I went to my first bris (or is it "briss"?) this morning. Boy am I pooped, though I imagine even in my current state of exhaustion I'm a much happier camper than the little feller I went to go see.

There's not much in the way of explicitly Cubbish news right now, but there are plenty of rumors that, if they come to fruition, would affect Chicago.

For example:

• Todd Walker has met with the Rangers, who hope to make him their DH and backup second baseman. Walker is one of the leading options to start at second for the Cubs next year, and his departure to Texas might be downright Womackalicious for the masochists among us.


• The Mets are now serious players in Pedro's Offseason Extravaganza. Snatching Martinez would almost certainly lessen the Mets' desire to relieve the Cubs of their Sosa-sized headache.


• San Francisco has reportedly blown the doors off the bank, handing Armando Benitez a three-year deal worth an estimated $21M. If those reports are true... man oh man, that's a lot of money. It also means you can scratch Benitez off your Closer Wish List if you're a Cubs fan. And at that price, that's just fine.


• Orlando Cabrera supposedly wants four or five years in his next contract. Boston will not give him anything close to that: GM Theo Epstein seems unlikely to give such long-term contracts to such question marks, and Red Sox shortstop prospect Hanley Ramirez will likely be ready long before a Cabrera deal has run out. This development, I think, leaves the Cubs as one of Cabrera's top suitors.


• The Cardinals have supposedly offered Edgar Renteria $22 million over four years. I'm not the world's biggest fan of Renteria, but at those prices he becomes an entirely likable option. I doubt he gets anything remotely that low, though -- those are merely Guzmanesque figures in baseball's New Economy, don't ya know?