So the Phillies finally won that fantastically uneventful World Series. Hooray. Now let free agency begin.

Four Cubs filed for free agency and they aren't a surprise. Ryan Dempster, who made public his plans to stay with the team and then Jim Edmonds and relievers Bob Howry and Chad Fox.

Bye bye Bob. Bye bye Chad. Bye bye Jim.

Now you might be confused as to why I say farewell to Edmonds, considering the title of this post is in fact that the Cubs need left-handed power. But let's face it, the Cubs need real left-handed power, not Jim Edmonds .230 batting average and platoon with Reed Johnson left-handed power.

I don't even need to address why the Cubs don't need Bob Howry. In fact, this is the last statement I will write (barring the chance someone hypnotizes Jim Hendry down in AZ) about Bob Howry in this blog. Ever.

So where does that leave us?

The Cubs were criticized for being a righty-heavy line-up against the dominant right-handers of the Dodgers. Seeing what the Phillies, who are stacked with lefties, did against the Dodgers, that's not hard to see. Fukudome was supposed to be that lefty threat in the middle of the line-up, but you can do anything but rely on him to get better. Hendry knows this and that's why he's made it clear he wants a lefty.

Right now, the word is that Lou Piniella has considered moving Fukudome into the center field platoon where the Cubs would lose Edmonds. I don't know what that means for Felix Pie, but it frees up right field for a free agent. Names that have been tossed around are veterans Brian Giles (SD) and Adam Dunn (AZ). I'm not thrilled with either. Giles is getting old an Dunn his home run or nothing. Look at all the good he did getting traded to the D'backs. Not all that much in the long-term.

One thing buzzing around Chicago is the possibility of trading Derrek Lee. With lefty Micah Hoffpauir waiting in the wings and few first basemen available in free agency, Lee could lure in the kind of player the Cubs really need.

As the rumors swirl, I'll try to be there.