Late this afternoon, the Chicago Cubs traded RHP Aaron Heilman to the Arizona Diamondbacks for prospects Scott Maine and Ryne White.

The Cubs have agreed in principle on a two-year contract with left-handed reliever John Grabow, securing a key player in the bullpen.

Just when you thought baseball couldna t get any dumber comes this: Kevin Gregg is classified as a Type A free agent.

When it comes to free agency, the Astros are going to keep an eye focused on bullpen help, especially considering closer Jose Valverde and setup man LaTroy Hawkins are both free agents, and Doug Brocail's option for 2010 has been declined.

Happy 41st birthday, Sammy Sosa , or however old you really are. We send only our best wishes for you to stay young long after the tubes of anti-aging cream are squeezed dry.

On January 28th, 2009, the Cubs pulled a deal off with the Mariners that would send them relief pitcher Aaron Heilman for Ronny Cedeno and Garret Olson.

There's no question Rich Harden and Reed Johnson would prefer to return to the Cubs in 2010, and in a perfect world, Jim Hendry would probably re-sign both.

The Cubs' Reed Johnson and Rich Harden didn't waste any time. Johnson and Harden were among the 79 Major League players who filed for free agency on Thursday, the first day they were eligible to do so.

Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly had hoped the discomfort he felt in his left shoulder would go away once he had a chance to rest, but it didn't, and on Tuesday, Lilly underwent a left shoulder arthroscopy and debridement.

Many Americans have been in job-changing mode recently, but Blake Parker got a head start.

First of all, here's a link that will help us establish a proper frame of reference.

Just think, about 6 months ago he wasn't good enough to be in the Cubs bullpen Clearly the Cubs were mistaken.

Parts of Wrigley Field are being resodded this month. Photo taken at 8:45 am, 10/13/09, from Wrigley webcam View full size photo uploaded October 13, 2009 Baseball's division series ended with a whimper, although many of the games were close and interesting; only one series, the Phillies and Rockies , ended without a sweep.

Now that the Red Sox have been eliminated in painful fashion, let the panic trade rumors begin! First up, yesterday's goat, Jonathan Papelbon: "In the wake of Boston's 7-6 loss to Los Angeles in the ALDS, message boards and Twitter feeds everywhere wondered if Papelbon had thrown his last pitch in a Red Sox uniform.

Milton Bradley should come with a recorded warning similar to the ones you hear on television for prescription drugs.

In the final edition of Ask Paul for 2009, he answers your questions about Milton in Japan, the futures of Larry Rothschild and Ryne Sandberg, Soriano's work ethic, acquiring Nyjer Morgan and whether Cubs management owes fans an apology: Q. I'm a Chicago fan who has lived many years in Japan.

Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly began a campaign to keep free-agent outfielder Reed Johnson on the team when he walked into the interview room at Wrigley Field Wednesday wearing a blue T-shirt that said, "With Reed, we will succeed." "I'm trying to bring him back," Lilly said.

About six months ago I posted a piece predicting the Cubs would win the World Series.

While the exact whack that caused the damage has been debated -- accused reliever Angel Guzman, who was implicated by video, saying he was just giving high fives and didn't know much else about it -- the result is that the herniated disc that has sidelined Lee three other times this season put him out Friday.

You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles.