While I still have cringe-inducing memories of Bowden as GM of my “other” team, the Nationals — namely his man-crush on toolsy, troubled outfielders — I still think he basically knows what he’s talking about. And he makes some good points in the ESPN piece.

Basically, Bowden said the new regime entered Phase 1 of the rebuilding project with the goals of adding more depth to the rotation, making the lineup more left-handed, improving the defense and beefing up the farm system, and the Cubs’ recent moves have accomplished these tasks.

There’s no doubting that the rotation is now over-run with arms, for lack of a more flattering word. Not pitchers, mind you, but arms. A pitcher is someone who is at least somewhat a master of his craft; an arm is a guy who can throw a baseball fairly well. Chris Volstad, Travis Wood and the more recent add-on, Paul Maholm, are arms. What they are today is what they will be tomorrow, next year and probably the rest of their careers. They are guys that expansion teams populate their rotations with.

But I’m not knocking them. I’d rather have experienced arms like this trio than baby arms like Casey Coleman who are more likely to give you 2 innings and 6 earned runs than a quality start, or geezer arms like Rodrigo Lopez who wouldn’t even make an expansion team. Keep in mind, this is a rebuilding project. It will take time to develop and acquire pitchers, so in the meantime, and for the sake of being at least mildly competitive, we need solid arms. And now the Cubs have more arms than Vishnu.

When it comes to restocking the farm system, I love the Anthony Rizzo acquisition. Yes, he flopped horribly with the Padres last year — I think he had like a negative 300 WAR, but he was actually a 0.1 WAHSC (Wins Above Hee-seop Choi) – but he probably wasn’t quite ready for the big stage and San Diego’s Petco Park is so huge it can sap the confidence of any young slugger. All Rizzo might need is to pop a couple of wind-aided taters over the ivy on a hot summer day in order to feel like he belongs in The Show, and from there the sky is the limit. All indications are that he has the maturity and drive to ultimately make it — it’s just a question of how good he will be.

So all in all, a promising start to The New Era. Now if we could only get rid of those damn blue alternate jerseys …

Zambrano, meanwhile, when he wasn’t quitting on his team and breaking stuff was equally mediocre, albeit at a much higher salary. The Cubs’ new regime didn’t want to add cancer treatment to their other difficult tasks, so it smartly got rid of Big Z, even agreeing to pay $15 million of his $18 million salary.

I, for one, am willing to contribute to the Big Z Exile Fund to help defray that 15 mil hit. Seriously, Theo, hit me up with your PayPal address and I’ll send 5 bucks your way.

I’ll admit, I liked Carlos for a while, like, when he was good and reasonably sane. But his true colors were in full bloom last year and there was no going back. He made it clear he didn’t want to be on the North Side anymore, so he had to go.

I continue to be encouraged by the Cubs’ moves. The early maneuvers — DeJesus, Stewart, Marshall trade — were sensible and low risk. And the Z trade simply had to be done. Sometimes you have to destroy a village in order to save it, so tearing down a roster that wasn’t working and setting the stage for a realistic and sustainable rebuilding program is something that all Cubs fans should applaud, even if it will come with at least a couple more years of ugly baseball.

As we wile away the winter days, waiting for the start of Spring Training, let’s examine some important issues facing the Chicago Cubs, both near-term and long-term.

In the first installment of WDWGFH, let’s look at one of the Cubs’ biggest long-term issues — the Friendly Confines, Wrigley Field. To get right to the point, Wrigley as it currently exists has to go.

In visiting numerous stadiums around the country, it has become obvious to me that Wrigley has long outlived its usefulness. I freely admit that it is a beautiful park and a historical link to the past that continues to enchant baseball fans (and even non-fans). I also know that is a historical landmark, so it’s not like Theo can just send in the bulldozers and wrecking ball and turn the joint to dust and rubble by making some phone calls.

But still, something has to be done. Wrigley Field, for all of its ivy-covered, sun-soaked charm, is a dump. It’s a crumbling, uncomfortable, outdated dump. I’ve heard it said that Wrigley is a wonderful place as long as you’re in your seat, and I agree with that assessment.

If you are trying to get to your seat or leave when the game is over, or if you need to visit the restroom or buy some nachos, then Wrigley’s warts become glaring. The concourse is cramped and dank, like the basement of Jame Gumb in “Silence of the Lambs”, and you can’t see the action when you’re there. The restrooms are just plain gross (do they still have those troughs to piss in? eww). There is nothing for little kids or non-baseball fans to do other than sit in their seats and marvel at the apartment buildings and wonder what “Eamus Catuli” means.

If you’ve been fortunate to visit the parks in San Francisco or Pittsburgh (as I have), you would instantly know what Wrigley is missing. Those stadiums are small and intimate where it counts, in the seating area. But behind the scenes the concourses are large and afford views of the playing field. The restrooms are modern and clean and plentiful. There is plenty to see and do if you have no interest in the game. These parks are way better than Wrigley, they just aren’t dripping with history (yet).

So what we need is our own PNC Park or AT&T Park. How do we make it happen? Look to the Chicago Bears for an answer. Solider Field is also a historic landmark, so the Bears’ solution was to keep the shell of the original stadium and got the innerds and replace those with a modern stadium’s innerds. Sure, it looks like hell on the outside, but it serves its purpose.

The Cubs should seek to preserve Wrigley’s essential features — the outside facade of the stadium, the bleachers and scoreboard — and get rid of everything else. Build a modern stadium within the existing framework and you have a win-win — a new stadium that still feels like Wrigley. The Cubs would have to play elsewhere for at least one season while the work is being done, but there is that “other” stadium down south (gulp). Look, sometimes you gotta dance with the devil. At least Cubs fans wouldn’t have to travel hours to watch their team play in a college football stadium, like Bears fans had to do in 2002.

It’s high time that the Cubs embraced the 21st century and give their fans a pleasurable place to visit. If we’re going to have to put up with the product on the field, at least allow us to do so in comfort.

Say this for the Cubs new regime — it’s grounded in reality. No proclamations about how we’re going for it in 2012. No scoffing at the thought of rebuilding. Nope, the Cubs’ new honchos know full well that (A) the team they took over stinks and (B) that team will continue to stink for at least a little while longer.

Acting upon these sensible notions, GM Jed Hoyer recently made some moves that will have no consequence on the team when he signed pitchers Andy Sonnanstine and Manny Corpas. Sonnanstine had decent years in 2008 and ‘10 and was atrocious in ‘07, ‘09 and ‘11. Since 2012 is an even-numbered year, I guess we should expect blessed medocrity. Even so, given Andy’s penchant for serving up homers, the Bleacher Bums should get their throwing arms loosened up whenever they see him warming up in the bullpen.

Corpas came out of nowhere to capably fill in as Colorado’s closer when the Rockies made their unlikely run to the 2007 World Series. Then he became terrible, and then he became seriously injured (Tommy John surgery) and missed last season. So there’s a good chance he won’t even make the team.

With skads of real pitchers still available on the open market, this is what we get. And that’s a good thing. No sense in blowing meaningful money in order to turn a bad team into an average one. But in case you have any doubts about Hoyer’s dim view of the Cubs’ immediate future, look no further than the recent trade of Sean Marshall to the Reds. Simply put, you don’t deal one of your best hurlers to a division rival unless you’re basically conceding defeat before Spring Training has even begun.

Sure, it hurts. No one wants to see their favorite team go all San Diego Padres on them. 2012 will be an ugly year. All indications are Matt Garza will be the next out the door. Prince Fielder won’t be racing to the North Side on a white horse any time soon. It’s tough to swallow, but it’s our reality. And we can only have faith that Jed and the gang will get the job done … some day.

 The answer is no, and here’s why. While a talent like Fielder doesn’t hit the market that often, the fact remains there are always quality players to be had from any free agent class. So why pull the trigger now for a talented player whose skills will largely be wasted for a couple of years while you try to build the team up around him when you can take the more sensible and cost-effective approach: build up the team first, then add in key players where they are needed.

The sad reality is the Cubs could clearly upgrade at every single position except shortstop. Here are some of the players who could be free agents next winter: Howie Kendrick, Brandon Phillips, David Wright, Josh Hamilton (although his age and injury history are concerns), B.J. Upton, Shane Victorino, Andre Ethier, Matt Cain, Zack Greinke, Cole Hamels, Dan Haren and Shaun Marcum. There surely will be many more gems in 2013 and 2014. So why blow a big chunk of your budget now when you can take your time, assess what you have on hand and then buy accordingly in the future, when your team is more competitive?

Another important factor is Fielder’s position. First base is chock full of quality players and it usually isn’t too hard to find a useful dude to man the bag, either through free agency or trade or (here’s a wild concept, Cubs front office) the farm system. Other positions — namely the up-the-middle posts of catcher, short, second and center, in addition to pitcher — aren’t so easy to fill.

A Moneyball afficiendo like Theo surely knows that it makes more sense to spend big on hard-to-fill positions and look for bargains to play the corners than the other way around. And so that’s what the Cubbies should do. They already have the shortstop (we think). Soto might be a long-term option at catcher. Brett Jackson might be an answer for center. If not, let’s spend there and at second and on the mound and round out the roster with corner players who won’t cost $20-plus mil a year.

As much as the Crew needs an offensive jolt in light of Ryan Braun’s suspension and Prince Fielder’s imminent departure, this probably wasn’t the right way to go. Ramirez turns 34 in June and has been looking more like a 54-year-old in the field in recent years. And while last season was a nice bounce-back at the plate for him, few Cubs fans can forget his two-homer April-May before he suddenly realized “holy crap, I’m gonna be a free agent soon, better start bearing down” and turned it on in the summer months, just in time to help the team … not one bit.

I, for one, will always scorn Ramirez for his disappearing act in the 2007 and ‘08 playoffs: 2-for-23, zero homers, zippo RBI. Yes, NO freaking RBI from our middle-of-the-order thumper when the games counted the most. Oh, and he hit .214 against Milwaukee the last three years. In other words, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

In the first inning, the White Sox were able to put four runs on the board, mostly thanks to Carlos Quentin’s three run homer that brought in Alex Rios and Paul Konerko.

Zambrano was noticably livid heading into the dugout, the episode ending in being taken into the clubhouse by Lou Piniella and Alan Trammel and being taken out of the game.

ESPN is now reporting that Zambrano has been suspended, but they don’t have information on how many games the suspension is.

The altercation overshadowed another outstanding performance by Jake Peavy on the White Sox, who went seven scoreless innings, bringing his consecutive scoreless inning total up to 21.

As for the Cubs, the bullpen did a great job of stopping the bleeding, only allowing two runs throughout the next eight innings. Tom Gorzelanny was fantastic allowing just one run over the next three and a third innings.

The Cubs bats were silenced as they only had six baserunners throughout the game. Meanwhile, the White Sox were able to score six runs on seven hits and two walks.

The White Sox now lead the crosstown rivalry 3-1 on the season, and the Cubs are going to have to win these next two games to pull off another tie on the season.

It is going to be tough, however, as the White Sox have won 10 strait games since losing the series finale to the Cubs in their last meeting, going 14-1 over the last 15.

Meanwhile, the Cubs are nine games below .500 and are 2-4 over their last six.

I’m Joe W.

Well, he was under-performing.

Coming into this season, a lot of people were expecting nothing out of Silva. He was going to be in the bullpen, possibly the fifth starter until Ted Lilly returned to the rotation.

Then, there were reports coming out of Spring Training that he was working on his delivery and he was looking very good. Still, few expected anything special out of him.

Then, the major league season started, and he came out and won his first start. He gave up just one run over six innings, then Esmailin Caridad gave up four runs in the eighth inning to lose the game and give Silva a no decision.

Still, it’s just one start.

Next thing you know, he is 4-0 with a 3.40 ERA and some more people are starting to come around to the belief that he is a legitimate pitcher who can help the Cubs this season.

All the while, Milton Bradley is continuing his lifelong implosion in Seattle.

Now, Silva is 8-0 through 11 starts with an ERA of 2.93 and every day, more and more people are jumping on his bandwagon.

Making $12 million puts a lot of pressure on a player as they have a lot of people expecting them to be an ace on the pitching staff, something that he has done so far this season.

He leads Cubs starters in wins, ERA and WHIP and he is doing so after few expected him to even be in the rotation.

If he keeps up this pace, by the end of the season he will have set career highs in wins, (he is on pace to go 22-0) ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and a few more categories.

He has allowed four or more runs just twice this season and allowed no more than five runs in any one start, and never pitched fewer than five innings.

By every account, Silva is having a year worthy of being an All Star, Comeback Player of the Year, and getting an apology from everybody in Chicago who scolded him and thought he shouldn’t make the major league squad.

Meanwhile, Seattle can brew in anger while they watch Milton Bradley throw another temper tantrum.

Oh yea, he’s got more strikeouts than hits and walks combined.

I’m Joe W.

Through two days, the Cubs have taken 18 pitchers, six outfielders, four infielders and two catchers.

So now that Day Two is complete, who has been picked by the Chicago Cubs.

Round 2: Reggie Golden, OF

Golden, hailing from Wetumpka High School, is still deciding whether or not to move to the minor leagues or officially sign with the University of Alabama, where he has a full scholarship.

In 2010, Golden batted .460 with 28 runs, five home runs and 24 RBI. He said he was expecting to go within the first 35 picks.

Round 3: Micah Gibbs, C

Gibbs is a junior at Louisiana State University, where he batted .388 with 47 runs with 10 home runs and 60 RBI.

Round 4: Hunter Ackerman, LHP

Ackerman pitched for Louisberg College last season and pitched very well. He went 8-1 with a 1.41 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings.

Round 5: Matt Szczur, OF

Szczur may be a messed up name, but he was the second fastest player according to Baseball America and the 19th best centerfielder. Last season, he batted .443 and earned All Big-East honors.

Round 6: Ivan De Jesus, CF

De Jesus, no relation to first-base coach Ivan DeJesus, has been part of multiple championship teams in Puerto Rico, being on championship teams in both 15-under and 16-under levels.

Round 7: Benjamin Wells, RHP

Although Wells has signed with Arkansas already, the Cubs will hope to change his mind. He recently lead his high school team to a state championship by pitching a five-inning perfect game.

Round 8: Cameron Greathouse, LHP

Greathouse went 10-2 with a 3.06 ERA in his most recent season as a sophomore at Gulf Coast Community College in Florida.

Round 9: Kevin Rhoderick, RHP

Rhoderick was the All Pac-10 Conference Honorable Mention last season, going 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA and four saves.

Round 10: Aaron Kurcz, RHP

The first pitcher the Chicago Cubs took with a relationship to Bryce Harper, Kurcz played on the same team as Harper this previous season. He struck out with 52 in 35 innings and held opponents to a .225 batting average.

Round 11: Eric Jokisch, LHP

Round 12: Austin Reed, RHP

Round 13: Pierre LePage, 2B

Round 14: Colin Richardson, RHP

Round 15: Elliot Soto, SS

Round 16: Ryan Hartman, RHP

Round 17: Steven Brooks, CF

Round 18: Ronald Pinckard, RHP

Round 19: Dustin Fitzgerald, RHP

Round 20: Ryan Cuneo, 1B

Round 21: Cody Cox, RHP

Round 22: Jeff Vigurs, C

Round 23: Matthew Loosen, RHP

Round 24: Dustin Geiger, RF

Round 25: Eric Rice, RHP

Round 26: Danny Muno, SS

Round 27: Bryan Harper, LHP

Round 28: Joseph Zeller, RHP

Round 29: Casey Harman, LHP

Round 30: Karsten Strieby, 1B

I’m Joe W.

Hayden went 13-1 in 15 starts for the South Arkansas Muleriders during his junior season. He also had a 1.81 ERA and struck out 131 batters compared to just 35 walks in 99 and a third innings.

Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken compared Simpson to major league stars Tim Lincecum and Roy Oswalt, which is big praise for D-ll pitcher.

“I feel Hayden is potentially a major league starter,” Wilken said. “He has four above-average to plus-pitches. He’s a very athletic pitcher, and he has a good feel for pitching. We had really good reports and very good coverage on Simpson.”

Despite the high praise given to him from within the Cubs organization, however, he hasn’t been recognized by those around the league as a talent worthy of being taken this high.

As you can see from the picture above, they had to make a name plate for him on the spot, and on MLB.com didn’t have a draft report when he was drafted.

Simpson was also ranked 191st by Baseball America, but so was Tyler Colvin in 2006 when he was ranked near the tail end of Baseball America’s Top 200, Colvin is now producing in the majors for the Cubs.

Another Cub who was taken higher than expected was Andrew Cashner in 2008. Cashner is now three appearances into his major league career and has yet to allow a run.

Simpson is a pitcher with a fastball in the mid-90’s, a solid curveball and slider, and circle-change that a very good speed differential from his fastball.

It has also been reported that a team with a pick soon after the Cubs was taking a serious look at Simpson for their first round pick, so Wilken may not have been the only one who felt he was worth a first round selection.

I’m Joe W.