Rodriguez-Piniella reunion with Cubs is far-fetched

	Don't expect a scene like this between Lou Piniella and Alex Rodriguez with the Cubs. Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images

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Alex Rodriguez, Lou Piniella and the Cubs combine to make a nice headline. But by all accounts of those close to the situation, that's all it is, a headline. By far the two most likely teams for A-Rod to play for next year remain the Yankees and the Angels.

Rodriguez might have a moment or two when he envisions reuniting with Piniella or even playing games at Wrigley. But those are just daydreams. For many reasons, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim remain the most viable option should Rodriguez accept a deal out of New York. It's nice that A-Rod and Piniella are chummy, but when it comes to the richest, most talented player on the planet, practicality will eventually win out.

If Rodriguez consents to go (and we're way early in the game, since neither he nor the Yankees have given an indication they're ready to divorce), the key factor won't be sentimentality. If A-Rod agrees to a trade -- and agent Scott Boras told SI.com again Monday that Rodriguez wants to stay -- the main issues will be A) whether the interested team can pay him (he has $64 million to go for the next four years, and that's before any possible extension), and B) whether they'd be willing to offer anything that the Yankees would be interested in.

The trouble with the renewed Cubs speculation is a little bit of A) and a lot of B). A Yankees person mocked the speculation that Aramis Ramirez could be the centerpiece of a deal for A-Rod, calling that Internet report "patently false.'' While Ramirez is a nice player, he has a clause allowing him to opt out of the remaining two years on his contract, making him a de facto free agent and of little use as a trade chip. He could re-sign with the Cubs at something well above the $22 million and two years that remains, but a "sign and trade'' is not something that currently exists in baseball.

If the Yankees eventually decided they'd be willing to trade Rodriguez, the one person they'd insist on from the Cubs would be Carlos Zambrano. And that's just a start. The Yankees aren't going to trade the player who'll eventually beat Hank Aaron's record (or Barry Bonds' by then -- imagine the goodwill involved if it's Bonds') to downgrade at third base. If they could remake their pitching rotation, though, they might have to think about it. And really, there's no way the Cubs could afford to surrender Zambrano. Should they do that, their rotation would almost cease to exist as a viable entity.

Meanwhile, the Angels have much more going for them in any A-Rod bid. They have the resources, a single-minded, go-for-the-jugular owner in Arte Moreno, expanding revenues and a publicly stated resolve to do something "major.'' The Angels began inquiring about A-Rod before the season was out, before his deteriorating relationship with Joe Torre became public. They have a marquee player in Vladimir Guerrero, but as a virtual hermit, Guerrero's a marketing zero.

The Angels also have the types of players who might intrigue the Yankees. A package starting with Ervin Santana and Scot Shields would have to be thought about, at least. The Angels once offered Santana for Miguel Tejada, and Shields is the shutdown setup man the Yankees desperately need, as the great Mariano Rivera's innings presumably will be curtailed.

In any case, this is only the first of what promises to be a winter's worth of rumors -- "silly stories'' a Yankees person called them -- and a lot of hurdles will need to be cleared before any of them start to seem possible. The first one involves Rodriguez's no-trade clause and his continuing desire not to waive it.

"I think a lot of teams want Alex Rodriguez. But the fact is, he has a no-trade, and he wants to stay in New York,'' Boras said. "He likes being a Yankee, he likes playing in New York. He likes the environment, and he wants to win there. He's been steadfast about what he wants to do.''

So for now, A-Rod is staying. But do stay tuned.