Kevin Towers and Jim Hendry danced all night but in the end there's only one person to blame—Jason Marquis. That's right, the Cubs passed on a chance to land the best free agent pitcher under 300 pounds, because they didn't want to eat more than 50% of Marquis' contract.

Or to hear Peavy's agent put it—the Padres are insane and asked for way to much. The Cubs were pretty much the only option for them to move the pitcher and now Peavy will likely be starting for San Diego on Opening Day. So good job all around.

Padres, Cubs Set To Quit Each Other [Rumors and Rants]
Agent: 'Padres asked for too much' for Peavy [Chicago Tribune]

What else happened today?

• As mentioned before, the Mets got slightly less terrible. The Phillies are unimpressed. [Jets and Mets]

• Does anyone else think that the Nationals offered Mark Teixeira an 8-year, $160M deal as a joke and are secretly praying he doesn't say yes? [Nationals Enquirer]

• Believe me, if there's any player on Earth who understands inflation, it's C.C. Sabathia. [Royals Review]

• How big are the Yankees balls? They paid $160 million to take C.C. away from Milwaukee, then they offer them Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron ... and ask the Brewers to chip in for Cameron's salary. That's how big. [NY Post]

• And they want A.J. Burnett too. [ESPN]

• Nick Punto finds the free-agent market not to his liking, re-signs with the Twins. [AP/Yahoo]

See also:
• A sneak peek at Omar Minaya's notebook [Updated] [The 'Ropolitans]
• Yellow journalism: Finding leaks at MLB's winter trade show [Big League Stew]

On the other hand, I have long claimed (to no one in particular) that throwing money at a big ticket closers is a waste of cash and time. The closer should the last piece of the championship puzzle and you can usually find a cheap one in your farm system or at the trade deadline, after the rest of the pieces are in place. And guess what? Rob Iracane proved me right! (Sorta.) Once again I am vindicated by someone else's hard work and science.

But the New York ball clubs aren't the only folks wheeling and dealing. Just the most successful so far. Here's a recap of what else is going on at baseball's winter meetings in Las Vegas.

• Jake Peavy and the Cubs continued their delicate dance of seduction. Jim Hendry texted Jake's best friend Sally and asked her to IM Jake and see if he wanted to get ice cream after the basketbal game on Friday night. [Chicago Tribune]

• Cleveland has made a two-year offer to Kerry Wood, so if he passes a physical—which we all know is impossible—he'll be an Indian next year. [Plain Dealer]

• Steve Phillips contributed to this single sentence repeating what the Baltimore Sun already said about about Cesar Izturis going to the Orioles. Nice work, boys. [ESPN]

• The O's also traded catcher Ramon Hernandez to the Reds for Ryan Freel. You know things have gone south in your life whenever your name is preceded by the phrase "frustrated utilityman." [AP]

• The Dodgers re-signed Casey Blake, added free-agent Mark Loretta, and are still praying some calls about Andruw Jones. [LA Times]

• The Rockies snagged Alan Embree for one year. [Denver Post]

• A study of maple bats was released that concluded that maple and ash should break at about that same rate, but that maple bat manufacturers just don't know what they're doing. Bud Selig actually paid someone to tell him this. [Chicago Tribune]

• And finally, the saddest headline imaginable (for one person at least): "Ankiel Shows Up On Bomber's Radar." It would make it easier for them to visit, I suppose. [NY Post]

See also:
• Winter Rumors, Hopes [Crashburn Alley]
• Sheets Leaving Home (bye bye) [Viva El Birdos]
• An open letter to Brian Sabean [Giants Examiner]
• Red Sox set sights on Teixeira [Yahoo]
• Marrying for money is bad idea [NY Daily News]
Reporting from MLB's Winter Meetings [ESPN The Mag]