Cubs fans should enjoy view from top

Cubs fans don't generally need a reason to panic.

But inactivity during the winter months, when teams like the Yankees and the Mets are busy, is enough to make even the true blue a bit blue.

Thing is, this off-season should feel different.

The Cubs are going through an ownership change, which has affected Jim Hendry's ability to take full swings.

The GM has had some good looks and checked it up a few times, but that doesn't mean he won't get the pitch he's looking for with 108 shopping days left before Opening Day.

That's the date to keep an eye on for a lot of teams.

It's not Christmas and it's not New Year's. It's not even the start of spring training or the beginning of the exhibition schedule.

Until rosters are set for Game 1 of the regular season, don't believe all you hear and even less of what you see.

With brutal economic times, some teams are completely sitting out the winter and others are cutting payroll. There are bargains to be had, and Hendry will find them.

Whether it's through free agency, where midlevel players will be getting less than they had hoped, or through trades, where teams like the Padres have to move salary, there are going to be opportunities for the Cubs to improve.

And it doesn't have to happen today.

Just as we told you the Cubs would be in the running for Jake Peavy even as Lou Piniella was pretending it was over, we'll tell you again that the Peavy debate has not ended.

Do the math. San Diego has no choice but to move him, the Padres can't afford him, and there's still only one place Peavy wants to go.

That adds up to the Cubs.

It was the Cubs a month ago and it still is, though you may hear nothing about it for a while, as teams settle in for the holidays and take a break from haggling.

Besides, the Padres may finally have learned that making trades in the spotlight doesn't work very well.

The Cubs, however angry they might have been, aren't going to let hard feelings get in the way of a good deal, and they have plenty of time to get done what needs to be done.

Soon, they'll have a new owner in place and Hendry will almost certainly have the added payroll he needs to acquire another piece to what he sees as the championship puzzle.

Maybe that'll be Peavy.

You think the next guy is going to deny Hendry, when saying "yes'' would make the new owner a hero on the way to an NL pennant?

As was the case a month ago, Hendry has other needs and moves he must make before he thinks about a "luxury'' like the San Diego ace.

And while that plays itself out, CC Sabathia has left the Brewers, the Cards have done little, the Astros folded, the Pirates relocated to Macau, and the Reds still are managed by Johnnie B. Baker Jr.

You worried about any of them?

The Cubs already have won the 2009 Central Division and it's not even 2009.

All that's left to determine is how good they'll be and whether they can capture the flag.

Sure, the Mets shored up their bullpen, but A.J. Burnett stayed in the American League after flirting with the Braves, Mark Teixeira is leaning toward the A.L., Manny Ramirez might be on his way back to the other league, and the same for Derek Lowe.

The Cubs have been getting better every day since the World Series ended and they've hardly done a thing.

Imagine how much better they'll be when the logjam breaks.

So go ahead and fret about trading for this pitcher and signing that right fielder, and worry that now in Cleveland this will be the year Kerry Wood actually stays healthy.

Being a Cubs fan, after all, means finding ways to make yourself miserable even when there's little from which to choose.

But we offer a holiday gift and suggest you enjoy this festive season knowing that your club clinched long before the first snowball was thrown in anger.

For Cubs fans, seriously, there's nothing to fear this December but frostbite itself.

brozner@dailyherald.com