Fire up the stove

On the first official day of free agency the Cubs are the team in the news by giving Aramis Ramirez and raise and keeping Kerry Wood in blue and red. This isn't particularly exciting since they both played for the Cubs last year, but everything starts somewhere. It's also much more interesting than Jaret Wright being traded from New York to Baltimore. If the Cubs are planning on getting serious about turning things around in 2007, re-signing Aramis Ramirez is probably more important than hiring Lou Piniella was. Meanwhile, Charlie posts about the Pirates' off-season and speculates on first base targets.