The former Cubs first baseman, son of Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall, had a brief career in the major leagues, during which he had a couple of run-ins with Hall of Famer Bob Gibson. Or did he?

The Cubs ended the era of the 154-game schedule with another 90-loss season. This date, though, produced a dramatic victory.

Top free agents are having trouble finding work because of the new free agent compensation rules. Elsewhere, a couple of sportswriters stir the pot about Cooperstown and Indian mascots.

Some Cubs player development executives will meet with fans next month at an event at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark, home of the Cubs' new Midwest League affiliate, the Kane County Cougars.

Seven players have received non-roster invitations to spring training. A couple of them might even make the team. In any case, it means we're a day closer to baseball.

After the promise of 1959 -- a season not too far under .500, and contention into July -- Cubs fans might have been excused if they had hope for 1960, with Ernie Banks coming off consecutive MVP seasons. The 1960 Cubs didn't waste too much time quashing that hope. They were awful. But in midseason, a future star played in his first big-league game.

2012 is done... so what should we expect in 2013? The beat writers have some ideas. Some serious, some not. There's more on the Edwin Jackson signing, and some position-by-position looks at the team for next season. And even more!

We've known for a couple of weeks that the Cubs were going to soon sign free-agent righthander Edwin Jackson to a moderate-dollar contract. Wednesday, he was introduced to the media at Wrigley Field and we learned of another big event coming up in Jackson's life.

In the 10 years from 1947 through 1956, the World Series was played entirely within the city of New York seven times. The White Sox won the American League pennant in 1959, their first pennant in 40 years. Wouldn't it have been something if the Cubs could have matched that feat, making for the first all-Chicago World Series in 53 years?

As the year changes from 2012 to 2013, there are changes both in baseball and at Bleed Cubbie Blue. But most teams are waiting out the holiday before finalizing their rosters for the upcoming season.