Spring training begins in a week, but he hasn't finished his offseason heavy lifting.

Waiting for the Cubs' ownership situation to be worked out, Hendry has avoided discussing a renewed effort to acquire right-hander Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres. He has, however, put the Cubs in a position where adding Peavy is not only logical, but necessary.

The fact he was willing to gamble on a three-year contract with switch-hitting outfielder Milton Bradley, who is headed to his fifth team in five years, because of the need for a left-handed bat to break up a right-handed-laden lineup shows how desperate the Cubs are to end a franchise futility that has seen them miss the World Series the last 63 years, and not win a world championship in the last century.

The perfect way for the new owners to make a splash with their fans will be to free up Hendry to make the deal that would seal a division title, but more importantly would give the Cubs the type of rotation that a team needs to survive the demands of a three-series postseason and claim a world championship.

Add Peavy to the quartet of Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden and Ted Lilly, and the Cubs would have a rotation filled with pitchers who are capable of 17-plus victories apiece, particularly considering they would be backed by a lineup that led the National League in runs scored last year.

Milwaukee counterpart Doug Melvin must drool when he glances at the Cubs rotation, considering he has not found anyone he can even try and claim to be a replacement for the free agent losses of CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, the top two Brewers starters last year. Even with Sabathia for half of last season and Sheets for the entire year, the Brewers were no match for the Cubs. Now, without either and with no viable alternatives, the Brewers could go into a fast fade.

But then the same can be said about the rest of the NL Central, where the offseason was more about who teams got rid of than who they added — except for Pittsburgh, which flushed Jason Bay and Xavier Nady last July and then took the winter off.

Think about it.

Cincinnati adds center fielder Wily Taveras, a speed player with legs that give out. Houston can't afford to keep lefty Randy Wolf and third baseman Ty Wigginton so it gambles on resurrecting the careers of lefty Mike Hampton and right-hander Russ Ortiz. St. Louis took advantage of San Diego's fire sale to acquire shortstop Khalil Greene, but says goodbye to right-handers Braden Looper, Russ Springer and Jason Isringhausen, and is left hoping for a recovery from Chris Carpenter, winless the last two seasons while he battled elbow and shoulder issues.

The Mets were the most aggressive team in the NL East, making a major statement about its annual September swoon by signing free-agent closer Francisco Rodriguez, and then trading for Seattle closer J.J. Putz. But what about that missing middle-of-the-lineup bat that is so needed? The Phillies, for their part, added left-handed balance by replacing Pat Burrell in left field with Raul Ibanez.