This holiday week marks the unofficial halfway point of the offseason. The early hot stove moves are behind us, and another wave will likely begin shortly after New Year’s Day. It has been slow moving, giving us an opportunity to take stock of where teams stand in relation to their competition -- and for the Chicago Cubs, that always includes measuring up to a certain National League Central rival to the south. Have the St. Louis Cardinals closed the gap on the Cubs in the division this offseason? Perhaps a little, but then again, the winter isn’t over -- far from it, when you consider the number of free agents still on the market. The Cardinals are bound to make another bold move or two, or at least that’s what their rivals have been thinking all along. read more http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cu...n-splash-closed-gap-in-cubs-cardinals-rivalry
