The Cubs lost another close game last night, falling to the Brewers 5-4 on a throwing error by Xavier Nady. Still basking in the glow of a Blackhawks' Stanley Cup win, I asked myself this morning what the Cubs would be like if they took a page from their neighbors on Madison. See, the Hawks were in even worse shape than the Cubs not all that long ago. While the Cubs likely can't hire John McDonough back, there are a few things they might be able to do to get back on the right track.

1. Don't Hire the Fan Favorite Manager

Lou Piniella's contract is up at the end of the season and the Cubs are going to be tempted to make Ryne Sandberg the manager next season. I've advocated for this in the past, but after giving it some thought, I'm not so sure this is the right move. Sure, Ryno is the fan favorite, but how are those fans going to feel about him if he fails miserably? The Blackhawks hired fan favorite Dennis Savard, only to realize that they needed someone like Joel Quennville to mold their young team. They replaced Savard with Coach Q early in the 2008 season and just over a season later, the Hawks are hoisting the Stanley Cup.

The Cubs could do the same for their team by hiring a tough manager who emphasizes fundamentals. Years of playing DustyBall and now LouBall seems to have taken its toll on the Cubs' players. Our fundamentals suck and have sucked for years without anyone doing anything but talk about fixing it. The solution is to bring in a guy like Trey Hillman, who isn't afraid to step on people's toes and fix what needs to be fixed. Sure, maybe his record in Kansas City wasn't stellar, but he's a hard-nosed manager who won't take any shit from superstar crybabies who can't field their position. You give this guy a talented team in a division that's actually winnable and I think he could do for the Cubs what Quennville did for the Hawks. Or what John Madden and Ron Gardenhire have done for their teams.

2. Go Younger

I know that this is going to be hard to do, as some of our big fat contracts are for players over the 30 year mark. Soriano obviously isn't going anywhere, as no one is going to be dumb enough to take that contract, so you're stuck with him. Trade Kosuke Fukudome (which should have been done mid-May, while he was scorching the ball) and start playing Tyler Colvin every day. Hell, even if you can't trade Kosuke, start playing Tyler Colvin every day. And while you're at it, Xavier Nady is only allowed to pinch hit off the bench. Maybe, maybe, a spot start every once in a while to keep his bat fresh, but if I'm the Cubs, Colvin and Byrd have to play almost every day. The days where you have to give Nady a start, Colvin plays left and Soriano sits.

This really hurts me to say, but I would also trade Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano, either by the trade deadline or the offseason. Ramirez has had a bad year, but there are plenty of teams who would take a chance on him rebounding, the Angels for one. And Zambrano may have gotten off to a shaky start and endured the bullpen nonsense, but he's still a solid arm that a lot of teams would covet. Those two guys are my favorite current Cubs and I would hate to see them go, but I think that's the only way the Cubs could get some decent prospects in return. I would also trade Ryan Theriot and go with a platoon of Fonetenot and Baker until some of the younger middle infielders are ready. It's time for the Cubs to really use the farm and bring more guys up to join Colvin, Castro, and Soto.

3. Resign Derrek Lee.

Whoa, wait a minute, Goreo, I thought you just said the team needs to get younger. I did, but Derrek Lee is an exception because he's the Cubs' Jonathon Toews. I would even give him the "C" to wear on his jersey. He's the quiet leader who leads by example and he and Marlon Byrd could provide the player-level leadership the Cubs will need over the next couple of seasons. Like Toews, Derrek's intangibles outweigh his age. Plus, the Cubs don't yet have a legitimate replacement in their system. Micah Hoffpauier is not that guy. Neither is Alfonso Soriano, whose name has come up as a possibility to move to first. The Cubs need to keep Derrek for the same reason the Rockies keep Todd Helton around. He may not be a 3-4 hitter in the seasons to come, but his value goes beyond what he can do with the bat.

4. Have a Plan

The Blackhawks seemed to have a plan. Draft well and build the team slowly, add free agents who fit in with the team being constructed, and exercise patience. Their plan came to fruition earlier than it was supposed to, but only because of the talent level the team possessed. If the Cubs exercised a similar plan over the next five years, they could do what the Hawks have done and build a solid team of young fundamentally sound ballplayers. In order to do that, obviously the Ricketts have to clean house, because this plan will never work with Jim Hendry in charge. I would try and steal someone from the Rays, the Twins, or maybe try and get Kevin Towers on the North Side. The baseball draft is always a crap shoot, but do the best you can to draft fundamentally sound players and trade your veterans for the same. The current Cub plan seems to be throwing money at veterans and hyping the wrong prospects and then destroying a player's value before dumping him off on some other team. Great plan.

That's four things I could think of. If the Cubs do decide to get younger, they'll probably lose a bunch of games over the next few years. I'm fine with that at this point. If they're gonna suck, I'd rather watch a young team suck as they grow into the game rather than a bunch of overpaid vets who still can't field the ball. Start now and maybe by 2015, the Cubs could be real contenders. The way they're going now, the payroll keeps going up while their place in the standings keeps going down. Time for a change.