UPDATE: Our long national nightmare is over, for now

The Jake Peavy rumor mill was a wild, crazy tease of a ride that ended just like last season's Brian Roberts deal.

Dead.

San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers made the announcement earlier today and Jim Hendry, the Chicago Cubs general manager, will address the media later this afternoon.

The Padres were looking for a big bounty for the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner and either the Cubs couldn't come up with the players, are focused on other things or are ridiculously retarded. Or all of the above. Yeah, I'll go with that one.

When a player of Peavy's caliber is available, you should not mind about the talent you give up because you get a friggin' Cy Young winner in return.

This has been my problem with Jim Hendry, other than he is a Creighton guy.

Unless he is acquiring a salary dumpage by a desperate team (see Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee trades) he cannot get the job done. His overpaying of Alfonso Soriano (for 8 years!) and Jason Marquis ($9 million this season) has apparently hampered the team's financial flexibility.

Hendry received an extension to begin the offseason and has done the following:

1. Traded Jose Ceda, deemed untouchable in a Brian Roberts trade one year ago, for Kevin Gregg - an older, more expensive version of Ceda.
2. Allowed Kerry Wood to walk away despite Wood wanting to return to Wrigley.
3. Did not offer free agents salary arbitration, meaning no draft picks when FAs sign elsewhere.
4. Failed at the one deal that seemed destined to happen.

I warned you at the beginning of the offseason to be prepared for a painfully boring offseason for the NorthSide. It looks like my prediction is coming to fruition.