Cubs Close To Gettin' Grabby

The Chicago Cubs are close to doing what every financially cash-strapped franchise should be doing.

Overpaying for middle relief.

According to ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine, the Cubs are prepared to re-sign left-handed relief pitcher John Grabow to a two-year deal worth $7.5 million.  That works out to be $3.75 million per year, which proves to be a hefty price for a 30-year-old LOOGY.  While my building a champion blog suggested the Cubs should bring back Grabow, I'm not sure a team that is looking to be smarter with its money has the ability to throw nearly $8 million on a lefty specialist.

Personally, I prefer younger, cheaper, more hard-throwing bullpens over a bullpen predicated on match-ups.  Strikeout pitchers at the end of a ball game are worth their weight in gold -- no matter whether they throw lefty or righty.

If the Cubs really wanted to spend big bucks on a LOOGY, I would have preferred they went after Billy Wagner.  But hey, there's plenty of offseason left to throw money around like a drunken sailor if Jim Hendry really prefers outbidding himself for one particular lefty reliever in a market full of lefty relievers.

Hendry said he wanted to get a Grabow deal done soon, and it looks like he's done it.  If he was only so adamant on bringing in Roy Halladay...