Troy's Cubs Blog

Keeping Wrigley great

2010-10-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Here's what I wrote on a Cubs.com survey asking about my opinion on proposed "improvements," to Wrigley Field:

Wrigley Field is something that almost no other MLB ballpark can be. To go to Wrigley is to go back in time and see a ballgame in a way you can't anywhere else. I understand the urges to modernize the field when people see jumbotrons and have 5 star meals at other ballparks. But, that is not what makes Wrigley great. What makes it great is that it stands predominately unchanged in a world that constantly wants to upgrade to something newer. If I go to Wrigley, I know that I can see the game the way my grandfather and even great grandfather would have seen it. It is such an intangible gift, but such a priceless one, as well. The Cubs and the Redsox (I think to a lesser degree) are the only teams that can boast this. I think that true lovers of the game would give up any amenity to see a game in the Polo Grounds, Shibe, Crosley, Ebbets, or even the Baker Bowl. Chicago still has its great stadium, and I hope that we do everything we can to preserve that without feeling the need to keep pace with the newest trends. I understand the need to expand and to cover budgets, but what makes Wrigley great has been it's resistence to change for nearly 100 years, not it's compliance. Please hold on to this.

Zambrano offered position as hostage negotiator

2010-04-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Just days after being converted to set-up man, Carlos Zambrano is being scouted as a hostage negotiator for the Department of State. If chosen, Big Z would be called upon to dismantle tense, life-threatening situations with dangerous criminals. Political pundits have criticized this move, pointing out that Zambrano is unstable himself and has yet to prove himself in any pressure situation. To these accusations a State Department representative was quoted, "I think Z's mental issues are incredibly inflated. Would the Cubs move someone who couldn't handle pressure into a bullpen position that would only add more pressure? I mean, the way they make it sound, every time someone gets on base the guy loses it and starts walking and hitting people. No, I think we can completely trust the Cubs' judgement. And, so what if he's a little crazy? We think this can only help get into the mind of our perpetrators."

When asked his opinion on Zambrano's hostage negotiation skills, Cubs Pitching Coach Larry Rothchild said, "Oh yeah, he's great at talking people down. One time John Grabow took Sean Marshall's burrito right out of the microwave. Needless to say, tensions were pretty tight. I really believe John would have eaten it. He had that look in his eye. Z came in, asked him for the burrito, and ate it himself. I don't know if Sean knows about this, so please don't tell him I told you."

Milwaukee Magic

2010-04-26T17:25:00.001-07:00

Ah, if they could just all be Brewer games. Our record against the Brewers: 5-1. Our record against the rest of the league: 4-9. The bats have almost all warmed up. It's a good 3 days to be a Cubs fan. But, even though the hitters are hitting even with runners on, the starting pitching is pretty fantastic, and the bullpen is getting in just enough to keep us from losing, I've been really disappointed with the defense, specifically the infield. I've seen so many bobbled double plays on routine balls. These are the kinds of things that are going to lose us a lot of close games. Here's to the bats staying hot against the Nats.

Optimism or Pessimism? You decide

2010-04-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

We’ve had baseball going on for about two weeks now and the Cubs are treading water in the middle of the Central Division. Are the Cubs just warming up, preparing to reel off an unforgettable streak that will propel them into the playoffs? Or, are they stringing us along just enough to keep us emotionally involved only to dash our hopes later in the season? We know what history tells us. We know what the sports analysts have all told us, but come on, we’re not exactly choosing our sports following based on advice, right? Here are 10 reasons to be optimistic or pessimistic after the first week.

Pessimism
10. The Bullpen
9. LOB
8. Bad Defense: There have been several plays that should have been handled so far that have led to runs. Many of these plays I’ve seen have been up the middle too. I expect Soriano to be slow in left, but it’s troubling to see Theriot and Fontenot/Baker bobble and boot so many balls.
7. The Bullpen
6. Too dependent on the home-run
5. Carlos Zambrano: When will we stop calling him our ace. So far, Gorzelony has looked better. Z can not get past set backs. If he pitches great, he keeps pitching great. But, one mistake and he loses his friggin mind.
4. The Bullpen
3. Crappy teams are taking 2 of 3 from us at will
2. The Bullpen
1. The Cubs have never won a world series when the year was a combination of numbers 2,0, and 1. The Cubs have also never won a World Series when they opened a season at Turner Field. The Cubs have never won a World Series in a year when the Saints won the Super Bowl. They have also never been during a year that the Winter Olympics were held in Canada. And probably the most telling omen, the Cubs never make it to the World Series in a year of an Ironman sequel.

Optimism
10. The Ricketts Family: It’s great to have a face with the franchise as far as ownership goes. On opening day, they were at the ticket counters taking tickets. And, they are Cubs fans. I don’t know if that will translate to wins, but it’s nice to see someone in charge who cares like you do.
9. Geo looks better
8. Marlon Byrd is doing what he needs to do. He hits very well and plays pretty solid defense in center. He’s no superstar, but we got plenty of those.
7. Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol: The only dependable guys in the bullpen. Marshall has been fantastic. Marmol has walked a few, but he’s closing out 9ths (when he gets a chance).
6. Ted Lilly is back in May
5. Tyler Colvin: In that first series with the Braves, Jason Heyward hit a home-run and put on a big show. Tyler Colvin in his first series, hit a home-run and ran around the bases with his head down. He walked into the doug-out, business as usual. I like this kid.
4. Carlos Silva will do. I figured he wouldn’t even make the rotation, but he’s turned in solid starts each time. He’ll be great as a number 5 once Lily is back (maybe even a 4 if Zambrano can’t get it together).
3. Randy Wells seems to be for real. You never know what the sophomore season is going to be like. Randay Wells has continued to hold it down.
2. Ryan Dempster is good. He’s really our number one. He works hard, and he’s, from what I can tell, one of the best guys in the clubhouse.
1. Geological History says that there is a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault line about every 300 years. We are due one at any time, and maybe a large enough quake could completely destroy Bush Stadium, causing the Cardinals to play all their games on the road, giving the Cubs the edge they need to jump ahea

Troy's all 2000s team

2010-02-09T15:34:00.000-08:00

With spring training still a little ways down the road and the Cubs doing very little these days in the ways of trades, I figured we'd have some fun and think about this decade that has just ended. Even though we haven't put together a team that would take the big trophy home, there have been some good teams and some exciting moments. This decade saw much better teams than the 90s gave us. So, let's enter into a fantasy land where we can put together a team that would have won it all, comprised of players throughout the decade. If only we could have had all these players at their peak performance from the decade, maybe we would have beat the Marlins or Diamondbacks or Dodgers and gone on to beat the Yankees or Red Sox or Devil Rays. So, here we go, by batting order, then bench, then bullpen:

1. Kenny Lofton (L) CF (2003): In the 00s, we've had a true, effective leadoff man in one season (2003). That's also the one year we won a playoff series. Honorable mention: Juan Pierre (L) (2006)
2. Nomar Garciaparra (R) SS (2004): We picked him up late in the season, and in 05 he had a pretty terrible injury that helped seal our doom. But, while he was healthy in 04 (and even 05) it was very nice to have him at short stop. Honorable Mention: Ryan Theriot (R) (2008)
3. Sammy Sosa (R) RF (2001): Say what you want about Sammy. The steroids, the corked bat, the terms of his exit. Tell me you don't want a 3 hitter with 64 HR, 160 RBI, and a .437 OBS with a straight face. Honorable Mention: Jeromy Burnitz (L)(2005)
4. Derek Lee (R) 1B (2005): Won the gold glove, silver slugger, and should have won MVP this year. He is the face of this franchise in the second half of the 2000s. Honorable Mention: Fred McGriff (L) (2002)
5. Moises Alou (R) RF (2004): Very consistent, always there to get a clutch hit. You could get Sosa, Soriano, and on down the list to swing at silly pitches, but not often with Alou. Honorable Mention (very close) Alfonso Soriano (R)(2007)
6. Aramis Ramirez (R) 3B (2008): More at bats than any other Cub in the 2000s. He's always shown a lot of promise, but over the years, he's made drastic improvements on defense and really raised his walk totals. Each year, he seems to improve. Honorable Mention: Bill Mueller (L) (2001)
7.Geovany Soto (R) C (2008): What will become of Geo is up in the air, these days. But, in 2008 he looked to be our catcher for the next 10 years. A great hitter, decent defender, and, most importantly, he had the respect of the pitchers. Honorable Mention: Michael Barrett (R) (2004)
8. Eric Young (R) 2B (2000): Good, well rounded stats, and, hey, he actually stole bases. Honorable Mention: Mark Grudzielanek (R) (2003)
9. Mark Prior (R) SP (2003): I know the reputation Prior has, and it is all warranted, but 2003 was a special year. 2.43 ERA, 245 SO, and only 50 BBs. 18 wins against 6 losses, and that's tough to beat among Cubs starters in the 2000s. I remember this year well. He was automatic. You know you had a win when prior pitched (except that one in that playoff series). Honorable Mention: Ryan Dempster (R) (2008)

Utility: Mark DeRosa (R) 2B,SS,3B,OF (2008): I think he would do the laundry if you asked him, and he'd even do that well. Also, a club house presence you can't quantify.
Long Man: Glendon Rusch (L) RP/SP (2004): When they tried to make him a starter, he was crap, but he bailed us out many games when a starter left early. Sean Marshal is looking to me like that same kind of pitcher.
Set up: LaTroy Hawkins (R) RP (2004): I went back and forth on this one between him and Marmol. Marmol's number are ridiculous in 07, but Hawkins pitched about twice as many innings and is still holding up an argument, so I think he should get the edge. He was awful when the Cubs tried to make him a closer, but he was born to be a set-up man.
Closer: Kerry Wood (R) RP (2008): For years, I listened to people talk about how Woody should be converted to a closer, and I thought they were idiots. I was proved wrong in 08. Then the Cubs promptly let him walk the next year.

So, there you go. If only these people were all around and in their prime in the same year. Who knows what ways they would have found to blow it (I kid. I kid because I love). Coming soon, the 2000 all sentimental team.

The Cubs are Dummies

2009-12-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

I think this offseason may be more frustrating than the second half of last season. Pretty well every move we've made or are seeking to make is trying to reverse a bad decision from last year. Let's think about the big additions we made last season:

-Aaron Miles: gone
-Kevin Gregg: gone
-Milton Bradley: would be gone if someone would take him

It is really as if this offseason, the plan is to simply right the wrongs of last season. So, as I've said before, we'd have been better in 09 if we had just made no changes in the previous offseason. While trying to unload Bradley, we're letting anyone worth having slip through our fingers.

And here's the dumbest thing that has been done by Cubs management: they started talking about unloading Bradley before the season was over. Everyone in baseball knows the Cubs really, really want to dump him. So, there is no chance for any leverage on the Cubs' side. We will end up paying the rest of his contract, getting nothing in return, or getting some other team's problems in return (or all of those).

On a completely unrelated note, though, how cool would it be to go ice skating at Wrigley Field? So far, this has, by far, been the greatest Cubs decision in the offseason.

Wait till next year's hot stove

2009-10-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the Cubs' season was about as successful as I was at keeping up the blog over the summer. It was a dissapointment, and I think it had to do mostly with injuries and the moves that were made in the offseason. I'm normally pretty supportive of Jim Hendry, but this year's moves, I think, were an over reaction to a poorly timed slump. We didn't need as much change as we got. And even though it is easy to quickly point to the new people as the cause of the cubs' swoon in 09, I think it had more to do with what we lost than who we got.

The greatest of these, in my opinion, was the bullpen. We lost Wood, Howry, Eyre (and yes, I know we got rid of him during the season) and probably others I'm forgetting. We ended up with Gregg, Heillman and a bunch of others, many of whom didn't even play a game for the cubs. There was no one in the bullpen who we could go to that we could be sure would shut em down. Each reliever had strings of solidness, but then they'd get shaky again. Our bullpen, in my mind needs the most work of everything on the team.

Next, is the bench. Our bench was an undervalued key to our success in '08. Cedeno, Fontenot, Johnson, and sometimes DeRosa were all playing very well, and really stepped up during the injuries. This year, no one stepped up when we had injuries. Miles was hurt most of the year. Fontenot was a starter, but didn't even hit well enough to be a back-up. Jeff Baker came in and did a pretty solid job. But, he should be a back-up next year. I think he's perfect for that. But, we did very little to replenish the bench this year, and we paid for it. That's not to say some minor leaguers aren't showing promise. Fox looks like the real deal. But we need more than just promising prospects to make up the bench. We need people who have been there too (which brings me to my next point).

We lost important leaders. Kerry Wood had been with the Cubs the longest, and he, from what I can tell, is a great guy to have in the clubhouse. Mark DeRosa also looked to be a great clubhouse prescense. We lacked that this year. In fact, we added Milton Bradley. I adore Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, but they seem to me to be more leaders by example. Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly have the personalities to do this, I think, but as you know, they are in the dugout only once every 5 games. The club needs some good clubhouse guys. So, here's my synopsis of what the cubs need to do in the offseason:

1) Get some arms, especially bullpen arms. We need a few more lefties, and we need to have a closer. That is a tall order, seeing as how there are probably about 7 or 8 real closers in the game right now. If it means settling on Marmol or going out and getting someone good, it needs to happen for the Cubs to step to the next level. We are pretty darn good as far as starters go, we just have to figure out what will do with Rich Harden. Do we sign him back, do it in house, or get out on the free agent market. There are some good ones out there this season (Cliff Lee, Brandon Webb), but I don't think the Cubs need to empty the pocket books in this area.

2)We need some leadership. Bring in some people who have won before who will help the youngsters and inspire the others. We have a really talented team already. But, you can't measure a good clubhouse. Until the Cubs create a good clubhouse, it's just going to continue to be a talented team.

3)Forget about getting another big bat. We have truckloads of RBI guys. We need people who do other things. It would be nice to have a few who just mash out hits and work the count. Someone who knows how to steal a base and execute on the hit and run. Every player on the team doesn't have to get 25 homeruns. We haven't had a leadoff man since Kenny Lofton. You know when the last time we won in the postseason was? (Oh yeah 2003. Who was our leadoff man then?)

4)It'd be nice to have at least one good arm in the outfield.

So, here's some free agents that really interest me. I know there are going to be many others that are more desirable and more high profile, but that's not always what makes a good team. These are the guys I think would be interesting to throw in the mix:

-Orlando Cabrera: He's not a big name, but he wins wherever he goes. He's won championships and he plays a decent infield. He might not even be a starter if we got the right people, but he would be a fantastic grab if someone was injured.

-Chone Figgins: If you miss Mark DeRosa, you gotta love the idea of Chone Figgins. He also plays every position. Again, he's been a part of a winning team. He gets on base too.

-Ben Sheets: If he's cheap, it might be a good one to take on. I don't think the Cubs should depend on him to be the number 1 starter or anything, but just imagine if he got into the form of 2 seasons ago along with our 4 starters already. He wouldn't have to carry the team and could be rested.

-Orlando Hudson: Why didn't we sign him last year? Second base seems to be the position everyone is looking for us to step up in. Hudson seems obvious. He's a type A free agent, so my guess is that the Cubs may not pony up the cash.

The outfield seems the only other place to stash someone. We really need Soriano to come back and produce. Who knows what will happen in center field, and everyone says we're getting rid of Milton Bradley. We could easily, in my opinion, end up with the same starting line-up in the outfield as we did in '09, but here are some better options: Carl Crawford, Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, or Xavier Nady. None of those are likely to happen. And we may even try to pull in some over the hill outfielders on the decline like Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, or Johnny Damon to see if we can have the most expensive ineffective outfield in all the majors. Who knows?

Regardless, I'm looking forward to finding out. Come on, make the World Series a quick on.

The Cubs week in futility

2009-04-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a crappy week to be a Cubs fan. Our play this week reminded me of the 3 game series with LA last October. Decent picthing performances from our starters, but no timely hits to put us on the board.

Our starters should all have better records than what they are posting right now. Each one, as far as I can remember, have kept us at 3 or below for most of their starts. But with no runs from us, I guess it doesn't really matter if I'm starting. On top of this lack of timely hitting, we are making mistake after mistake around on the bases. And our relief is in poor shape right now too. Oh, and our lack of infield depth is on display right now with Aramis' strained calf muscle. Saturday's Cardinals game is a good example of all of this:

First off, and probably most importantly, we're not scoring runs. It's not that we're not getting hits, they just aren't coming at the right time. Yesterday we matched the Cardinals with 10 hits. But, they got 7 runs, and we got 1 (that one run wouldn't have happened without a Cardinals error). This could easily just be that everyone's cold right now, and in a few weeks when we get a good home stand with the wind blowing out, all will be fine. With all our bats, I'm not too concerned with us getting hits, but there again, the hits have to come at the right time.

The baserunning yesterday was some crap. Joey Gathright, who I believe we have on our team just for his speed (because he's sure not here to hit for average or power), was picked off at first. He was froze. And, we just keep hitting into double plays when we do get men on. It's so frustrating. I like that we're trying to steal bases, but it just seems to be coming at the wrong time.

Next is our lack of depth (especially in the infield). Aramis has a strained calf and should probably be out at least 5 days or so (they said he's not going to be put on the 15 day dl). So, yesterday, our infield as lee(1b, of course), miles (2b), fontenot (3b) and theriot (ss). If any of those guys had gone done, we would have had to go to soriano or koyie hill. Last year, I think our depth on the bench was a very underated part of our success. On the bench, we had fontenot and cedeno (and you can roll your eyes about ronny cedeno if you want, he was a solid back-up last year). We also had DeRosa, who could easily play any position. This season, we picked Miles up to be that person, but Lou is playing him at second (which I think is his natural position). Last season, we'd have shifted DeRosa to third and Fontenot would play second (which is where he should be). And, we would still have Cedeno ready to go if we needed him.

And, this week our bullpen has made a bad situation worse nearly every game. We get into the 7th with some hope because we're just behind one or two runs, and the next reliever proceeds to walk a few batters then give up a home run. Case in point, Patton's batting practice grand slam toss to Pujols after filling up the bases. Did you see this pitch? I could have hit it out of Busch Stadium (at least out of the infield if there were no fielders). The Cardinals should send Patton a bottle of champagne for that. Our bullpen is in poor shape right now. Marmol is hurt and not playing. Gregg is hurt and kind of playing, and there aren't many other people there I feel comfortable with. I'd say right now, Heilman is our best bet. I get worried whenever Patton, Cotts, or Guzman take the mound. I'm glad Smarj is back, but he gave up several runs in his first game back.

Here's another problem, while I'm thinking about it. We have 3 players not playing now because they are hurt (Bradley, Ramirez, Marmol) and Gregg only able to pitch an inning at a time, but no one on the dl. So, we have 3 guys who are sitting the bench and unlikely to get in, but no one pulled up to take their place. I hope we don't end up in extra innnings next week.

I'm writing this just before the Sunday 4/26 Cardinals game. Hopefully we'll escape St Louis with a scrap of dignity becuase of the game today. But, if it goes as it has all week, Harden will pitch a solid 6 innings where he gives up a one run homer, then walks a batter and gives up a double to the next batter, making it out with just 2 runs. We will record 7 hits during Harden's six innings but won't score a run. We'll hit into 2 double plays and get caught stealing 2nd while Soriano is batting. In the 7th, whatever reliever we bring in will immediately walk at least one batter (maybe two) then give up a home run to someone in the lower half of the order (Barden or Thurston I'm guessing). We'll then be down, let's say 5-0. Fukudome will score on a double by Lee, putting us at 5-1, but this massive scoring surge will be ended by a double play two batters later. Then in the 8th, the Cards will pile on more runs from Ludwick, Duncan or Pujols on whatever reliever pitches. We will strike out or hit weak pop outs for the rest of the game (except for the double play ground outs). I hope I'm wrong.

Retiring number 31

2009-04-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Earlier the Cubs announced that they would be retiring the number 31 in honor of Greg Maddux and Ferguson Jenkins. Everywhere I've read, people have been excited about this, but I want to try to play devil's advocate here. When I went to UT, the University began renaming streets. They started with Peyton Manning. But, then the next year when the Vols actually won a championship under Tee Martin, it bacame evident that they needed to name a street after him as well. Then they named one after Phil Fulmer. With that, though, they had to be fair to other sports, so we also have a Todd Helton and Chamiqua Holdsclaw street. So, in the four years I was there we had 5 streets renamed. It was great during that time, but it seems like it waters down the honor. I feel like the cubs may be doing this with retired numbers.

I'm not sure why I'm so worried with this, because I think the Hall of Fame is too exclusive. But, I feel like to retire a number, you have to, not only be a great player, but you have to be a career player for your team (or at least most of your career). Banks, Santo, Williams and Sandberg are career Cubs, minus a few years at the twilight of Santo and Williams' careers. But Maddux really earned his Hall of Fame spot as a Brave. And Fergie played 10 seasons as a Cub and 10 seasons not a Cub. I love both of these guys, but to me, in this case, we're rewarding great players who are not as synonomous as Cubs as the other retired members.

One that I do think needs to be retired is Gabby Hartnett. He was a catcher for the Cubs in the 20s, 30s and 40s and also managed for the Cubs. He was in 4 of the Cubs' World Series appearances and was responsible for the "homer in the gloamin," which is considered one of the greatest moments in Cubs history. Before Johnny Bench, Hartnett was considered the greatest National League catcher all time. And, he minus two seasons with the giants at the end of his career, he was a life long Cub. I don't understand why he hasn't got the nod.

I'd like to hear what other people think

Game 2 Cubs/Astros 4/7

2009-04-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm watching the game right now in the top of the 8th inning, and I figure by the time I'm done with it the game will be over. Right now, the Astros are leading 2-1. I feel like the Cubs are playing well. Here are some of my observations about the team so far (Oh, by the way, Soriano just jacked a home run off Latroy Hawkins. Score now 2-2)

-Dempster did what he needed to do tonight. I think Lou left him in one inning too long. He looked like he was falling off in the fifth. Should have brought Angel Guzman in in the sixth. Which brings me to the next observation,
-Angel Guzman looked pretty good in his inning of work. Hopefully, he'll stay healthy. That strike out was nasty, and he wouldn't have even needed it if Theriot hadn't had his first error of the year.
-Koyie Hill straight gunned down Kaz Matsui on a steal attempt to second. It was a bullet. Man, I'm glad we chose him as back-up catcher as opposed to Paul Bako. He also hit the ball pretty hard in his first at bat.
-Tejada had a great play on the ball, but Reed Johnson was safe. I knew it before the replay.
-We gave up too many hits to people we shouldn't have. It wasn't like Berkman/Tejada/Lee killed us. When we run into a serious line-up (Mets, Phillies) we could have some trouble.
-It's one thing to not get hits off of Valverde, but who should have stroked most of the rest of those guys.
-That double play really hurt.
-I'm so tired of the word, "drinkability," already.

So much for the undefeated season.

My Line-up

2009-02-17T20:38:00.000-08:00

Here's the way I'd order the batters if the season started today:

1. Ryan Theriot
2. Mike Fontenot/Aaron Miles
3. Alfonso Soriano
4. Aramis Ramirez
5. Derek Lee
6. Milton Bradley
7. Geovani Soto
8. Reed Johnson/Kosuke Fukudome
9. Carlos Zambrano

I'd love to see what other people would do.

What I think of the 09 team (before Spring Training) Position Players

2009-02-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

Starters

Soto (Catcher:2): I've never felt better about a Cubs starting catching going into a season. I think Geo could be an all time great. What a great season. He better be a Cub for many many years to come. Great offense. He handles the pitchers well. The defense is good enough. We are set for a long time with him behind the plate, barring injuries or General Management stupidity.

D-Lee (1B:3): I think Derek Lee's production this season is the key to being a good team or a great team. He hasn't been as great offensively since the wrist injury. If he has a monster season like he did in 2005, I don't think we'll have much trouble. Our whole line-up is solid. If he is 2005 Derek Lee, it's scary. Regardless of offense, he saves so many runs at first. Defensively, I think he's tops at first.

FonteMiles (2B:4): I guess second base is the position most up in the air going into spring training. Fontenot has a lot of promise, but we're paying Miles more. To me, the most telling stat for these two is that Fontenot has ten more RBI in over 100 less at bats than Miles. Miles may have a slight edge on speed, but Fontenot has the edge on power. Knowing Lou, it will mostly depend on the lefty rightie matchups (Fontenot's a rightie, Miles a switch). The biggest disappointment of the offseason to me was getting rid of DeRosa. I think we fall off, offensively, no matter who ends up at second now. Plus, defensively, we're rotating new people through the middle constantly. I think our double play ability gets weakend by not giving two regulars a chance to get used to each other.

Ramirez (3B:5): Aramis is currently my favorite Cub. Last season, he led the team in RBI, and showed far more patience at the plate than I've seen out of him. He walked 30 more times in 08 than in 07. His power numbers were down this year, as were most of our big boys. He is also getting better defensively each year. I think Aramis could win a gold glove.

Theriot (SS:6): Last year was Theriot's breakout year. He was great for average, and I feel like he brings some fire to the clubhouse without being loud and flashy. He solidified his place as a Cubs starter, and started to get nods from the national media as well. He doesn't have the explosive speed to be a prototypical lead-off hitter, but he's ideal to me to be number 2.

Soriano (LF:7): Plain and simple, Soriano needs to stay healthy. I think his 40/40 seasons may be behind him, but 30 homeruns and 30 sb would be just fine for this team. Soriano is, by far, the most impatient of our high profile players, so it is painful sometimes to see him leading off. It's great when he's in one of those zones where he hits everything to waveland, but the rest of the time it's three swings and sit to start each game. He seems to hit better at lead-off, but I'd love to see him make it work at 2,3 or 5.

FukuJohnson (CF:8): I want both of these guys to succeed. Reed Johnson was a wonderful breath of fresh air last season. He plays hard and gets clutch hits. It still blows my mind that he didn't get any time in the playoffs. And, really, didn't Fukudome seemed like the real deal for the first half? Isn't the optimist in you just praying that it'll happen again? Whoever is out there, the defense will be very good. I think Fukudome has the edge there, but either is real solid, which is good when you look at right and left, defensively. When it comes down to this one, just like second, I think it will mainly depend on what hand the pitcher is throwing with.

Bradley (RF:9): Sigh. I was hoping they wouldn't sign him. Beyond the issues he seems to have in most places he goes, he's very injury prone, and that was in the American league. My guess is that he'll play a little over half the games this season and the offense will be adequate based on what we expect from him. I hope I'm wrong.

Bench

Hoffpauir (1B,LF,RF): We've been trying to get this guy in for several years now. Everyone is singing his praises offensively. Trouble is that his natural position is first base. So, expect to see him as our first pinch hitting option. He mashed in the minors, and everyone seems to think he can do it in the majors. If Lee isn't needing much time off, expect to see him give Milton Bradley a break now and then. It won't be for defense, though. It sounds like he really should be at first.

Gathright (CF): For those of you who are sad about losing Felix Pie, don't worry, Gathright is basically the same person. Lots of speed and athletic ability. Covers plenty of ground in Center. Can steal bases, but has major problems getting on first. Since Pie was out of options, I guess we just replaced him with someone who wouldn't be.

Bako (C): Why on earth would he let Henry Blanco, the dictionary definition of a good back-up catcher, go for Paul Bako, president of the Mendoza line society? This one I just don't understand. Here's an omen for you. Last player to strike out in the 03 collapse to end the Cubs chances for a world series? You guessed it, Paul Bako. But far more forboding is the .217 average that he posted last year with the Reds in the most hitter friendly park this side of coors field. We get it. We want more lefties. But really? Bako?

Hill (C): Hopefully, Koyie Hill comes in and proves he can be a major leaguer (or at least a major league back-up). He is also the left handed bat that we seem to covet so terribly that we don't mind how awful a hitter they are. Koyie (pronounced Coy) hasn't really been up consistently enough to prove much. He came in a lot in the 06 season when Barrett was hurt and we were still figuring out who our other catcher would be. Nothing impressive offensively, but I've read that our pitchers like him. The most important thing with a back-up catcher is calling the game. I wouldn't expect to see Geo out of the line-up very much this year.

Last year, I felt like we had one of the best benches in the majors. Now, I don't really know what to think. It seems like there are much less to choose from than last year. This will work itself out in spring training, but I'm going to feel much less safe for a while whenever a reserve gets called in. I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that we don't have many injuries.

What I think of the 2009 team (before spring training) The Pitching

2009-02-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

Starting Pitching

I think we have the best rotation in the National League, quite possibly in baseball. Just from start to finish, 4 out of our 5 could be a 20 game winner next year. If they Cubs end up with Peavy, I don't think anyone can touch our starting rotation. Otherwise, it's probably Marshal, who is fine for a number 5. Last season we had 7 legitimate guys in spring training for the 5 spots. This year we don't. So, if we get some injuries, we could be in trouble.

Zambrano-There's not much to say about Zambrano that hasn't already been said. Great stuff. All the talent in the world. If he'll just keep his emotions in check. Blah, blah, blah. He'll go through a month of barely winning a game and somehow still end up with 18 wins.

Dempster-I'm very glad we resigned Dempster. I don't know that he leads the team in wins again this year (oh yeah, it was Dempster. 17 wins), but I think he's good for this team. He's a great clubhouse guy and he's been willing to do whatever the Cubs ask. And, if you're ever at a Cubs gathering, he's great to listen to. It's just real tough not to like this guy.

Harden-I've got my fingers crossed for health here. So many players say he's got the best stuff in the league if he stays healthy. If he does get hurt, I hope it's early on, so we can have him at the end of the season. Not that that helped in the playoffs last season.

Lilly-He's a tough one to figure out. It seemed to me like he had a bad year, but you look at his stats (especially wins) and it's nothing to complain about. No matter where he's at this year, if he's number 4, that's a real good number 4.

Marshal- It'd be nice to be saying "Peavy," instead of Marshal. Heck, I'd even prefer saying "Marquis." Marshal is solid or weak as a starter. If he's a starter all season, I predict he's going to finish 8-9. He's that kind of a guy. But, that's really fine with me--it's the number 5 starter, come on. What bothers me is that Marshal seems much more suited as a long man in the bullpen. His best work last season, in my opinion was taking over for a poor start and keeping the boys in it. That saved us several times, and I'm not sure where that's going to come from this season.

Relief

We've turned over a lot this season. Outside of Kerry Wood, I'm not super sad about the ones we've lost. Wuertz was only good enough to keep your hopes up, Howry had a terrible season (I felt like the Cardinals must feel when Izzy came in, every time he entered), etc etc. We are very right heavy. Neil Cotts is our only left hander (Marshall is left handed, if he were still there). We were very concerned about making our line-up more left-handed this season. I wonder why we aren't concerned at all about having no left handed relief. Again, though, I'm sorry to see Woody go. He stays healthy for most of a season, and that's the season we decide to let him go. I'm not talking about all the relievers, just so you know.

Vizcaino-This is the guy we got from Colorado for Jason Marquis. I had him on a fantasy team about 3 years back (when he was with the Diamondbacks), and he was a great holds guy. He was traded to the Yankees the next season and then ended up with the Rockies. His ERA skyrocketed last season (5.28 in 43 games), but remember he was pitching in Coors Field. I think he'll be fine for a 6 or 7th inning guy.

Heilman-This is the guy we grom from Seattle for Ronny Cedeno. He gets a lot of Ks and doesn't give up many homeruns. Seattle didn't seem to be a good fit for him. His ERA was going down each year with the Mets, but it went up to 5.21 (from 3.01) last season. He also walked about 25 more in about 10 less appearances. Hopefully last year was a fluke.

Samardzja-Some day I'll be able to spell his last name from memory. I did not expect him to grab a place on the team so quickly with so much success. But, judging from his first season, there's a lot of promise. Most of the scouts are putting this guy in the rotation sometime down the road.

Marmol-They say that the closer job will be decided in spring training, but I don't know how he doesn't get it. I really hope he establishes himself as one of the league's elite closers over the next few years.

Gregg-He came to us from the Marlins, where he racked up 32 saves last season. He's the other guy in the mix for closer, of course. His ERA is about a point higher than Marmol, he struck out about half of what Marmol struck out while walking about the same. He's either closer or set up man in all likelyhood

Cotts-I think the only reason he's here is that we're all righties without him. Looking at his stats, they don't seem too terrible. But, according to my memory, he was underwelming just about everytime he went out there. In my memory, only Howry had a rougher time last summer in relief appearances. He was coming off an injury, so maybe things will look up this season.

Gaudin- This guy came to us midseason with Rich Harden. He should be a real solid reliever. A lot of people say he's as important a part of the deal as Rich Harden. He also started in 2007, so that's a possibility. His ERA is a little higher than I would like, but I guess everyone isn't going to be in the 2s.

That's what I'm doing for now. More after I've seen them playing. Position Players coming soon.