Theo Epstein decided not to retain him and brought in Dale Sveum, one of the more coveted names out on the managerial market, to replace him.

Quade didn’t have too much to work with in 2011, so obviously not all the blame falls on him, but between his questionable in-game decisions, how poor the team was fundamentally, and his incredibly awful nicknames for apparently every person in the organization, letting him go was the right move.

Since he got the job as the new Cubs’ skipper, we’ve heard all about the change in philosophy that Sveum intends to bring to the Cubs’ clubhouse this season.

Sveum has made it clear that they will be doing the little things right. He’s stressed accountability and the fact that the effort level will be much higher than it has been, particularly in 2011.

Quade didn’t take too kindly to the comments, which seemed to be something of a shot at Quade and the lack of accountability on the North Side in 2011.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

“It’s a beautiful day fishing in the sunshine — I appreciate you [messing] up my day,’’ Quade said, laughing. “Maybe I’m being an ­idiot, but I thought we gave a
pretty damn good effort every night. I don’t know, maybe that was
[Sveum’s] philosophy or a backhanded shot. I didn’t hear that.’’

It’s unlikely that this becomes anything more than it already is. Quade has defended his team’s effort from last year, and Sveum is basically saying what you’d want to hear from any manager.

Regardless of whether or not the 2011 Cubs actually put in the effort that they were capable of, this is an entirely new ballclub we will see on the North Side in 2012, meaning there’s nothing to do but look forward.

That speculation was validated with the Cubs’ signing of Gerardo Concepcion on Thursday. While the details have yet to be completely released as far as a contract, the Cubs were one of several teams vying to sign the 18-year-old lefty.

Concepcion might not have the name recognition that Yoenis Cespedes or Jorge Soler might carry, but he’s considered one of the “big three” to come out of Cuba this winter, and is considered the top pitcher.

In his 21 appearances with Industriales de la Habana in the Cuban National Series, Concepcion compiled a 10-3 record and a 3.36 ERA, good enough to be named Rookie of the Year.

Concepcion doesn’t have the stuff of an ace. He has a fastball that reaches the low 90s, but is still working on a consistent changeup and curveball. A deceptive delivery figures to be an asset for him. He’s likely to project as a middle-of-the-rotation type, once he does reach the bigs.

Concepcion instantly becomes a top prospect in the Cubs organization, simply because of the fact that their pitching depth in the system is so poor. Even worse is their lack of left handed pitching, meaning Concepcion immediately jumps to the top of that list.

The intriguing thing about Concepcion is the contract that the Cubs signed him to. The deal is believed to be worth $7-8 million. It’s a Major League contract, which, first of all, means he’d have to be added to the 40-man roster once the signing becomes official.

On top of that is the situation with the options. As Brett Taylor over at Bleacher Nation points out, a Major League deal means the Cubs would be required to call Concepcion up to the majors within three or four years, or run the risk of putting him through waivers, due to the fact that he’ll be using option years when he’s in the minors.

Obviously Concepcion has plenty of developing still to do, given the fact that he’s just 18 years old. He’ll likely start in Single A, but will probably be on the fast track to the bigs.

With Concepcion signed, the Cubs will likely turn their attention to Cespedes and Soler, and should have the funds to sign both, if they can pull it off.

As it turns out, none of that really matters. The Cubs agreed to a one-year deal with Garza, worth $9.5 million. That brings his salary up a good amount from the just under $6 million he earned last year.

Garza is still arbitration eligible for 2013, but the deal avoids it for the 2012 season. That keeps Theo Epstein’s track record of not going to arbitration intact. Which is something already very familiar to Cub fans, who have had to deal with very little arbitration issues over the years.

Assuming he’s in a Cubs uniform in April still, Garza becomes the ace of the Cubs’ starting staff, which has seen a tremendous overhaul. Depending on how things play out in the spring, Garza and Ryan Dempster could be the only returning starts from the rotation that started the 2011 season.

Garza’s first year in the National League was a wild success. He pitched to a 3.32 ERA in 198 innings pitched. His 10-10 record is in no way indicative of how well he did pitch.

Which is what has led to his name coming up so much in trade discussions this winter. With the Cubs taking advantage of the few assets that they do have, which has resulted in more trade than anything, Garza’s name has been floating out there for the entire offseason.

That arbitration figure he posted, at $12.5 million, was expected to throw some teams off, on top of the fact that the Cubs are asking the world for him. As of right now, they’re not in a position where they absolutely have to deal Garza and could end up holding onto him until at least the trade deadline, if not sign him to an actual extension.

You can be sure Garza’s name will continue to circulate, especially towards the end of July, but at this point it’s very likely that he at least starts the season in a Cubs uniform, and will likely be taking the hill on Opening Day.

Heading into 2012, he’s seen as a building block of these revamped Cubs and the youth movement taking place on the North Side this season.

Though we’ve barely crept into February, the question over where Starlin will hit in Dale Sveum‘s batting order has already become the topic of much discussion. We do know that it’ll be somewhere in the top three, but where?

Castro had a fantastic season at the plate in 2011, playing in 158 games and notching 207 hits on the year. He hit .307 and got on base at a .341 clip. But digging a little deeper, we can see how well he hit in each of the top three spots in the batting order.

Most assume Starlin will hit in the three spot, because that’s where your best hitter typically hits. But of the top three spots in the batting order, that was where he posted the worst batting average.

Of his 674 at bats in 2011, 312 came from the leadoff spot. In the top spot in the order, Castro hit .327. In the two hole, his average was a very good .335 in 176 at bats. But hitting in the third spot, Castro’s average dropped off dramatically, hitting just .225 in 178 ABs from the three spot.

Obviously, this is something that isn’t going to be decided until spring, when we know where other guys are going to be hitting throughout the order. The fact that there has been such a turnover in the roster this winter makes it even more difficult to predict where Starlin could hit.

Assuming we know what the starting lineup will look like this season, we can figure out where some guys will hit. If Alfonso Soriano is around, he’ll likely hit four or five in the order, wherever Bryan LaHair doesn’t hit. Geovany Soto and Darwin Barney will likely hit seventh and eighth, respectively.

That leaves four more to figure out. Ian Stewart is obviously going to fill that sixth spot in the order and David DeJesus has been mentioned often as a leadoff candidate. That just leaves Castro and Marlon Byrd, assuming the latter is still in a Cubs uniform by Opening Day.

The two could really be interchangeable there, but I think the most likely destination for Castro, at least to start the season, is that third spot in the order. It’s reserved for your best hitter, which Castro is, especially when you look up and down at the rest of the lineup.

Of course, we won’t know for sure until the spring really gets going and the Cubs see what else they have in the order from some of these new guys. But as of right now, it looks like Castro could be headed for the no. 3 spot.

Names like Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd, Matt Garza, and even Blake DeWitt are being thrown around, but rumors have been floating around recently that another guy could be finding his way out of Chicago.

Not that this would be the first time we’ve heard Geovany Soto‘s name come up in trade rumors. With the Cubs in a complete rebuild, his name has come up as a guy who could fetch a somewhat decent return.

And if the Cubs were to shop him, the Tampa Bay Rays are a team that could have interest.

The Rays have a few catchers on their roster, but Jose Molina is the only one with any kind of big league experience. With the Rays set to make yet another playoff run next year, it’s unlikely they’ll want to roll with Molina or Robinson Chirinos as the guy behind the dish.

With pretty much every other spot on their roster good to go in the field, with the signing of Carlos Pena to return as their designated hitter, the Rays could turn to try and fill that hole behind the plate.

The two hottest names out of Tampa Bay all offseason have been that of Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann. Both are seen as above average starters and serviceable guys in the rotation, but the Cubs would likely have to sweeten the deal if they were to acquire one of the two in a potential Soto deal.

Not that the Cubs need another starter right now. A trade like that would almost certainly spell the end for Matt Garza in a Cubs uniform.

In his four full big league seasons, we’ve seen both the good and bad from Soto. He had a strong rookie campaign, only to falter in 2009. Then after a very solid season in 2010, in which he hit 17 home runs and hit .280, Soto went for just .228 in 2011, while also struggling defensively.

The Cubs might not be extremely keen on trading Soto, given what is waiting behind him at this point, but if we’ve learned anything this offseason, it’s that anyone and everyone is available.

But there is plenty to still be figured out, and it’s a cloudy picture sure to be made even less clear by the 21 non-roster invitees that will be joining the Cubs at spring training this year.

Overall, the Cubs invited nine pitchers, three catchers, five infielders, and four outfielders to camp this year.

The pitchers begin with Trever Miller and Manny Corpas. Miller was signed on Monday, adding a veteran presence to a bullpen that also needed another lefty. James Russell is likely to take over Sean Marshall‘s role towards the back of the ‘pen, but another lefty in there at some point couldn’t hurt, should he  make the team out of camp.

Corpas agreed to a deal earlier this offseason, but fell off of the 40-man roster when the Cubs signed Kerry Wood earlier this month. He signed a one-year, incentive packed deal with the Cubs after not pitching at all in 2011 because of Tommy John surgery.

Also among the hurlers joining the Cubs this spring is Rodrigo Lopez. Chicago brought him back on a minor league pact, after a pretty solid 2011 season in which he tossed 97 innings for a 4.42 ERA.

Other pitchers include Marco Carillo, Jay Jackson, Blake Parker, Dae-Eun Rhee, Chris Rusin, and Trey McNutt.

Behind the dish, Jason Jaramillo ‘highlights’ the list of names that the Cubs are bringing to Mesa this spring. He’ll get a shot to battle for the backup spot to Geovany Soto. Michael Brenly and Blake Lalli also received invites.

On the infield, a there’s a familiar name in Bobby Scales to go along with Edgar Gonzalez, Jonathan Mota, former Twin Matt Tolbert, and Alfredo Amezaga, who could have a decent shot if the Cubs look to deal one of their other utility guys.

In the outfield, all eyes will be on Brett Jackson. It’s widely assumed that Jackson will break into the bigs at some point this season, it’s just a matter of when. Of course, there’s still plenty to be decided regarding the outfield. The Cubs could still trade Alfonso Soriano or Marlon Byrd, and don’t forget about Yoenis Cespedes.

Add Jim Aducci, Jae-Hoon Ha, and Joe Mather to the list of guys that will be joining him in the outfield.

There are also guys on the 40-man roster that will be seeking spots on the team this spring, including Josh Vitters. Not all of these guys are expected to get long looks in the spring, but some just might surprise us when camp gets underway towards the end of February.

If the Cubs land Cespedes he will go a long way towards speeding up the team’s rebuilding process. Cespedes would likely be ranked among the top 20 prospects in baseball upon his signing. Cespedes could team up with Brett Jackson and the recently acquired Anthony Rizzo to give Chicago three of the top power hitting prospects in baseball.

I’m sorry Cub fans, but Matt Garza is NOT an ace. I know that’s hard to accept because every fan wants him to be so much. Matt Garza is a 2 or a 3, and believe me…that isn’t a bad thing at all if you have an ace like say….Justin Verlander. When Matt Garza is your teams’ best pitcher and likely will command a salary in upwards of 14 million dollars at some point, there’s a problem.

Look, it’s not that I dislike Matt Garza. I think he’s a very serviceable major league arm. It’s the direction of the Chicago Cubs that make me realize that Matt Garza needs to go. The Cubs are rebuilding for the next 2 years, as they continue to aim for controllable young talent and Matt Garza would fetch some outstanding young talent on the trade block.

TheHoyerdestroyer (Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer) aren’t going to hand Garza over to another club, which is why I believe the Cubs WILL start the year with him in the rotation. However, I don’t see Garza lasting post trade deadline. There’s going to be a couple big named pitchers that go down with injuries, and clubs looking to upgrade their rotation for a world series run. We all know it’s going to happen, and we all know Matt Garza is going to be one of the best names on the open market.

When the Cubs get the offer their looking for, it’ll be time to pull the trigger and not think twice. The Cubs are on the right track, and Matt Garza can’t be part of the equation.

For the first time in his career, Samardzija was kept in the same role and found a sense of stability, sticking with the Cubs all year. Despite a rash of pitching injuries, which led to the likes of Doug Davis and Ramon Ortiz finding starts in the rotation, Shark spent his entire season in the bullpen, and found great success.

His numbers for the season were very easily the best of his career. He gradually improved as the year went on, with his development finally showing, as he continued to develop multiple pitches and harness those pitches.

After a couple of years that he really couldn’t find his niche and stick in Chicago, Samardzija put up career numbers. His ERA was a strong 2.97, with 87 strikeouts and a 1.30 WHIP in 88 innings. Those were numbers that steadily improved as the season went on, as he had 16 walks in the second half of the season, compared to 34 in the first half, as an example.

Samardzija has been working this offseason to improve even more, and already has a shot to win at spot in the rotation in spring training. But with so many arms in the mix, it might be easier said than done.

Assuming that Matt Garza is around to start the season, as it looks like he will be, he and Ryan Dempster are locks for the rotation. Using the power of assumption, the other three in the rotation could very likely consist of Chris Volstad, Paul Maholm, and Travis Wood.

That’s a starting five, but Randy Wells and Andy Sonnanstine will also be in the mix for a rotation spot, as well as Samardzija, once spring training gets underway. So does Shark actually have a shot to stick in the rotation?

With this Cubs team, I’d say that nearly every spot is open. No guy has a spot locked down in this rebuilding process and that especially goes for the pitching staff. If Samardzija can continue to show that improvement he demonstrated for much of 2011, then I’d say there’s a very good shot he gets a long look in March.

If not, Samardzija will end up back in the bullpen, where he was so effective last year. He’ll likely be able to fill a number of roles for the Cubs in 2012 either way, whether it’s as a spot starter on occasion, in long relief, or even seeing time at the back end of that bullpen. If the Cubs do end up trading Carlos Marmol at some point, Samardzija is a candidate to replace him back there.

Quietly, Samardzija looks to be one of the more exciting aspects of the Cubs in 2012. As spring training nears, begins, and progresses, Samardzija will certainly be one to keep an eye on, as the Cubs attempt to decide where he will fit for the 2012 season.