Getting closer to being the closer

Wednesday: Cubs 8, Pirates 5


I say this very, very tentatively (please read slowly for effect): perhaps the Cubs have found their closer for 2010. I sort of twitched when I typed that, knowing the stomach-churning, hair-graying things that Carlos Marmol is capable of. But he's now 7-for-7 in save opportunities since being anointed the closer, and even more importantly, he's been throwing strikes. Eight of his 11 pitches were in the zone in his perfect ninth yesterday, and 11 of his 13 pitches found the zone in his perfect inning of work on Monday.

If Marmol can keep up the good work next year, Hendry (or whoever is GM) can get to work solidifying the rest of the bullpen instead of having to spend a bunch of money on a hit-or-miss closer (e.g., even the infallible Brad Lidge of '08 has an ERA upwards of seven this year).

While it obviously isn't going to result in a playoff appearance this year, the deadline trade the Cubs made is looking pretty good right about now. The Cubs hit Kevin Hart around pretty good yesterday (and he doled out six free passes), and he has struggled mightily with the Pirates to the tune of a 1-5 record and a 6.46 ERA.

Additionally, John Grabow has expressed an interest in remaining with the Cubs beyond '09, and Tom Gorzelanny may do the same (if the Cubs believe he can contribute).

Could the Pirates be any nicer to the Cubs? We've built up a 9-2 record against them this year after a 14-4 record last year, plus the aforementioned trade that's looking like a win for the Cubs. And I won't even mention the time Hendry fleeced them at the deadline in '03.

And lastly: way to go, Micah Hoffpauir. After going deep in back-to-back games, Hoffpauir has reached double digits in home runs and has also driven in 28 runs. Those stats, when fleshed out over a full season's worth of at-bats, translate to 24 HR and 62 RBI.

Dusty can't be having much fun this year; Gorzelanny and Cubs defeat punchless Reds to reach new high-water mark

Tuesday: Cubs 6, Reds 3

Tom Gorzelanny sneaking a peak at his name being back on a major league scoreboard. Or looking at something else. Yeah, he's probably looking at something else.

The Tom Gorzelanny Experiment is a success!

Well, maybe it's too early to report that. But it's off to a helluva start: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. How sweet is that? It was his first start since September 10, 2008.

And he can hit! Well, not really. He was an almost impossibly bad 7-for-113 in his career entering Tuesday, but he had a nice little bloop RBI single to raise his career average to .069. That's right, .069.

Gorzelanny will likely get three starts before Lilly returns, and almost certainly be replaced at that point even if he pitches well. But he could become a bullpen option if he pitches well enough to warrant it.

Fukudome provided some instant offense for Gorzelanny, doing his best impression of Alfonso Soriano with a home run to begin the game. It was his first since July 8 off the Braves' Kenshin Kawakami. He reached base twice in the game, and has a .440 OBP when batting leadoff.

The Cubs could have a 12 percent roster turnover from Tuesday to Wednesday:

• Andres Blanco was placed on the DL with a left calf strain to make room for Tom Gorzelanny. If Blanco's really injured, then so be it. But if not, I strongly prefer him over ...
• Aaron Miles, who will be activated today (are we sure he's healthy? Maybe he needs a little more time ...). Presumably, a Jeff will be sent to the minors to accommodate Miles--either Stevens or Samardzija. As I said Sunday, I put both hands up to vote for Samardzija.
  
• Geovany Soto could be activated as early as today, requiring yet another roster move. Fox and Baker are almost surely safe, leaving Hoffpauir and Fuld as the options. I opt for Hoffpauir, who is rotting on the bench and is batting just .179 since June 1.

Rich Harden has been hot lately, while Justin Lehr will be making just his second career start. Can anyone say "sweep"?

Triple Crown?

I was going to write here about how Albert Pujols' triple crown chances were slipping away. Mark Reynolds had pulled to within two home runs of the league lead, while Prince Fielder had passed Pujols by one in RBI. But then Pujols hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and recorded five RBI as the Cardinals beat the Mets 12-7 in 10 innings. Pujols is fifth in the league in batting average, however, 19 points behind Hanley Ramirez.

You can't make ...

this up.

Split doubleheader nets 6-5 homestand; Cubs within shouting distance at the break

Sunday, Game 1: Cubs 7, Cardinals 3

Prior to the game, Pujols accepts his mission from the baseball gods.

Ted Lilly is awarded his 2009 All-Star jersey.

Hoffpauir celebrates his three-run homer in the first.

Zambrano revels in his go-ahead (and game-winning) home run.

For some unknown reason, I love when this happens. Deuces wild.

The Cubs Quintet serenades the fans.

Hey, they're right--the Cubs did win today!

Sunday, Game 2: Cardinals 4, Cubs 2

This was the sign at Murphy's Bleachers in between games. Why it says Dan Brown blows, I have no idea.

For some odd reason, Jake Fox brought out the lineup card.

First pitch. We had a sweet view.

Jake Fox catching. And we didn't even get hit with any wild pitches!

Sean Marshall, after moving from pitcher to left field in one of the stranger double switches you'll ever see.

And now Marshall's back on the mound.

So there's the photographic recap of Sunday's doubleheader; here's the written one:

Every time you go to the ballpark, there's a chance you're going to see something you've never seen before. In Game 1, that was Albert Pujols popping one up on the infield, seeing it get dropped by Theriot, then heading for second only to have Jeff Baker pick up the ball with his barehand, spin around and--after getting over his surprise at seeing Pujols about 10 feet away from him--tagging him out. From a pop-up to an error to an out, all in about 15 seconds.

Pujols did his damage in Game 1, going 1-for-4 with a 2-run double and a run. But Hoffpauir's 3-run blast (his first since June 25) off just-returned-from-the-DL Kyle Lohse got the Cubs out to an early lead, and Zambrano's third home run of the year gave the Cubs the lead for good. It was a close game the whole way until errors by both members of the Cardinals' right side of the infield allowed three unearned runs to score in the 7th inning (and the 7th errors of the year for both Schumaker and Pujols, weird).

The win guaranteed that the Cubs would be no further back in the standings at the end of this 11-game homestand than they were when it began: 3 1/2 games out. The home runs and the Cardinals' errors allowed the frenzied Wrigley fans to ignore the fact that the Cubs were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. A win over the Cardinals on a sunny, 75 degree day washes away just about any negative elements. For at least the next four hours, it was "Go Cubs Go."

...

Game 2 didn't start off quite so well. The 1st inning home run this time went to the Redbirds, as Ryan Ludwick absolutely unloaded off of Randy Wells to put the Cubs in a 2-0 hole. The Cubs got one right back in the bottom of the inning as back-in-the-lineup Fuld notched his first of two hits, and Lee drove him in after Theriot bunted him to third.

Both Wells and Wainwright continued to hold serve until the 6th, when--after Wells had retired Pujols for the third consecutive time--Ludwick smashed another 2-run homer to make it 4-1. Bradley would drive in Aramis Ramirez with a hard-hit double (batting lefty!) in the bottom of the inning, but alas, that would be the end of the scoring for both teams on this night. It was not, however, the end of the story.

First, Fukudome pinch-hit for Koyie Hill in the 7th, which meant we were destined to see Jake Fox strap on the catcher's gear in the 8th. He did just fine behind the dish, blocking a couple balls and never having to attempt to throw out any base stealers.

The other Cubs player who found himself out of position in Game 2 was Sean Marshall. When Piniella went to take Marshall out of the game after he'd loaded the bases in the 9th, everyone at Wrigley (including Marshall, presumably) was perplexed to see Marshall walking out towards left field. Soriano left the game, and Heilman came on to pitch.

Brendan Ryan (who was probably doing everything he could to hit it to left field just to see what would happen) struck out, and Piniella emerged from the dugout to make another pitching change. And lo and behold, Little League-style, Lou summoned Marshall from left field back to the mound, and he was replaced in left by Reed Johnson. Marshall then struck out the Cardinals' version of a Hoffpauir (Jarrett), and then got Colby Rasmus to fly out to left (though I understand from my TV-viewing friends that Johnson's catch was questionable at best).

So the Cubs got out of the bases-loaded, nobody out jam with one of the most clever and most risky managerial moves I've ever seen. If you count Game 1 and Marshall's two pitching stints in Game 2, he essentially pitched three separate times on Sunday. Once again, you don't exactly see that every day.

The split doubleheader left the Cubs 3 1/2 games out at the break, exactly where they were before The Homestand. They sit right at .500, 43-43, an underperforming team with a surprisingly good chance of sneaking to the top of a weak division as the second half unfolds. We've seen glimpses of the team we expected heading into the season, and we've seen performances and statistics more appropriate for RFK Stadium than Wrigley Field. Everyone but Ted Lilly will take a few days off and prepare for 76 more games, starting with the Nationals on Thursday (who, by the way, just replaced Manny Acta with former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman). The Cubs are tied with the Brewers and just one behind the Cardinals in the loss column, so here's to a second half that goes exactly like the first ... was expected to go.

Wood you believe it?

Saturday: Cubs 6, Indians 5 (13 inn.)

I can't recall a more exciting three-game stretch. Three come-from-behind, walk-off victories. One against the Sox, two against Kerry Wood and the Indians. Two of them extra inning games. Wow.

I feel bad that Wood has had to endure two blown saves at his old stomping grounds, but them's the breaks. The Cubs finally look like a team that believes it can win every game.

All right, it's time to give some "mad props," as the kids say. Derrek Lee now has four home runs in the last three games, and his multi-homer game Friday was his first since 2006. He has also surpassed Theriot for the highest average on the team (.288), and is creeping his way toward the .300 mark. I don't know where he went for six months, but right now, he looks like the Derrek Lee the Cubs signed to a five-year, $65 million extension in 2006.

And props are due to Bob Brenly as well--he called Micah Hoffpauir's pinch-hit home run in the 6th after semi-calling Derrek Lee's home run in the 5th (he said: "You don't have to wait until the 8th to hit a home run, Derrek."). He must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

This is why Marmol cannot be an effective reliever with all these walks. Bringing him in with the bases loaded was almost sure to result in a run-scoring walk. It's one thing when he starts an inning and can get out of his own jam, but he's made himself practically useless when brought in in a tough situation.

Heilman had similar issues, walking three in his first inning of work. The Cubs' bullpen has walked more batters than only five other major league teams. I still think the Cubs will have to make a move to shore up their bullpen if they're going to win the division.

Cubs notes

-I appreciate the effort from Bradley trying to go first to third on a D Lee single in the 1st, but it was still a bad baserunning play--you can't make the third out at third base.

-Incredibly, the highest OBP on the team is owned by Fukudome (.399).

-Saturday marked the Cubs' 10th extra-inning affair in 64 games.

A recipe for success

Clearly, the Cubs' current lineup is not getting the job done. Hendry shook things up a bit on Sunday by firing hitting coach Gerald Perry and replacing him with Triple-A hitting coach Von Joshua (Joshua was the White Sox hitting coach from 1998-2001). I can't recall offhand a team firing their hitting coach and then suddenly scoring runs in bunches, but I suppose shaking things up is worth a try. It's certainly not fair to lay all the Cubs' woes at Perry's feet; after all, he was the hitting coach last year when the Cubs consistently worked good at-bats and tore the cover off the ball. But perhaps a new personality and some fresh perspective will give the bats a lift.

What else can the Cubs do to help right the ship? Here are a few thoughts:

Get Miles out of the lineup. Why is he starting every day? He's batting .202 and slugging a pathetic .254. Bobby Scales, who was inexplicably sent down when Harden came off the DL, was hitting just .241 but was slugging .466. He's also a better defensive second baseman. The Cubs could have sent Waddell down or gotten rid of the useless (and seldom used) David Patton instead. Even Andres Blanco would be an improvement over Miles.

Start Reed Johnson, even against righties. I'm not saying Kosuke should never play again, but let's give Johnson a chance. Fukudome has done absolutely nothing at the plate in the last few weeks, and Johnson (.272/.333/.437) deserves a chance to prove himself after a great season in '08.


Bring up Jake Fox. Fox will come up and DH when the Cubs head to Detroit on June 23. If he continues to rake, give him a shot at starting every now and then and let's see how bad is defense really is. He may be able to make up for his glove with his bat.

Move Soriano down in the order. If Soriano's going to strikeout no matter where he bats, then I suppose it doesn't matter all that much. But you simply cannot have a player with a .300 OBP (.268 in June) at the top of the order.

Start Hoffpauir occasionally. I hate to compliment Tony La Russa, but I believe part of the reason the Cardinals get so much out of so little year after year is because every player knows he needs to prove himself in order to stay in the lineup. Start Hoffpauir in left and/or right field every now and then. If he produces, give him more playing time. If not, you may see the residual effect of Bradley and/or Soriano stepping up their game to prove themselves.


Well, there are my two cents. What do you think the Cubs need to do to turn their offensive fortunes around?

**UPDATE**They're listening to me! Okay, maybe not, but the Cubs recalled Jake Fox Tuesday and placed Jason Waddell on the DL.

Cubs chop Braves in 11, end road woes

Let's take a look at some more ex-Cubs, NL West style:

Matt Murton, Rockies

Murton, who topped my "favorite Cubs" list during his tenure in Chicago, was traded to the A's last July in the Rich Harden deal. He played nine games for the A's and was just 3-for-30. He was then traded to Colorado this February, and has appeared in 20 games. He's batting .275 with a home run and four RBI, and because I like him so much, I'm even going to link to the video of him jacking one out of Coors Field.

Chad Gaudin, Padres

Gaudin and his beard were released in April and signed by San Diego later that month. Chad has made seven starts for the Padres, and is 2-3 with a 4.77 ERA. Oddly, six of his seven starts have been on the road this year, and his one start at Petco was a strong six-inning outing against the Giants.

Henry Blanco, Padres

Blanco is another guy that the Padres signed off the Cubs' scrapheap. Some, including myself, were surprised the Cubs didn't try to retain him, as he had a career year with a .292 average while throwing out 45% of potential base stealers. He's played in 21 games as a backup this year, and is struggling with a .194 average. On the bright side, three of his 12 hits have left the yard.

Bob Howry, Giants


Signed in December as a free agent, Howry has made the second-most appearances out of the 'pen for San Fran. His ERA is up there, though, at 5.12.




Wednesday: Cubs 3, Braves 2, 11 inn.

The Cubs bullpen showed some moxie, and the result was the team's first road win since May 10. Ted Lilly had another quality start (that's seven out of 10 for him), and Marmol, Guzman and Gregg combined for four innings with just one hit allowed and no walks. But the best moment of the game was when Micah Hoffpauir had a pinch-hit RBI single to put the Cubs ahead in the 11th--and the hit came off a lefty. Hoffpauir is batting just .154 on the season against southpaws.

The worst thing from Wednesday's game: Fontenot and Theriot combined to have three at-bats in the late innings with the goal of bunting a runner to second, and they failed all three times. When even your tiny players can't bunt, it's tough to play small ball.

After surviving Derek Lowe, the Cubs will face another tough pitcher Thursday in Jair Jurrjens. The 23-year-old is 5-2 with a 2.59 ERA, and has never faced the Cubs.

Why?

This movie's going to be terrible.

White Sox give up 20 runs in one game, win series. Cubs give up eight runs in series, get swept. That's baseball.

Before we get into Thursday's game, I thought it'd be fun to check in on some former Cubs. Let's have at it:

Kerry Wood, Indians
Many Cubs fans were sad to see him go this past offsesason. While part of me was sad as well, I didn't think it was prudent to spend $20 million on a closer. Wood is 6-for-8 in save opportunities, and has an ugly 7.71 ERA and 1.86 WHIP (the ML average is 1.42). Wood might be wishing he'd chosen a different team to sign with--the Indians don't have the worst record in baseball (Nationals), but they do have the second-worst.

Mark DeRosa, Indians
With DeRosa's contract up at the end of the year, it would be a shock if DeRosa doesn't get traded away from the Tribe. His .253 average is his lowest since 2005, but he's still providing decent production with six home runs and 26 RBI.

David Aardsma, Mariners
The player who will forever be listed first in an alphabetical listing of baseball players is on his third team since the Cubs (White Sox, Red Sox, Mariners). The 27-year-old has pitched in 19 games for Seattle and has five saves and six holds with a sparkling 1.37 ERA.

Rich Hill, Orioles
In his first start since last May, Hill won his first game in over a year by beating the Royals last Saturday. He'll start again Friday against the Nationals.

Ronny Cedeno, Mariners
Cedeno has played in 15 games for the Mariners, and is batting just .200 with two home runs and five RBI.

Jason Marquis, Rockies
Marquis started the season red hot, but has come back to Earth a bit in his recent starts. As is his custom, he has recorded a decision in all eight of his starts (he seems to either be great or terrible in all of his starts); he's 5-3 with a 4.75 ERA. His most recent outing was a good one, as he held the Braves to one run over eight innings.

Thursday: Cardinals 3, Cubs 1

Okay, that was painful. And dreadful. And woeful. The Cubs forgot something at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport--their offense. Hopefully they retrieved it on their way to San Diego.

The Cubs' recent struggles have been frustrating, no doubt. But when you step back and realize that Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto, Mike Fontenot, Milton Bradley, Reed Johnson and Aaron Miles are hitting under .240; that Aramis Ramirez is on the DL; that Carlos Zambrano has missed nearly three weeks; and that Ted Lilly is the only starter with an ERA under four, what's really amazing is that the Cubs are still three games over .500.

The Cubs have holes in their lineup and in their bullpen, but Piniella has coaxed 21 victories out of them to this point. While it's taking way too long, Soto and Bradley are going to hit (and hopefully Lee will, too), and Ramirez will be back for most of the second half. With so many new faces in the clubhouse, Piniella seems to be pulling a 2007, i.e. using the first couple months to figure out who belongs in what role. Add to that the fact that Hendry should have some flexbility to make a move or two in July, and the Cubs should be okay.

But in the meantime, Hoffpauir and Koyie Hill should both see some increased time at the plate if you ask me. Somebody needs to jump start this offense, and Hoffpauir has been perhaps the Cubs' most consistent hitter all season, and Hill played well when Soto was hurt earlier in the year. It's worth a try.

Getting swept at the hands of the Cardinals was not even the least bit pleasant, but as Walter Sobchak once said, "Nothing is f---ed here, Dude." Believe it or not, the Cubs have not yet played a quarter of their schedule. Let's go get a couple (or a few) wins in SoCal before coming back home for a seven-game homestand.

MLB pitching notes
-The Dodgers have four lefties--Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw, Eric Stults and Eric Milton--in their rotation.

-The Nationals have a rotation consisting of four rookies--Craig Stammen, Shairon Martis, Jordan Zimmermann and Ross Detwiler--and a second-year pitcher, John Lannan. But no worries, they're backed up by a bullpen with a 1-15 record and an ML-worst 6.68 ERA.

-Remember how the Mets' biggest offeseason priority was fixing their bullpen? Well, it appears to have worked: Mets relievers lead the league with a 2.83 ERA.

You can't spell "interminable career" without "I-N-T"

As I said here, you simply can't believe Brett Favre is retired until all 32 teams have played a game and Favre has not suited up for any of them. After officially retiring for the second time this February, Favre is now in talks with the Vikings and might come back to play for them. I don't even know what the real story is at this point--first he was considering coming out of retirement, then he supposedly told Vikings coach Brad Childress he wanted to remain retired, and now he will reportedly play for them as long as his shoulder doesn't require "major" surgery.

Can anyone truly say they're shocked by these developments? This is what Brett Favre does. Why is it that some of the toughest, manliest athletes in the world are also the biggest drama queens? Why do people like Roger Clemens and Brett Favre lack the ability to anticipate how they might feel a few months down the road?

Now, I want to point out that I don't think these wishy-washy athletes tarnish their legacies by coming back to the game. The fact that Jordan came back to play for Washington for a couple years doesn't affect my opinion of him as a player even the tiniest bit. I don't look at Clemens', Jordan's or Favre's numbers any differently, I just think less of them for being insincere in their dramatic news conference retirements.

But here's the long and short of it: Come on back, Brett! Favre led the NFL last year with 29 interceptions, and he's thrown 84 over the last four seasons. He got hurt near the end of last season (hence Minnesota wondering if he needs major surgery) and the Jets fell apart down the stretch, going 1-4 and missing the playoffs. Sure he's a legend, but a 40-year-old interception prone quarterback coming off an injury? If I were allowed to pick a division to put him in, I'd go with the NFC North. Tillman and Vasher, get to work developing your post-interception dances, cuz you're gonna need plenty of them.

Granted, Favre is a step up over Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, but as a Bears fan, I have absolutely no problem seeing #4 standing behind center when the Bears take on the Vikings. I don't want the drama of yet another season with post-retirement Favre, but I wouldn't mind the excitement of two Bears victories over Minnesota.

Cubs notes
The Cubs will be without Aramis Ramirez for about four to six weeks. Ryan Freel takes his place on the roster, and Bobby Scales started at third base Saturday.

This hurts, but the Cubs can deal with the loss if they can continue to get strong pitching and get some sort of contributions from guys like Bradley, Lee and Soto, who have done next-to-nothing to this point. The Cubs are two games over .500 despite minimal offensive contributions from several of their key players. Hopefully this injury will only cost them a few wins over the next month or two, and the Cubs can still be right in the thick of it when Ramirez returns.

MLB notes
-I was shocked to see that Evan Longoria's five RBI Saturday gave him 44 for the season. He's on pace to drive in 222 runs. Plus, Longoria's teammate Carlos Pena has 32 RBI--the two of them are on pace to drive in 380 runs this year, which would shatter the record of 347 set by Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in 1931. The duo is 1-3 in the majors in RBI and 1-2 in HR (with Longoria first in RBI and second in HR).

(hat tip: Baseball Musings)

-Did you hear Bob Brenly pull a Steve Stone on Saturday? Micah Hoffpauir stepped up to the plate in the 5th, and Brenly said, "I don't do this very often, but I think Hoffpauir's going to hit one a long way right here." And on the first pitch he saw, Hoffpauir launched one out to right center. Great job, Micah; but even greater job, Bob Brenly.

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.

3-0, 198 to go

Micah Hoffpauir (pronounced Hoff-POWER, as in he hit 25 HR at AAA Iowa last year) celebrates his grand slam in the Cubs' first spring training game.

The Cubs are 3-0 in spring training, posting 5-3, 7-4 and 10-4 victories. They are clearly a runaway victory train; a true juggernaut that can't be stopped. Joey Gathright is 3-3, Micah Hoffpauir has two home runs and seven RBI, and Ryan Theriot is batting .571. With additional contributions from players such as Jeff Stevens, Mark Johnson and Doug Deeds (seriously), this is a team so laden with talent from top to bottom that the "W" flag may spend the entire season atop Wrigley's flag pole.

PREDICTION: The Cubs will go undefeated in spring training, and then go 162-0 in the regular season. This is my first Cubs prediction of the year, and I have to admit: I feel pretty good about it. The Cubs finished 97-64 in 2008, and I think if a few more hits fall in and a few more calls go their way, they could easily add 65 victories to this season's total. For the record, this would result in a combined spring + regular season record of 201-0.

Some may say this prediction is overly bold, or even stupid, or perhaps completely asinine and ridiculous. Some may say this prediction undermines my status as a Cubs analyst, throws my baseball acumen into question, and casts doubt on my general mental competency. Some may think this prediction premature, or baseless, or dismiss it as a comical take on a small sampling of meaningless spring training games. To those people I say: good points.