…It almost feels like what the Padres did to Hoffman. There has to be more to this than we see, or, the article is garbage.

Now I really hate the Gregg trade. Best of luck to Wood, hopefully some miracle comes through in the last second.

that someone is taking the attitude that we did not win with some of these guys so maybe we need to try a different avenue……….I dont get what were doing I guess we will all find out together

Well, this is a shitty way to start Free Agency!! Hate to see leave Kerry, but thanks for the memories.

I hate to see wood go but at the end of the day no way do you give him a 3-4 yr deal at 10 mil plus. this is his last big payday I gotta believe and if I were him I would do the same thing. that is go to the highest bidder. I feel it will be a bad move for whomever does it whether it be the mets,angels,brewers,cards or whomever. good luck wood in all you future endeavors, you were a class act but at the end of the day this is a business decision for both sides.

I would rather have Wood closing a ballgame than Gregg… hands down.

I don’t know where Hendry supposely said this, but I can’t find any official quotes. Maybe this is just a writer taking a few liberties with this trade…

wood at 10+ mil/yr is a waste of money – the difference between wood and gregg next year is minimal and you save 10 mil

Gregg will be the next Bob Howry.

Woody will pitch for the Cardinals.

And Ceda will pitch in a World Series before any of the current Cub staff.

this sucks.

Gregg over Wood!?!? ridiculous

Obviously $$ has a lot to do with it.

For those of you who thumbed their noses at me and others when we tried to raise hell at the insane spending and the horrible back loaded contracts of Jim Hendry well you are now starting to see the impact. I’m not sure if letting Wood go is a bad baseball thing. Four years guaranteed to a pitcher wit a history of health problems is questionable at best. But the fact is that with the contracts given to to Soriano and Marquis, along with the structure of deals given to those two along with Lilly, Lee, Ramirez and others have now come home to roost. Jim Hendry is a GM who makes his move by throwing around money and those decisions are now severely hampering him as he has a ton of money already allocated for the 2009 team and some real holes to fill.

It’s one thing to be outbid on trying to sign a player, but to just give up and state in public that we are parting company at the beginning of the free agent season… well, this just makes me sick.

I’ve been a Hendry fan… but this is a move that really hurts. It’s one thing to say we couldn’t get him, it’s another to give up after little effort….

I’m really bummed and this is going to hurt for a long time…. a very long time.

the cubs couldn’t afford to pay him with dempster and such so they made a move. get over it.

Obviously from a personal standpoint I am almost in tears.

My email box is full guys this has hit the national news as well. My best friend actually called me!

But as a Cubs fan I think Marmol can take over as closer hopefully Greg can slip into Marmol’s role.

Baseball business moves aside this is very sad. Woody has pretty much been the face of the Cubs the last decade for the good and for the bad. I just cant see him in a another uniform, just the same way I couldnt see Ryno in another uniform.

Thank you for everything and showing how much you loved the team, the city, and the fans.

Picture stuck in my head right now… Ronnie kissing Kerry on the cheek after clinching in 2007.

for a reason but this really hurts. I will miss Kerry and wish him well.

It will be hard to see him playing for someone else.

Kerry I wish you all the best…

BUT WHAT IN THE FLYING FUCK IS GOING ON!

If that gets me a suspension I don’t care, I cannot believe this.

:(

Kerry Wood will be pitching for another team next year? That sucks, man. I’ve always loved Kerry, always loved his intensity, his work ethic, his never-say-die attitude. I really loved watching him and Geo high five so many times this past year after getting the final out. It will be hard to see someone else do that.

But, with that said… Kerry does deserve a pretty good sized raise. And the Cubs aren’t in a position to give it to him. If he really wants the money (and nothing against him if he does), then he should move on.

Sad day though.

After Sandberg Woody was my favorite Cub. If his agent is asking for 4 years, goodness. I still can’t believe that the Cubs couldn’t work a deal out.
 If he stays in the division, Brewers and God help us the Cards, it will make me ill.
Kevin Gregg meet Bob Howry, Bob Howry meet Kevin Gregg,
Sorry, this is wrong.

I’ve stated he’ll be easily replaced by Marmol in the ninth, but this is a really sad moment in recent Cubs history. Hes been completely synonymous with the Cubs over the past decade or so.

To be dispensed for what is essentially Kevin Gregg is a shame, I’ll be interested to see how far apart Hendry and Wood were

The Cubs have paid a lot of money for a lot of Kerry Wood downtime over the years. If it is the objective decision of Jim Hendry and his staff not to meet Kerry Wood’s salary demands then how can we fault that? Hendry OBVIOUSLY has informed perspective on the condition of Wood’s right arm.

I’m not going to bash in the Cubs on this one. For once it seems they are letting smart and objective decision rule the day instead of letting heart take over.

I’ve got to believe the decision came down to Jim Hendry and staff not having confidence in the future health of Kerry Wood. If that is the case then how can any of us find fault with the move?

Kevin Gregg has a live arm and is durable. Perhaps the plan is for him to serve as primary set-up man to new closer Carlos Marmol.

Jose Ceda? What does it mean to be our # 2 ranked prospect? It takes good quality to get good quality. If Hendry and company did their homework on Gregg (which I assumed they have done thoroughly) then I’m okay with them trading a top prospect to get the guy they wanted. Cubs clearly targeted Gregg. Must be good reasons for that.

Expect him to go to the Rangers. That’s the speculation down there. In their dreams of dreams they get both him and Dempster.

If Jim Hendry took a pass on the likely contract terms to bring back Kerry Wood then that should send up red flags all around baseball that his arm health is not worth anything beyond an incentive-laden and relatively short contract.

I’m guessin Ryan Dempster signs a new contract with the Cubs by the weekend.

Its his value as a trade chip, someone said up above that the Cubs churn out power righties like cigarettes, which is true. What really separates Ceda from Ascanio, at least Ascanio made it to the bigs briefly and Cashner is on the fast track.

So its his loss as a possible trade chip in a larger deal that hurts the most, except for Wood leaving of course.

Mine has to be his HR in game 7 of the NLCS, that was crazy, way more memorable than the 20Ks

I’m convinced that the Cubs will not return to the N.L.C.S. until they have purged their roster of all remaining players from 2003… Aramis goes next?

The Cubs traded Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Santo. Greg Maddux walked as a free agent. Hank Aaron and Willie Mays were traded.

I’d like to see Wood come back but for 4 years, no way. It’s baseball, Hendry has to do what he thinks is right. I can understand the posts about this not being the right move but I don’t get all the “I want to cry” posts.

I felt like crying when the Cubs traded Billy Williams but I was in still in grade school.

Al and others made proved incorrect. Players aren’t going to turn down big bucks and more years out of blind loyalty and being part of the community. It ultimately comes down to cashing in.

Over spilled water from the Hot Tub !!! He’s as good as gone so talk about the future without Kerry Wood. How about how exciting it will be to have Marmol closing out games?

Yeah, I think that threesome will be better than Wood, Marmol, Howry in 2008. Plus Cashner and Guzman may be lurking soon.

I think the Cub bullpen is better and more stabilized after today. Isn’t that what this should all be about? Getting better. And doing so in a financially smart manner.

It saddens me to see the player I grew up watching just be cast away by this team so easily. I was choking up when I heard about it (eh not been a good week for me; first my GF leaves me for another guy, now my favorite player is gone!). He was arguably my favorite player on this current team. What I don’t understand is how does this make us any better?

1) Wood > Gregg…obviously Wood would cost us more money, but he’s definitely a better player than Gregg.

2) We can no longer get Peavy I think because we gave up Ceda for Gregg.

3) I don’t understand why the Gregg deal was necessary. Ceda could have probably filled that role out of Spring Training. Then you’d have Wood, Marmol, Ceda, Shark, and so forth. Now, we lose two good players for the price of one servicable pitcher.

If we are only going to get Dempster, then we definitely have the money to get Wood and another LH bat. I don’t understand for the life of me why this team is better with Gregg instead of Wood and Ceda..

1. Best wishes Kerry. I hope you go to the AL and sav every game you can as long as it isnt against us. Also stay healthy buddy. You were a class act and someone who will always be a Cub in my heart.

2. Smart move not to re-sign him. Closers can be found anywhere and it is plain stupid to give someone who pitches 60 innings 10 million a year.

3. We will get two picks for this which will help us rebuild the system good deal.

4. I think a pen of Marmol/Shark/Gregg is pretty solid. Its better to have our ducks lined up then to count on wood taking a friendly deal and then him leave at the last second.

5. Lets bring back Prior :)

is that Wood goes to the Cardinals, Brewers, or Mets and dominates us …

Cubs sign Ryan Dempster to a four year deal worth 40 million
Cubs sign Adam Dunn for a 5 year 80 million dollar contract

I don’t want Dunn, but I GUARANTEE you Hendry is going after him now

But I agree that it makes more sense to offer him arbitration than negotiate a multi-year deal.

Would you have traded Ceda for a first-round pick and a sandwich pick? I would have, and since only big-market, successful clubs will probably bid for Wood, that may well be what we get (so long as the team doesn’t sign a better free agent).

Put him and Gregg at the back of the bullpen, one as closer and one as a replacement for Howry.

rivalry aside,

What kind of money do you think someone will give Kerry? I ask because I don’t always keep up with the numbers but I keep reading how StL would like Fuentes but are loathe to break the bank. Do you think Wood could be had cheaper?

I’ve never really minded Wood, and think he might be a good fit to replace Izringhausen if Tony doesn’t think rooks Perez and Motte are ready. Just curious…

Bummer that so many of you rank him as your favorite Cub. That’s how I felt when Jimmy was moved to the Pads. Although, it worked out for us I guess. Sucks to see a long tenured fan favorite go.