Cubs sign Daryle Ward

The Cubs signed lefty bat, Daryle Ward the other day to a 1-year deal for about 1.05 million with a mutual option for a 2nd year. I think that this is actually a very good signing. He can help spell relief for Derek Lee at times during the season and also is a nice power bat off the bench and I think a major improvement over John Mabry. Ward can also play the corners in the OF occasionally so that is a small added bonus.

Also the Lilly deal is official, but the Marquis deal has not officially been announced. It would be nice if the team decided against signing him, but I am sure us Cub fans will be stuck with Jason for the next few years. I am not a fan of having Sean Marshall in the rotation this year (if the Cubs plan on trying to compete), but I would rather have Marshall in the rotation than Marquis for the price. After this year is over I have a feelilng that Marshall will put up much better numbers than Marquis, but still needs 1 more year of seasoning, but still no reason to dump 21+ million in the lap of Marquis.