Cubs Free Agent Chase Bringing Back Bad Memories

Despite the fact that snow is falling on the ground and the ivy on the outfield at Wrigley has withered, the Cubs have been busy. Jim Hendry and company are busy pursuing pitchers who would, hopefully, push the team beyond the first round of the playoffs. The Cubs' own Ryan Dempster and San Diego righty Jake Peavy are high on the Cubs' list. If the Cubs lose their grip on both of those players, they are looking at the 45-year-old Randy Johnson. Though Dempster has said that he wants to stay with the Cubs, not one player is a lock to sign with the team. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

In the summer of 2000, the Bulls planned to rebuild by using their copious amounts of salary cap to sign big name free agents. Jerry Krause spent the summer entertaining everyone from Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan to Eddie Jones and Tim Thomas, trying to get them to sign with the Bulls. It didn't work. The Bulls front office ended up with a redder face than Benny the Bull's, and the team stayed mired in the post-Jordan muck.

There are, of course, some very important differences between the Cubs of now and the Bulls of then. The Cubs are winners in the regular season. They haven't been openly hostile to the their players. Most importantly, the Cubs front office was not responsible for the break up of the best team ever to play the game, which played a large role in the Bulls not signing anyone.

The Cubs will most likely be able to sign whoever they'd like. Still, the nervous Cubs fan in me sees the uncertain future and starts to remember the scary days of the Bulls free agency failure.