Ivy, Cubbie blue, and Fischer peanut shells at our feet. What one of us wouldn’t do to be skip the brutal winter of Chicago and be teleported straight to the summer days of Wrigleyville. Well, today is your first chance to get single game Cubs tickets. The new ownership has made a few changes this year with ticket prices going up and introducing a pre-sale where fans can buy tickets before they officially go on sale for 20% more. The changes have some up in arms over the move because of the higher costs. The Ricketts family might be trying to get back some of the $900 million they spent buying the team last year. With hope springing eternal as always on the North Side expect Wrigley to filled come opening day no matter what ticket upheaval exists. Baseball season here we come!

Lou Pinella was awarded the Legend Award at the 30th anniversary Munson Awards in New York City on February 2nd. The annual dinner and award ceremony named after Lou’s former Yankees teammate Thurman Munson raises money for charity and honors past and present athletes. Pinella was proud to accept his second Munson Award as the Chicago Cubs manager has fond memories of playing alongside the iconic catcher. Thurman Munson died shockingly in a plane crash in 1979 devastating Yankees faithful as the catcher was a beloved in New York. Pinella recalled Munson’s toughness at Tuesday’s event telling a story about the Yankee captain coming off the diamond bleeding and refusing to be taken out of the game. Pinella was on two of the Yankees World Series Championships with Munson in 1977 and 1978. The awards honored famous slugger Daryl Strawberry, New York Knicks’ guard Chris Duhon, current Yankees’ pitchers Jaba Chamberlain, and jockey Jason Bartlett for their various charitable accomplishments. The Munson Awards have raised more than $10 million for charity over the years. Pinella told reporters that he smiles every time he sees his Munson Award. Glad to see that such a wonderful event continues to thrive after three decades.

The past three season shortstop has been one of the reliable Chicago Cubs in the field and at the plate, but it seems the two parties will be undergoing arbitration proceedings in the coming weeks. The Cubs offered Theriot $2.6 million, but the ball player has demanded that General Manager Jim Hendry meets his demands of $3.4 million. Now Theriot’s salary will be decided by a third party arbitrator as both sides present their case. The Cubs have not gone to arbitration since 1993 when Mark Grace lose his case for $4.1 million. Theriot was one of the only bright spots all year on the Cubs lineup in 2009 batting .285 playing in 154 games. He’s a popular guy in the clubhouse, in the media, and with the fans so keeping him happy should be a priority with the Cubs though they certainly don’t want to overpay for any one player. You can’t blame Theriot for demanding more money as the 30-year-old was one of the most underpaid players on the roster last season only making $500,000.

The Cubs have announced Friday that they have signed outfielder Xavier Nady to a one-year deal worth $3.3 million. The deal was held up for a few days as Nady had to pass a physical with the Cubs. The 31-year-old has good career numbers (.280, 87 HR’s, 325 RBI’s), but his career has been plagued by injury. The journeyman ball player has played for the Padres, Mets, Pirates, and Yankees. In 2008 Nady hit .305 with 25 HR’s and 97 RBI’s playing for the Pirates and then Yankees. Nady spent the majority of 2009 out after undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. Bringing in a player with such a history of injury problems is a risk the Cubs are willing to take, but looking back at the Cubs’ 2009 season the move looks safer than signing a troublemaker like Milton Bradley.

Adding another run producer to the lineup could make a huge difference who had to rely to much on Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez for RBI’s. Nady joins Marlon Byrd as new outfield signing for the Cubs. Byrd career power numbers aren’t as high Nady’s, but the former Texas Rangers center fielder has played the majority of his last three season. No matter who starts in the outfield come opening day the addition of Nady does add some needed depth to the Cubs roster. I’m just glad the Cubs are doing something. It’s never too early to get excited for opening day at Wrigley Field. All this snow and cold makes me miss baseball season. I can’t wait for the days of sunshine, hot dogs, ivy, and Cubbie blue. Who knows maybe Xavier Nady will turn out to be a master stroke by GM Jim Hendry? It could happen!

The Chicago Cubs seem to be taking themselves out of the hunt for former Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets because of the pitchers’ salary demands are too high. Team officials have cited the high payroll (which could be over $140 million in 2010) as the reason a move for Sheets is unlikely. The right-handed pitcher is demanding a two year deal between $10-12 million making it difficult for the Cubs to add the four-time All Star to their roster.

With the news of pitcher Ted Lilly’s injury troubles the Cubs have been looking to add another starter to the roster, but with the high salary the new ownership inherited signing a ace might be out of the question. Cubs fans will have to be hopeful that Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster return to the form they showed in 2008 when opening day rolls around. Though the team is not completely ruling out a bid for Sheets expect the Cubs to go after more economical free agents or make a few trades before the 2010 season.

A guy in Utah tried to pass himself off as a member of the Chicago Cubs, signing the papers for a new pickup truck, using the ID and signing the name of a player who is a prospect of the Chicago Cubs. Tyler Colvin is the name of that player and you probably haven’t seen him on the field, since he’s only been in 6 games last season. He’s working his way up. He’s in no legal jeopardy about that, but we have to question whether that really gets you special treatment. Maybe he just happened to choose a baseball player by accident, but it seems unlikely. But the guy who did that is going to be in trouble, since he essentially stole a car from the guy on false pretenses. Anyway, it’s a Friday and  we need some fun stories sometimes too. If you want real baseball, don’t worry, spring training is on the way!

Greg Maddux appears to have returned to the Cubs. He’s going to be the “special assistant” to general manager Jim Hendry. This means that he’ll be part talent scout, part evaluator of the team and then do some other kinds of needs for the team. It will be interesting to see how they end up using him and whether that will help the team improve their situation. Maddux retired awhile back after a stellar pitching career. He pitched for the Cubs twice and left twice. He could be one of the best viewers of baseball players in the world and hopefully he will bring that expert eye to this team as the time goes forwards. It will be nice to have him back at Wrigley and he will be able to let the team know what kinds of changes might get this team back into real contention for championships.

Andre Dawson, who made his reputation in a Cubs uniform, has been elected to the Hall of Fame, it was announced yesterday. It appears that he really earned it too, with good strong performances throughout his career. He was able to get a great on base percentage, great hitting, and especially fantastic fielding. His seasons were often cut short due to his weak knees. He had 12 knee surguries throughout his career and that limited his playing time considerably. I don’t know if he could have helped the Cubs to arrive at the pennant or the World Series, but it would have been interesting to find out. Meanwhile, there is a small battle brewing about whether Dawson will wear a Cubs hat or a Montreal Expos hat during the ceremony. We are all sitting on pins and needles about this today, but we probably won’t remember it by the time the actual event comes around.