by Lynette Alice

Created on: August 10, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

If I ran the Chicago Cubs I'd hit my knees and thank the stars i walked into a team that should be a dynasty even if cursed. Running no team is easy and being an armchair general manager is far different from the real thing. Still there are a few things I would chamgem but given the spending spree's the organization has gone on and the desire to win it all now to inflate the teams sale price I think I could come up with some sound ideas to get over the top.

The first thing I do is have "Bring your goat to Wrigley day" to see if that has any effect and I make sue to double the event with a pooper scooper giveaway. The coaching staff is strong and remains in tact. The farm system is acctually much better than it rates by some experts so I don't have to go nuts chasing prospects to stock the system. i can concentrate on a few specific but significant upgrades.

The first thing I do is make sure the ownership is on board with spending to win big immediately and willing to overpay in a couple cases to make that happen. My ideas may seem nuts and in all honesty they are but I am looking to win it all in 2009 and have a strong base in place until at least 2011 to work from. As such the first thing I do is fix the bullpen. No disrespect to this years cast but it can be better. The way to get better is throw a sickening 5 year $90 million dollar deal at Francisco Rodriguez. he is a free agent and the best closer in the game right now. At 27 he is worth the risk the money presents and Arte Moreno will not come near that offer. As the yankees and Red Sox are tied into closers already my only serious competition for him is from the Met's and even with Minaya's love of overspending on Latin talent he genrally chooses to shower it on washed up players. For Rodriguez this is a dream deal and health permitting he has plenty of time for one or maybe even two big contracts when this deal expires.

Next I do something I hate and show Manny the Money. After his implosion in Boston his marketability has tanked. I don't want him long term, I just want him for one year. As such I have to swallow my pride, offer him a one year deal for a nauseating $23 million dollars plus incentives and pray the only "Manny being Manny" I have to deal with is great offensive production and not relieving himself on the ivy mid-game. he will be looking long term but nobody is going to offer up anywhere near that and a year of good behavior may get him a four year deal elsewhere. This allows me to move

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