Gorzelanny and Silva to begin season in starting rotation

This according to Carrie Muskat over at cubs.com. Gorzelanny stole the fifth starter spot from Sean Marshall--Marshall had a strong outing on Wednesday to lower his spring ERA to 1.64, but Gorzelanny followed with six strong innings yesterday to lower his ERA to 3.07. I think Marshall's career splits played a role as well (4.86 career ERA as a starter, 3.15 as a reliever). It's likely that my prediction from February 5 that Gorzelanny would start the season in the rotation played a role as well. Right? Yeah, it's likely that my prediction played a role.

Silva has had a solid spring while Jeff Samardzija (who will go to the bullpen) did not. I still don't think the Cubs will need a fifth starter until April 19 (though they may prefer one), so it will be interesting to see which back-end starter will get the bulk of the starts before Lilly returns.

Piniella also said that lefty James Russell (0.00 ERA in nine innings) is very likely to make the team as a reliever.

Let's Go, Bears

Four days and counting

The Bears are all set to play a real football game in just four days. And it's not just real cuz it counts in the standings; we're talking Bears/Packers on Sunday Night Football. The blue and orange against the green and gold kicking off the 2009-2010 version of the black and blue division. Cutler vs. Rodgers, Forte vs. Grant, Urlacher and the 4-3 vs. A.J. Hawk and the Packers' new 3-4.

Will the Bears still get off the bus running despite having a gunslinger behind center? Will the secondary get their doors blown off? Will Urlacher rebound from a poor 2008 season and be the dominant force he once was? Do the Bears have anyone who can get open and subsequently catch the ball?

I don't know the answers to all these questions, but I absolutely cannot wait to find out. Hank Williams, Jr., you don't even need to ask: I am indeed ready for some football.

***Don't forget that the football fun begins tomorrow night with a matchup of the Super Bowl Champion Steelers against the AFC South Champion Titans.

One of the best things about baseball ...

is that very time you turn on a game, you might just see something you've never seen before.

That was the case last night when the Cubs banged out eight consecutive hits to begin the game, tying the major league record. And the reason I had never seen it before is because the last time it happened was in 1973 ... when the Cubs did the same thing against the Pirates. That game was at Wrigley.

The first few hits were of the "hit 'em where they ain't" variety, but then the Cubs started hitting Zach Duke around pretty hard. The first out only came when Dempster gave them an out with a sacrifice bunt.

The need for speed

The Trib suggests that the Cubs may go after speedy Angels leadoff man Chone (pronounced Shawn) Figgins this offseason. The Cubs are last in the league with 45 stolen bases, while Figgins has 39 all by himself. He has averaged 49 stolen bases in his six-year career.

He has played six positions in his career (all but pitcher, catcher and first base), but is primarily a third baseman. He has played 244 career games in center field.

My question is: Where would he play? Barring a trade, the Cubs are committed to Soriano in left, Fukudome in center, and Bradley in right. Ramirez will obviously man the hot corner, leaving only second base as a legitimate option. While Figgins has started 86 games at second in his career, he's played there just twice in 2009 and I wonder if he would sign with the Cubs knowing that's where he'd spend the majority of his time.

Also starting at second base in 2010 ...

Jeff Baker? The Daily Herald's Inside Pitch blog did an interesting comparison between Jeff Baker in his time with the Cubs vs. Mark DeRosa in his time with the Cardinals. Since they have played 46 and 47 games, respectively, it makes for a pretty good comparison.

There has obviously been a great deal of hand-wringing over DeRosa's departure this past offseason, so it's interesting to see that Baker has hit .341 with 3 HR and 13 RBI while DeRosa has hit .244 with 8 HR and 19 RBI with the Cardinals. Baker's OBP is .399 compared to DeRosa's .313.

In fact, if you add the Wins Above Replacement (WAR, a statistic I partially understand and won't delve into too deeply at the moment) values of Fontenot and Baker, you end up with a higher value than that of DeRosa. Obviously DeRosa could have also filled in for an injured Aramis Ramirez and provided some other flexibility, but claiming that DeRosa would have saved this team is not accurate.

Baker, 28, will be arbitration-eligible this offseason, and may be back for another stint with the Cubs next year, perhaps as a platoon with Fontenot.

Shark!

Jeff Samardzija was recalled yesterday, and will likely get a start before the season is through. Samardzija struggled in his final AAA start, going just 4.2 innings and allowing five runs.

New York Mess

I cannot recall a team running into worse luck than the 2009 Mets. Mets players on the DL include:

Starting Pitchers
John Maine
Fernando Nieve

Relievers
J.J. Putz
Billy Wagner

Infielders
Jose Reyes
Carlos Delgado
Ramon Martinez

Outfielder
Carlos Beltran

Oh, wait, I forgot: Luis Castillo tripped going down the dugout steps on Wednesday, and sprained his ankle. Seriously.

So the Mets starting lineup looked like this yesterday:

Angel Pagan
Alex Cora
David Wright
Gary Sheffield (who, by the way, just came off the DL)
Daniel Murphy
Jeff Francoeur
Brian Schneider
Angel Berroa

This, my friends, is the $135 million New York Mets, the team with a payroll second only to the Yankees.

Oh, wait, one more thing: the Mets starter yesterday was Jon Niese. Niese was called up from the minors in May because ... you guessed it ... Oliver Perez got injured. Niese hurt his hamstring covering first base in the 2nd inning, decided he was okay, then immediately collapsed while throwing a practice pitch and had to leave the game. He needs surgery and is out for the year.

Um, sorry, one more thing: Gary Sheffield hurt his hamstring running to first in the 6th inning. He also left the game.

The Mets still managed to beat the Cardinals 9-0, and are five games under .500, which is actually pretty impressive.

Wednesday: Reds 4, Cubs 0


Justin Lehr is an a**hole.

Okay, that's probably not fair. But who does he think he is? A four-hit shutout?

The man hadn't pitched in the majors since 2006.

The most wins he's ever had in a season is two.

Two.

He's owned in .1% of ESPN fantasy leagues. And that's up .1% this week.

In the 2007 Caribbean Series, he had an ERA of 162.00.

But nevertheless, he absolutely steamrolled the Cubs. He went the distance, allowing nothing but singles to Lee, Bradley and Soriano, a bloop double to Rich Harden, and the obligatory walk by Bradley.

Rich Harden struggled mightily in the 2nd, but ended up with a quality start and nine strikeouts. It's his fifth "good" start in a row--he did go just five innings last time out against Florida, but you have to go back to July 10 against the Cardinals to find his last truly disappointing outing.

Perhaps we shouldn't be greedy--the Cubs had won six straight against the Reds before Wednesday--but this one would have been nice to win. It would have given the Cubs a 4-2 record on the road trip, meaning a split with Colorado would net a winning 6-4 trip. Instead, the Cubs head to the Centennial State hoping to win three of four.

By the way, it's one thing for Aaron Miles to be activated from the DL, but did Lou need to start him--and bat him second?! He went 0-for-3 to lower his average to, ahem, .198. That's below the Mendoza Line.

To make room for Miles, Jeff Stevens was sent down, meaning Jeff Samardzija stays. In a separate move, reliever Jason Waddell was released.

Rookie of the Year Watch

J.A. Happ dominated the Rockies on Wednesday to move to 8-2. He saw Randy Wells' 7.1 inning, one-run performance, and raised him a complete game, four-hit shutout. Now both pitchers have eight wins, and their ERAs are virtually identical: 2.74 for Happ, 2.73 for Wells. The question remains: will Happ stay in the rotation when Pedro Martinez is activated from the DL?

Just like Lou drew it up: two injuries, blown six-run lead, but a win nonetheless

Mark Prior and the Padres are going to part ways.

Prior was drafted second overall by the Cubs in 2001, with the Twins taking Joe Mauer first due to fears that they may not have been able to sign Prior. He burst onto the scene in 2002 with 147 strikeouts in 116 innings, and made a real name for himself in 2003 when he won 18 games and helped lead the Cubs to the NLCS. Injuries sent his career downhill after that (though he did win 11 more games in 2005), and the Cubs released him after the 2007 season.

The Padres took a flier on him, partly because he's from southern California. But a year-and-a-half later, he hasn't been able to physically right himself, and the Padres are apparently giving up on him.

It's a sad story in the sense that Prior had so much raw talent and was so fun to watch for a few years, yet he'll likely end up with just 42 wins in the majors and a career that flamed out at the age of 27. Hard to believe.

Speaking of former Cubs ...

The Brewers signed Corey Patterson and assigned him to Triple-A. Patterson was recently released by the Nationals, which, of course, is never a good sign.

Saturday: Cubs 9, Marlins 8 (10 inn.)


Well, let's hope Zambrano's back issues don't cause him to miss any starts. With Lilly out until mid-August and the Gorzelanny Experiment about to start, the Cubs can't afford to be without Big Z for any extended period of time. The Cubs of course need Aramis Ramirez to be healthy as well--hopefully he'll be okay after leaving the game in the 10th. Both players said after the game that they don't expect to miss any time.

Being without Zambrano after the third inning was something they could barely afford on Saturday. The bullpen held a meeting prior to the game and collectively decided to see what would happen if they didn't throw any strikes--six relievers combined to walk six men in seven innings of work, blowing the 6-2 lead that Zambrano left them with (Zambrano walked three himself). Ryan Theriot finally delivered what seemed to be the exclamation point the Cubs had been waiting for since the second inning, pounding a two-out, two-run triple in the 9th, but Kevin Gregg couldn't hold a three-run lead against his former team.

Fortunately, another former Marlin delivered a win for the Cubs, as Derrek Lee smashed home run #21 to lead off the 10th. Lee called the game--which saw Lou Piniella switching Alfonso Soriano between 2B and 3B in the bottom of the 10th--the longest nine innings he's ever been a part of.

Speaking of the bullpen, someone is going to have to be sent down when that Gorzelanny Experiment begins on Tuesday. I nominate Jeff Samardzija, who is finding none of the success this year that he had last year. His ERA is up to 6.52, and though he's pitched just half the innings in 2009 as he did in 2008, he's already allowed more earned runs, home runs, and hits than he did all of last year. Let's keep Jeff Stevens in the pen and let Samardzija stretch out as a starter in the minors.

The Cubs reached double-digits in hits yet again (and on the road this time!), including two from Aramis Ramirez. His hit totals during his nine-game hitting streak: 2, 4, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2, 2. It took him a little time to find his timing after his injury, but he's been locked in for a while now.

Central Intelligence


Matt Holliday has been absolutely out of control since being traded to the Cardinals. He went 3-for-4 Saturday with two home runs, helping the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Astros. He's now 20-for-33 (.606) since putting on the red and white. I figured he'd help the Cardinals lineup, but I didn't realize he was from another planet.

Stat of the Day

Courtesy of Baseball Musings, the Yankees are 0-11 against teams with Sox in their name, 62-31 against everyone else.

They're baaack: The Cubs we know and hate return with a vengeance

Tuesday: Pirates 3, Cubs 0

What did the angry fan say after watching the Cubs get shutout for the eighth time this season?

Aaarrrggghh.

Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood after seeing things like:

-Soto trying to go first to third with the play right in front of him
-Runners at second and third with nobody out, top of the order up, no runs
-A runner scoring from second on a dropped third strike and an error by the pitcher

These were just some of the reasons the Cubs remained under the .500 mark and sank to an 11-14 June after a lackadaisical offensive performance against Ross Ohlendorf (who?!). The Brewers took their second straight from the fading Mets, pushing the Cubs 4 1/2 back. Tonight, the Cubs will play their final road game of the first half, then return home for a hugely important 11-game homestand.

As you will have noticed if you watched the game, the "Samardzija Watch" will be put on hold as he was indeed brought up Tuesday and we will now be able to "watch" him on TV. We watched him throw a scoreless 8th inning on Tuesday. Jose Ascanio was sent to Iowa to open the roster spot.



Windy City negativity

How could a laid back (seriously, since coming to the Cubs, he's been pretty chill) Floridian and a crazed, Spanish-speaking Venezuelan both be at the top of the list of managers players would least like to play for? Make up your minds, people!

Minor (league) matters

If you were planning a trip to Peoria to see the hot-hitting Josh Vitters, you need to head to Daytona instead. Vitters and fellow Midwest League All-Star were promoted to high Triple-A Daytona on Tuesday, and righty Andrew Cashner went from Daytona to Double-A Tennessee.

In other news ...

Mark DeRosa might have a sprained wrist.

***UPDATE***DeRosa has a strained tendon and should miss just 3-4 games.

Ace of Cubs

You can make a pretty strong argument that since coming to the Cubs in 2007, Ted Lilly has been the Cubs' proverbial "ace." While it doesn't really matter who the "ace" is (since other than Opening Day and the first game after the All-Star break your best pitcher is not necessarily going to be matched up against the other team's best pitcher, anyways), Zambrano is constantly referred to as the Cubs ace. And while his track record and contract certainly justify the label to an extent, take a look at this:

Lilly:

2007: 15-8, 3.83 ERA, 207 IP
2008: 17-9, 4.09 ERA, 204 IP
2009: 7-4, 3.00 ERA, 78 IP

Totals: 39-21, 3.80 ERA, 489 IP

Zambrano:

2007: 18-13, 3.95 ERA, 216 IP
2008: 14-6, 3.91 ERA, 188 IP
2009: 4-2, 3.72 ERA, 55 IP

Totals: 36-21, 3.92 ERA, 459 IP

The numbers aren't that different, but Lilly has Zambrano beat in all three major categories: He's won more games, amassed a better ERA, and logged more innings than Zambrano since joining the Cubs. Jim Hendry deserves huge props for this signing, especially since he completed it from a hospital bed.

Lilly's only drawback? He apparently is not aware of the baseball phenomenon known as "the third base coach." Did you see him turn to look at the ball five times on his triple to right center last night? The Cubs are paying someone to help you with that, Ted!

After this series, the Cubs will have played the Astros 10 times in their first 57 games, yet another example of what a terrible schedule MLB is operating on this season. The Cubs are making their third trip to Minute Maid Park already, and if only they could face Brian Moehler every time there. In just the third game of the season, the Cubs knocked him out in the second inning of an 11-6 victory. Tuesday, Moehler improved upon that start by going three whole innings and allowing just five runs! His season ERA stands at 6.95.

A portion of last night's offense came from Mike Fontenot, which was great to see. Fontenot was 4-for-5 with his first home run since May 3. After batting just .216 in May, Fontenot appears to be getting his groove back: he's batting .385 in June.


Finally, Carrie Muskat reports that Jake Fox (who had a pinch-hit double last night and is now 5-for-6 as a pinch-hitter) will be sent back to Triple-A Iowa in order to activate Aaron Miles from the DL. All I have to say is that Miles better produce more than his current .204/.250/.265 line, because though Fox can't play much defense, he sure can rake. No doubt Fox will be back in the not-too-distant future.

Central intelligence

-The Brewers and Cardinals both lost. Lou Piniella will probably be sending a "Thank You" card along to Denver, as the Rockies have now defeated the Cardinals and Brewers a combined five consecutive games. In Florida, Chris Carpenter couldn't hold a 3-0 lead, and a ninth-inning homer off Jason Motte sealed their fate. The Reds beat the Nationals 3-2, so there's a three-way tie for second place, with the Brewers leading the pack by 2.5 games. Technically, the Cubs' winning percentage is just slightly better than that of the Reds and Cardinals, so take that, suckers!

Samardzija watch

Jeff has made two starts since the last udpate, one good and one bad. One June 4, he allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings of work. He followed that up, though, with a strong performance on Tuesday--6 IP, 5 H, o ER, o BB, 3 K. His Triple-A ERA sits at 4.05, an he has walked just 13 batters in 46.2 IP.

Who's the tall dude?

Congratulations to my friends Mike Bragg and Katie Elwood, who have always been a great couple and are now a great married couple. They also have amazing families whom I've been glad to get to know over the last few years. Saturday's ceremony and reception were wonderful, and I had to let my readers know that I met NBA player Steve Novak on the dance floor (no, I didn't dance with him, we just happened to be standing on the dance floor).

Since a few of my closest high school friends went to Marquette, I've followed the Golden Eagles ever since college, and therefore remember well the season that Novak, Dwyane Wade, Travis Diener et al advanced to the Final Four. Novak, who is listed at 6'10" but is probably more like 6'8", attended the wedding because he's married to one of Katie's high school friends. He may be the tallest person I've ever met face-to-face (or should I say face-to-chest), and though I only chatted with him for a minute, he seemed like a very nice guy.

As he is currently a Clipper (after playing two seasons with the Rockets), I told him to enjoy playing with presumptive first overall draft pick Blake Griffin, but he informed me that he's a free agent and may land elsewhere for the upcoming season. Novak is a sharp-shooting guard who has a .419 career three-point shooting percentage (for perspective, that would be the sixth-best percentage all-time if he had enough to qualify). I hope he finds a home he's happy with, and I appreciated him being kind to a dorky fan kissing up to him at a wedding reception.

Somewhere, Nolan Ryan is smiling

It's fitting that on the same day I read Sports Illustrated's story about Harvey Haddix's masterful 1959 performance in which he pitched 12 perfect innings before losing 1-0 in the 13th inning, I also saw this story about Texas's 25-inning victory over Boston College in the NCAA regionals, a game that saw Texas pitcher Austin Wood throw 12.1 innings of no-hit ball and 13 innings total, including 169 pitches. The game took seven hours, three minutes to complete, and the 25 innings set a new NCAA record.

I say Nolan Ryan is smiling because he is against the concept of pitch counts and once threw 259 pitches in a game in 1974. How much has the nature of starting pitching changed in recent years? According to Wikipedia, there were 195 instances of 125+ pitch counts in 1996, whereas there were just 14 in 2007.

Samardzija watch

Jeff had his best outing of the year on Saturday, pitching seven innings, allowing two runs and hitting a home run himself. He's now 2-1 with a 4.04 ERA.

House of Cards

Wednesday: Cardinals 2, Cubs 1

Second verse, same as the first--starting pitcher goes seven strong, offense looks offensive. At least the Cubs put one run on the board in the ninth to avoid being shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since September, 2004.

Unfortunately, Chris Carpenter looked very strong in his return. He had good speed on his fastball, and had good location through the five innings he pitched. Unlike Tuesday, the Cardinals needed five pitchers instead of one to hold the Cubs in check (though Carpenter only had 67 pitches through five; the only reason he left is because it was his first start since coming off the DL). And though the Cubs broke through with the one run against Ryan Franklin, they couldn't avoid losing their third in a row to fall into third place, three games back of the Brewers (who finally lost).

Positives:

• Carlos Marmol threw a perfect inning.
• Micah Hoffpauir continues to impress--he had a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth, raising his average to .314.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. But that's something, right?

Sean Marshall will take on Adam Wainwright tonight, and hopefully the Cubs can give themselves a chance to have a winning road trip by salvaging the final game before heading to San Diego. Speaking of the Padres, did you hear that Peavy may not be on the team by the time we face them?

***UPDATE***
Jake Peavy--who has a full no-trade clause--has apparently delayed a decision regarding his potential trade to the White Sox. Barry Rozner has the scoop. Peavy will pitch against the Cubs Friday.

Tuesday: Cardinals 3, Cubs 0

Well, momma said there'll be days like this. After a loss like the Cubs suffered Tuesday, you just have to tip your cap and move forward.

The Cubs had singles in the first and second innings, and both of those baserunners were eliminated (one on a pickoff, one on a double play). Fontenot doubled in the fifth, and that was all she wrote for the Cubs offense. Joel Pineiro faced just one more than the minimum and needed only 92 pitches to dust the Cubs 3-0. If you looked away for a minute to check out the score of the Blackhawks game, you probably missed the entire Cubs game, which took just 2 hours, 5 minutes to complete; that's the fastest game in the majors so far this season.

The Cubs are now 0-13 when scoring fewer than four runs, though Ted Lilly did his best to keep the Cubs in it. He took the loss despite pitching seven innings and allowing three runs on just four hits.

Milwaukee beat Houston for their seventh straight victory, pushing the Cubs three games out. Interestingly, the NL Central has five teams with a positive run differential (meaning they've scored more runs than they've allowed this season); no other division has more than three.

Minor (league) matters

-Jake Fox leads the Pacific Coast League in batting average (.431), home runs (17), RBI (50), runs (39), total bases (124), on-base percentage (.513), slugging percentage (.954) and OPS (1.467). There's at least one person who thinks the Cubs should call him up (the reason they haven't is because he apparently plays defense like a rock. I don't mean he's solid like a rock, I mean he plays defense like he's an actual rock.)

-Jeff Samardzija is slowly getting stretched out again. He's made three starts since going back to the minors, pitching three, four and five innings, respectively. He allowed two, two and one run in those starts, and struck out one, three and then six. In 24 total innings at Triple-A, Samardzija has struck out 21 and walked just six; his ERA is 3.75. Control was his biggest problem with the big club, but he's walked just two in 12 innings since going back down.

-Josh Vitters, the third overall pick in 2007, has homered in four straight games for Single-A Peoria and has five consecutive three-hit games. His .371 overall average is second in the Midwest League.

MLB notes
-Victor Martinez of the Indians now leads the majors in batting. He's hitting a cool .400.

-Chris Davis of the Rangers has already struck out 56 times (and walked just eight). If he keeps up this pace, he'll strike out 254 times and shatter Mark Reynolds's record of 204, set last year.

Quote of the Day

Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy, after Orlando beat Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals despite allowing LeBron to rack up 49 points:

“LeBron just made it so difficult. The one thing I don’t leave this game with is any idea whatsoever what to do with him. As a coach you’re supposed to have some idea — I don’t have a clue. I don’t. When we double-teamed him, he made the right play every time and they made shots. When we didn’t double-team him, he made every jumpshot he took, it seemed like. He gets the ball to the basket and draws fouls. You would like to come out of Game 1 and say ‘at least we found a game plan we think will work’ I can’t say I’ve done that. He’s unbelievable and he was incredible tonight.”

Bulls are in it to win it

In Game 1, the Bulls were nine point underdogs. After shocking Boston with a 105-103 victory, the Bulls were ... 8.5 point underdogs in Game 2. Well, the Bulls couldn't quite pull off another upset, but they once again played with Boston the entire game and lost on a Ray Allen 3-pointer with just two seconds remaining. No one--including yours truly--gave the Bulls a real shot to win this series, but they have thus far scored at will and been unfazed by the defending NBA champions. Now the Bulls will try to do what the Blackhawks just did--win two playoff games at the United Center.

Ben Gordon kept the Bulls in Game 2 with 42 points, including six threes. But the Bulls were killed on the boards, allowing the Celtics to claim 21 offensive rebounds and take 96 shots compared to 80 for the Bulls. One would hope that the energy in the United Center Thursday will help the Bulls clean up the glass more effectively.

The young Bulls were once again composed, remaining calm despite going down by 12 in the first quarter. Vinny del Negro didn't always have his guys focused this season, but they've been locked in during the playoffs. It's also becoming more and more clear that the midseason trades made by the Bulls were good ones, as trade acquisitions Brad Miller and John Salmons combined for 33 points Monday.

Bulls notes
-The Bulls set a franchise playoff record with 14 blocks, including six by human pogo stick Tyrus Thomas.

-The Bulls shot 50% and scored 115 points on the heels of their 105 in Game 1--this despite the fact that Boston allowed just 93.4 ppg during the regular season, good for third in the NBA.

Samardzija watch
Jeff started for the second time Saturday, going six innings and allowing two ER on just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. The outing dropped Samardzija's ERA to 3.75.

-In other minor (league) matters, OF Jake Fox is absolutely tearing it up with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He's batting .478 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in just 11 games. Fox was the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week last week, and leads the Minors in homers, RBI and hits.

In spring training with the Cubs this year, Fox played in 22 games, batting .350 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Fox is 26 years old.

Opening Day victory, part deux

Remember all that stuff yesterday about pitchers not giving up hits? Well, Ted Lilly clearly read my blog and became jealous, because he took a no-hitter into the 7th inning Monday against the Rockies. He ultimately went 6.2 innings, allowing one hit and no runs en route to a Cubs Opening Day (for Wrigley, anyways) shutout.

It was probably a good thing the Cubs didn't need many runs to win the game, as they were without Ramirez (back), Bradley (groin) and Soto (elbow). Ramirez and Soto should be back Wednesday; the Cubs are targeting a weekend return for Bradley.

MLB notes
-Evan Longoria? Probably not a fluke: He's batting .467 with 12 RBI and an ML-leading 5 HR, putting him in the top four in all three Triple Crown categories (yes, I know--it's way too early for talk of postseason awards, but I find it enjoyable). He was named last week's AL Player of the Week. Could he possibly follow in Ryan Howard's footsteps by winning the MVP on the heels of winning Rookie of the Year (there I go again--I can't help myself)?

-Joe Morgan is an absolutely atrocious, godawful, dreadful announcer. I mean he's great, except for his one fatal flaw: he is the worst communicator in the world. Every time he talks, I feel like I'm listening to a four-year-old with a stutter try to explain the theory of relativity while eating a caramel and blowing a bubble. What kind of dirt does this guy have on ESPN's director of personnel?

-We've already had both a cycle (Orlando Hudson, Monday) and a triple play (Pirates, Sunday) in the 2009 season.

-Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko went back-to-back Monday, and it was the 300th career home run for each of them.

-Piniella declared that Fukudome will no longer be pulled for defensive purposes in the late innings, as he is batting .417 to start the year.

-Through six games, no Cubs starter has recorded a loss, and five of the seven starts have been quality starts.

Samardzija watch
Jeff has pitched in two games for the Iowa Cubs, including a start on Monday. In his first appearance, he allowed two home runs and three earned runs, but his start was better: 4 IP, 2 hits, no runs. His ERA sits at 4.50.

"Zero" watch
The Nationals came really close this time--really, they did! But their comeback fell short, and they lost 9-8 to the Phillies. 0-7.

Spring training position battles

Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez got into the swing of things today with their first spring homers, and the Cubs won 6-4 behind three perfect innings from Sean Marshall as well as scoreless appearances from Neal Cotts, Luis Vizcaino and Kevin Gregg.

There isn't a whole lot of news out of Mesa this year, partly because the Cubs roster is so set. You can pretty much bet your house on the following players breaking camp:

C: Soto

IF: Lee, Miles, Fontenot, Theriot, Ramirez

OF: Soriano, Johnson, Fukudome, Bradley

SP: Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Harden

RP: Marshall (could start), Vizcaino, Gregg, Marmol, Heilman, Gaudin

That's 20 players, which means there are five spots up for grabs, and some of these are pretty darn set, but not set enough to fulfill the above criteria of being worthy of "betting your house." Apartment, maybe, but not house. Not in this economy.

Anyways, this situation is not exactly a recipe for spring training excitement, especially when you factor in that the Cubs are playing 750 spring training games this year. But here are the decisions Lou will have to make this spring:

• 5th starter: Marshall vs. Samardzija vs. Heilman (side note: since Lou Piniella has to make this decision, could we call it a "manager a trois"?), with Samardzija a slight question mark to make the team, as it's possible the Cubs would prefer him in AAA preparing to fill in as a starter if needed, as opposed to coming out of the 'pen with the big club.
• Reserve 1st baseman: Hoffpauir vs. Jake Fox, with Hoffpauir having a significant edge because he's a lefty and hit .342 in the majors last year.
• Lefty reliever: Cotts vs. Mike Stanton, with Cotts having a huge leg up due to Stanton being 112 years old (actually 41) and not having pitched since '07, when he had a 5.93 ERA, and he has a 9.00 ERA thus far in spring. Translation: Mike Stanton is old and bad.
  
• Reserve outfielder: Joey Gathright vs. Sam Fuld/So Taguchi, with Gathright having the edge. If MLB ever allows cars to be used on the field, Gathright will definitely be on the team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cySfw8f0beg
• Starting centerfielder: For now, the plan is to platoon Fukudome and Johnson, but perhaps Lou will use spring training to help determine who should start the majority of games. That being said, their performance during the regular season will likely mean more than spring, especially with Kosuke playing in the WBC this month.
• Starting second baseman: Miles vs. Fontenot. When Piniella mentioned the lineup he's currently got in mind, he put Miles in the two hole. I would have thought Fontenot would start after his .305/.395 campaign last year. Lou has said he hopes to get both of them a bunch of at-bats during the season, but perhaps spring will vault one above the other before Opening Day arrives.
• Reliever if Samardzija goes to AAA: Angel Guzman vs. Kevin Hart. Guzman pitched in six games last year (5.59 ERA), and has been a hot prospect for a while but has dealt with injuries. Hart appeared in 21 games last year (6.51 ERA).
• Reserve catcher: Paul Bako (remember him?) vs. Koyie Hill. I don't even want to talk about this one. These guys both suck. Hill is 29 and has a .190 career average. Paul Bako is thirty-freakin'-six and weighs in at .231. Both have thrown out under 30% of base runners in their careers. What happened to Henry Blanco? Crap, I got carried away with anger and just talked about Bako and Hill for like seven sentences. If Soto gets injured for an extended period of time this year, are we allowed to just use the backstop as a catcher and skip that position in the batting order? If someone knows the rule on this, please let me know.

There's a good chance we'll see Bako behind the plate, Hoffpauir off the bench, Mike Stanton's arm fall off in the next three weeks (so Cotts in the bullpen), and Joey Gathright patrolling the outfield. That leaves us with the 5th starter battle and the relief spot associated with it. Piniella has said Marshall gets the first crack at starting, and if that's how it shakes out, my guess is the Cubs decide to have Samardzija throwing flames out of the 'pen (2.28 ERA last year), which shores up every spot on the 25-man roster.

These certainly aren't guarantees, but either way, there isn't a whole lot of drama in camp this year unless a trade is made, someone gets injured, or Milton Bradley punches Lou Piniella in the trachea at some point. Lack of drama is not a bad thing; the Cubs have a lot of talent and a lot of veteran players, and there just aren't that many decisions to be made.

I'll be watching the 5th starter competition (previous blog post here), Miles and Fontenot, and Hoffpauir/Fox. I will be trying my darndest to completely ignore Paul "I really wasn't all that good the first time I was on the Cubs" Bako and Koyie "I batted above .250 one time, but that's because I only had three at-bats" Hill.

It's great not to have 10 roster spots to fill and huge questions to deal with during spring training. Sit back and enjoy it!

UPDATE: Piniella said Tuesday that Fukudome will start against right-handers. I can't say I feel strongly about this one way or the other. Fukudome looked like a great slap-hitter and on-base guy in the first couple months of the season, and then completely fell off the table. With a whole year in the states under his belt and a year of major league experience behind him, he almost can't be worse in 2009. At the same time, Johnson was extremely productive in his role last season, so I don't want to see him get limited at-bats this year. Like I said above, I still think their performances during the regular season will dictate their playing time.

"Start" of Spring Training

Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly and Harden--that's all set. But who will replace the supreme averageness of Jason Marquis as the Cubs' 5th starter? Piniella is in a good position, with two solid options and a potential wild card in 24-year-old Jeff Samardzija. Though of the three, only Marshall has appeared as a starter more often than a reliever in his career.

Heilman, 30, had been with the Mets his whole career, but was traded to the Mariners in December and then quickly flipped to the Cubs in January. Heilman was traded after struggling as a reliever in '08, going 3-8 with a 5.21 ERA and 1.59 WHIP (walks + hits/inning pitched). However, he posted a 3.27 total ERA in the three seasons prior. Those numbers came mostly out of the 'pen, as he started just seven games in that time frame, all in '05. Heilman has not started since that year.

Marshall is a 26-year-old lefty who has provided versatility for the Cubs since coming up from the Minors in 2006. He has appeared in 79 games with the Cubs, 50 as a starter. Last year was arguably his best, as he posted: 3-5, 3.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP. Marshall has generally fared better out of the 'pen (3.03 vs. 4.80 ERA).

It's actually somewhat ridiculous how similar these two pitchers are with their production. A look at their career numbers (Marshall listed first):

W-L ERA WHIP
16-22 4.62 1.41
22-33 4.24 1.33

More food for thought: Marshall, as more of a finesse pitcher, will post fewer strikeouts, but has also exhibited slightly better control. (Marshall listed first)

K/9 IP BB/9 IP
6.18 3.6
7.90 3.7

So: both have split time between starting and relieving, and both have been better as relievers. Their career win percentages are two percentage points apart, their ERAs and WHIPs are very similar, and Heilman is likely to strike out a few more guys, while walking slightly fewer.

Well, I'm exhausted. One thing to consider is that if Marshall starts, Neal Cotts is likely to be the only lefty out of the bullpen. Did you hear that? I said: Neal Cotts could be the only lefty out of the bullpen. Add in the fact that Cotts is actually better against righties than lefties, and this could be a serious factor in the final decision.

But wait: our wild card candidate. Jeff Samardzija came up last July and appeared in 26 games. He was exciting to watch, putting up a 2.28 ERA and notching 25 Ks in 27.2 IP. However, he also walked 15, and a similar struggle with control in a starter role would severely limit his ability to go deep into ballgames. Given that Zambrano and Harden tend to struggle in that arena, I'd prefer to see a 5th starter who can eat up some innings.

To me, it seems silly to prematurely choose between Heilman and Marshall, since neither really stands out. But as I said above, this is a nice situation for Lou. Both have the ability to perform satisfactorily in the 5th starter role, and whoever ends up in the 'pen will provide a nice insurance policy when another starter gets injured or struggles. Lou has rightly declared that he'll use spring training as a forum to help answer this particular question.

I lean toward Marshall because he's had more experience as a starter, but would have no problem seeing Heilman take the ball every fifth day. Ultimately, this is just one of many reasons to be excited about spring training baseball, which starts in just three short days (vs. Dodgers, Wednesday, 2:00 CST). And by the way, Samardzija will start the first game.