Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times points out that the Cubs could very well have a vastly different look in 2011 than they do when they take the field for Opening Day 2010.

Derrek Lee, who reported to camp Tuesday, is set to become a free agent at season's end and has stated that if there isn't an extension agreed to before Opening Day, he won't address it during the season,

"I really haven't thought about it that much...I wouldn't want it to be a distraction."

Aramis Ramirez has the ability to opt-out of his contract after this year, and following a major shoulder injury, one that limited him to just 82-games in 2009, the clock may be ticking on his time in a Cubs uniform as well.

I've seen varying projections from the Cubs this season, but the one that everyone looks at comes from Baseball Prospectus. The link right now shows the Cubs finishing under .500 for the season, and has the Cardinals running away with the division by nine games. This leaves me with the burning question, and a "nightmare scenario" not unlike many other teams face each season:

What if the Cubs tank in the first half of the season and find themselves too far behind the front runners of the division and realistically out of the Wild Card hunt?

Derrek Lee turns 35 in September and Ramirez 32 in June. Do you try to move these two, or more, at the deadline?

You already have Alfonso Soriano signed until he turns 63 or so, Kosuke turns 33 in April, Marlon Byrd 33 in August, Ryan Dempster 33 in May, and Ted Lilly is 34 already. The core of this team is aging, and with every year that passes, they get further from being a team who can compete for a World Series berth. This is no longer the baseball of years past where guys hit their peak at 35.

The window has already begun to close, and with new ownership now in place they may find themselves headed in a new direction must faster than may Cubs fans realize.