Wednesday's wintery mix

-- Even before a trade for Jake Peavey, the Cubs' 2009 payroll eyeballs out to about $130 million. That's also before signing a right fielder to replace last year's disappointing addition for right field. Preferably a right fielder who can hit from the left side of the plate. Where's all this cash coming from?

-- On the other end of the spectrum, the White Sox might be having cashflow problems if they're entertaining a Jermaine Dye trade. Dye's pretty bad in the field, so there's an argument to be made that it's time to seek a replacement, but the guy can still hit a ton. I also don't think there's a better alternative to be had on the free agent market than keeping Dye for the one reasonably priced year left on his contract. Especially if the Sox view themselves as contenders in 2009.

-- With the dollars being thrown around at baseball's winter meetings, it's probably not a bad thing that the Cubs and Sox haven't dipped into the free agent pool.

Ok, Derek Lowe might get $68 million for four years? A.J. Burnett could get $80 million for five years? And CC Sabathia $161 million for seven years?

And, by the way, that's just what the Yankees are offering these guys.

What gets me is that Sabathia is rumored to be getting an opt-out clause in his contract after three years, in case he doesn't like New York or just wants to go back on the market and make another bundle of cash.

It just seems stupid for a team to offer that kind of clause and here's why: If the guy pitches lights out, or even just ok, he hits the market again and gets a bigger deal. Meanwhile, if his elbow blows out, or maybe in Sabathia's case he eats himself out of playing shape, the guy keeps cashing paychecks.

Maybe that's a gamble the Yankees feel like they have to make. But considering how risky these kind of mega-contracts are to start with, it seems like opt-out clauses are going too far for most other teams.

-- As I mentioned in a blog post last week, the Sox gave Albert Belle and opt-out in his big deal before the 1997 season. That was slightly different, however. Belle's clause only allowed him to opt out if he were no longer one of the three highest-paid players in baseball. The Sox could have offered Belle a raise and kept him around. They didn't, and he became Baltimore's problem.

I suppose they Yankees can offer Sabathia a raise in three years to entice him to stick around after three years. But this is a much riskier move because of the huge length of the contract.

If Sabathia gets hurt by the end of the third year, the Yankees will have to pay somewhere near $23 million for four more years of nothing -- or worse than nothing if the guy just pitches poorly but keeps taking the ball every fifth day just to get torched. They payout for that is even higher if the contract is backloaded, which I would almost guarantee you it will be.

-- I think the Bears are going to lose to the Saints on Thursday night, and I also think it could get ugly. More on that in a later post.

-- The Blackhawks are a frustrating team. No, not as frustrating as when Boris Mironov was falling all over the ice. But after blowing a third-period lead on Saturday against the Red Wings, the Hawks blew out the Coyotes the next night.

Then again, the playoffs look pretty likely right now, so I could always be worse.

-- The Bulls are playing basketball? They beat New York on Tuesday? Are the Knicks still awful? Who care?

-- My pick for best area high school boys basketball game this weekend: East Aurora at St. Charles East on Friday. How will the Upstate Eight Conference shake out this year?

On the girls side Burlington Central and Hampshire tangle Friday night in an early Big Northern Conference East Division match.

I think it' s fun to have important games this early in the season. But then again, they all count, right?

-- They all count if you're the University of Texas football team. A team the Longhorns beat (Oklahoma) will play for a national title belt because Texas stumbled against Texas Tech. Now the Longhorns will play for pride and maybe a few I-told-you-sos.

I'm surprised I haven't heard more crying about this from Texas supporters. Maybe it's because I'm tuning it out or because everyone else figures resistance against the BCS empire is futile. Still, I think it's just tough luck if you're Texas. I fully think -- as many others do -- that Oklahoma is a better team, and would be Texas in a rematch today, tomorrow or in January.

The Sooners finished with one loss with what I think was a tougher schedule. Oklahoma is the better pick for a national title game.

If the Longhorns don't like it, they should have beaten Texas Tech.

-- Notre Dame in a bowl game? Please....