No Room for Pie

The Cubs continue to make changes from last year's not-quite-good-enough team, as they traded center fielder Felix Pie to the Orioles for two pitching prospects. Pie was expected to be the next big thing for the Cubs for a few seasons, but he never quite met expectations, and with the Cubs recent signings of Joey Gathright and Milton Bradley, there was no room for Pie.

When Pie signed with the Cubs, he truly seemed like the future of the team. He was considered a five-tool player, and had what was considered an unlimited ceiling for his talent. Unfortunately, Pie was strikeout-prone whenever he was called up to the majors. He tallied only 58 hits in 260 appearances at the plate, with 72 strikeouts. He was competent in the field, but his hitting was too much of a liability for him to see much playing time. Pie also spent time on the disabled list after he received one of the most cringe-worthy injuries in recent memory.

The change will be good for both the Cubs and Pie. For the Cubs, they stock up their farm system with even more pitchers, after they picked up a few when trading Mark DeRosa. It also shows that they're willing to admit when things aren't working and make a change, which makes them unlike other Chicago professional sports teams. Pie will now have a chance to play without heavy expectations weighing on him, as he did every time he took the field at the Friendly Confines.