Are Cubs fans supposed to be excited?

It was really nice of Kerry Wood to give the Cubs a discount.

It would have been nicer had he given back a serious chunk of the $49 million he collected last time around.

Now that's money the Cubs could use.

But it's a discount nonetheless, at $1.5 million for 2011, and perhaps it's his way of thanking close pal Jim Hendry for all the money Hendry paid him in his previous Cubs career.

It's all very warm and cozy for the holidays, with the romantics musing about how wonderful it is to have Kid K home in time for the Cubs Convention, especially with Wood moving back to Chicago and wanting to raise his children here.

That's all very sweet, but from a baseball standpoint there's little downside to it, and if Wood defies the odds and remains healthy, it's a bargain for the Cubs.

Of course, he's been on the disabled list 14 times, and a couple more next year wouldn't surprise anyone, considering various ailments cost him a couple trips to the DL in 2010.

For the sake of the suffering, let's hope the few good weeks he had for the Yankees down the stretch will resurface in Chicago in 2011.

As for Hendry, I actually understand what he's doing. I just don't understand what Tom Ricketts is doing.

Hendry's been told he can keep his job for another year, maybe two, and in the meantime he knows he can extend his stay by putting a competitive team on the field while cutting payroll.

Yet, he still shoulders the horrific contracts of Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Silva, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome and John Grabow to name a few.

There's nothing to be done about most of those deals, but at least some come off the books next fall.

So Hendry's doing essentially what he's allowed or told to do, which is spend what's left of the budget to complete a roster for 2011.

And that's what doesn't make any sense from Ricketts' perspective.

This sort-of-try-but-not-really-try approach is absurd.

Either let Hendry do his job and spend uncontrollably again in a wild attempt to win, or fire Hendry, save the money and get ready for a time when the bad contracts are off the books.

Seriously, Ricketts put $30 million back in his pocket when Derrek Lee, Ted Lilly and Xavier Nady left town, but he's now spent $11.5 million on Carlos Pena and Kerry Wood.

And this is going to get you to the World Series?

If it's not, then it's a waste of time, effort and most important money, because the only point of this exercise is to get to the World Series, not sort of try to put a decent team on the field.

Why not save that money for next fall when Ramirez ($16 million), Fukudome ($13 million), Silva ($6.5 million) and Grabow ($5 million) are off the books, and for the year after that when Zambrano and his $18 million a year are finally gone?

Is Ricketts forcing Hendry to spend that money this winter?

Couldn't Ricketts have kept that $11.5 million, and whatever else the Cubs will spend to fill out the roster, and put it toward 2012 instead?

Honestly, what is the point?

Maybe the Cubs believe Soriano, Fukudome, Pena, Ramirez, Zambrano, Silva, Grabow and Wood will return to the form that got them all that money in the first place.

Maybe they think the roster as constructed will get them to the World Series in 2011.

Maybe they think Cubs fans should be genuinely excited, and will run out now and buy a couple million tickets.

And maybe every paid admission will be accompanied by a bottle of Advil.