Are Cubs class of the NL Central?
If Ryan Dempster is as good at fortune telling as he has been at blowing saves the past couple of seasons, the Chicago Cubs will break a 100-year drought this year and win it all.
According to pitcher Ryan Dempster, Cubs fans will be dining on cabrito this October after Chicago’s North Side Nine wins their first World Series since the tail end of Teddy Roosevelt’s administration.
Dempster told reporters at the team’s training site in Mesa, AZ, that he believes the Cubs would win the World Series this year. One could almost sense Carlos Zambrano slinking away in the background after a similar prediction a year ago when the Cubs opened camp.
Some may give Dempster’s prophecy as much chance as William Jennings Bryan had taking Ohio in the 1908 presidential election that took place about three weeks after Chicago’s last MLB title. This year’s edition of the Cubs won’t have Three-Finger Brown or Big Ed Reulbach on the mound, and the double play combination of Theriot to DeRosa to Lee isn’t near as poetic as Tinker to Evers to Chance.
But Dempster just might be right. No, I’m not listing the Cubs as my favorites to hoist the big hardware at season’s end. But Chicago is the prohibitive favorite in the NL Central, a division not exactly known for being that tough the past couple of seasons, and once any team gets into October, it’s anyone’s game from there on out.
The Cubs should also be more comfortable with Lou Piniella entering his second Spring Training as manager. After being ballyhooed a year ago following an offseason spending spree, Chicago got off to a horrible start and sat nine below par at 22-31 on June 2 before closing 63-46 from that point on to win the NLC. A faster start this year could only breed confidence.
PITCHING
When Piniella and the Cincinnati Reds won the 1990 World Series, Sweet Lou had an amazing bullpen that came to be known as the Nasty Boys. Randy Myers, Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton formed an incredible trio of relievers, with Charlton also starting a few games.
Piniella is hoping to turn Bobby Howry, Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood into his next group of Nasty Boys. Dempster the Soothsayer is going to battle for a rotation spot this year, and that has opened an all-out battle this spring for the closer and set-up jobs. With the veteran aspect working for him, Howry probably has the inside position for closer, with Marmol and Wood the primary setup arms. Wood, of course, is a giant health risk.
Backing them up in the bullpen should be Mike Wuertz and left-hander Scott Eyre, and unsung duo capable of solid middle inning relief. Non-roster invitees Chad Fox and Shingo Takatsu are also in camp. Kevin Hart is another candidate for middle relief and someone Piniella really likes.
Dempster will be trying to crack a rotation that already appears to have three slots sewn up. Crazy Charlie Zambrano leads the way with southpaws Ted Lilly and Rich Hill behind him. That is a nice front three for any starting mix, leaving Dempster to take on right-handed veterans Jon Lieber and Jason Marquis, plus young left-hander Sean Marshall for the last two slots.
Marshall was being mentioned as possible trade bait to land second sacker Brian Roberts recently, so that could narrow the competition down. Right now, my gut tells me Dempster will be back in the pen if Marshall isn’t dealt.
OFFENSE/DEFENSE
Let’s start behind the plate where the Cubs will have a new look. After having Michael Barrett as their primary backstop since 2004, Chicago shipped Barrett out last year following a scuffle with Zambrano. Jason Kendall finished the year out at catcher for the Cubs, but then inked a new deal with the rival Brewers this winter. That opens the door for Geovany Soto to assume the catching chores.
Soto tore up Triple-A last year with the Cubs’ Iowa squad, banging 26 homers, driving in 109 in 110 games and hitting .353. The 25-year-old Puerto Rican then brought his stick to Chicago in September and batted .389 with three more long balls in 18 games. He will be backed up by Henry Blanco.
Chicago has a pair of big sticks on their infield corners with Derrek Lee at first and Aramis Ramirez at third. The pair combined for 48 HR and 183 RBI in 282 combined games, each hitting .310 or better.
Sandwiched between that duo on the diamond will be Ryan Theriot at short and Mark DeRosa at second…unless Roberts does indeed make his way to Wrigleyville. Theriot, out of LSU, bullied his way into Piniella’s heart and onto the roster as a utility player to open 2007 after a pair of .300 seasons in the minors in 2005-06. Both Theriot and DeRosa bounced around all over the field last year, so it remains to be seen if they really are the everyday middle infield tandem.
Ronny Cedeño and Alex Cintron will take over as 2B-3B-SS backups with Daryle Ward Lee’s backup at first and also capable of playing a little outfield.
Alfonso Soriano will be back in left following his first season in Chicago after signing a big free agent deal a winter ago. His numbers were down a bit, at least in the HR-SB-RBI departments, but he did up his batting average 22 points.
Chicago is counting on rookie Felix Pie to take over in center this year, and the young Dominican has a world of potential. Whether or not he’s ready to be an everyday player in the bigs remains to be seen, and right now the Cubs don’t have a lot of options behind him. Over in right will be Kosuke Fukudome, a name that we’d all love to have Harry Carey back just one more time to see how he’d butcher it. Fukudome is a line-drive gap hitter with excellent on-base numbers and the potential for 15-18 homers.
If Pie totally flops, we might see Fukudome shifted to center with Matt Murton taking over in right. Sam Fuld, a 10th-round pick out of Stanford in June 2004, is also in camp and coming off a tremendous showing in the Arizona Fall League.
Key Player(s): At this stage of camp, there are really only two questions critical for Piniella and the Cubs to answer. The first is to sort through the bullpen and determine a closer. The second is whether or not Pie really is ready for a big league job. If Howry, Marmol, Wood and Pie do come through, they could make Dempster look like a very smart guy.
Futures: The Cubs are basically even money to take home a second consecutive NL Central flag this year at The Greek, with a +645 price to win the NL Pennant for the first time since servicemen were returning from the Pacific and European theatres of WWII. The Greek also lists Chicago at +1815 to win their first World Series since 1908. BetCris listed the win total at 87, with the over drawing -120 to the under’s -110. My sims averaged out right on that spot, 87 wins. We’ll see where that number might shift once the rest of the books come out with their win totals.
If Ryan Dempster is as good at fortune telling as he has been at blowing saves the past couple of seasons, the Chicago Cubs will break a 100-year drought this year and win it all.
According to pitcher Ryan Dempster, Cubs fans will be dining on cabrito this October after Chicago’s North Side Nine wins their first World Series since the tail end of Teddy Roosevelt’s administration.
Dempster told reporters at the team’s training site in Mesa, AZ, that he believes the Cubs would win the World Series this year. One could almost sense Carlos Zambrano slinking away in the background after a similar prediction a year ago when the Cubs opened camp.
Some may give Dempster’s prophecy as much chance as William Jennings Bryan had taking Ohio in the 1908 presidential election that took place about three weeks after Chicago’s last MLB title. This year’s edition of the Cubs won’t have Three-Finger Brown or Big Ed Reulbach on the mound, and the double play combination of Theriot to DeRosa to Lee isn’t near as poetic as Tinker to Evers to Chance.
But Dempster just might be right. No, I’m not listing the Cubs as my favorites to hoist the big hardware at season’s end. But Chicago is the prohibitive favorite in the NL Central, a division not exactly known for being that tough the past couple of seasons, and once any team gets into October, it’s anyone’s game from there on out.
The Cubs should also be more comfortable with Lou Piniella entering his second Spring Training as manager. After being ballyhooed a year ago following an offseason spending spree, Chicago got off to a horrible start and sat nine below par at 22-31 on June 2 before closing 63-46 from that point on to win the NLC. A faster start this year could only breed confidence.
PITCHING
When Piniella and the Cincinnati Reds won the 1990 World Series, Sweet Lou had an amazing bullpen that came to be known as the Nasty Boys. Randy Myers, Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton formed an incredible trio of relievers, with Charlton also starting a few games.
Piniella is hoping to turn Bobby Howry, Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood into his next group of Nasty Boys. Dempster the Soothsayer is going to battle for a rotation spot this year, and that has opened an all-out battle this spring for the closer and set-up jobs. With the veteran aspect working for him, Howry probably has the inside position for closer, with Marmol and Wood the primary setup arms. Wood, of course, is a giant health risk.
Backing them up in the bullpen should be Mike Wuertz and left-hander Scott Eyre, and unsung duo capable of solid middle inning relief. Non-roster invitees Chad Fox and Shingo Takatsu are also in camp. Kevin Hart is another candidate for middle relief and someone Piniella really likes.
Dempster will be trying to crack a rotation that already appears to have three slots sewn up. Crazy Charlie Zambrano leads the way with southpaws Ted Lilly and Rich Hill behind him. That is a nice front three for any starting mix, leaving Dempster to take on right-handed veterans Jon Lieber and Jason Marquis, plus young left-hander Sean Marshall for the last two slots.
Marshall was being mentioned as possible trade bait to land second sacker Brian Roberts recently, so that could narrow the competition down. Right now, my gut tells me Dempster will be back in the pen if Marshall isn’t dealt.
OFFENSE/DEFENSE
Let’s start behind the plate where the Cubs will have a new look. After having Michael Barrett as their primary backstop since 2004, Chicago shipped Barrett out last year following a scuffle with Zambrano. Jason Kendall finished the year out at catcher for the Cubs, but then inked a new deal with the rival Brewers this winter. That opens the door for Geovany Soto to assume the catching chores.
Soto tore up Triple-A last year with the Cubs’ Iowa squad, banging 26 homers, driving in 109 in 110 games and hitting .353. The 25-year-old Puerto Rican then brought his stick to Chicago in September and batted .389 with three more long balls in 18 games. He will be backed up by Henry Blanco.
Chicago has a pair of big sticks on their infield corners with Derrek Lee at first and Aramis Ramirez at third. The pair combined for 48 HR and 183 RBI in 282 combined games, each hitting .310 or better.
Sandwiched between that duo on the diamond will be Ryan Theriot at short and Mark DeRosa at second…unless Roberts does indeed make his way to Wrigleyville. Theriot, out of LSU, bullied his way into Piniella’s heart and onto the roster as a utility player to open 2007 after a pair of .300 seasons in the minors in 2005-06. Both Theriot and DeRosa bounced around all over the field last year, so it remains to be seen if they really are the everyday middle infield tandem.
Ronny Cedeño and Alex Cintron will take over as 2B-3B-SS backups with Daryle Ward Lee’s backup at first and also capable of playing a little outfield.
Alfonso Soriano will be back in left following his first season in Chicago after signing a big free agent deal a winter ago. His numbers were down a bit, at least in the HR-SB-RBI departments, but he did up his batting average 22 points.
Chicago is counting on rookie Felix Pie to take over in center this year, and the young Dominican has a world of potential. Whether or not he’s ready to be an everyday player in the bigs remains to be seen, and right now the Cubs don’t have a lot of options behind him. Over in right will be Kosuke Fukudome, a name that we’d all love to have Harry Carey back just one more time to see how he’d butcher it. Fukudome is a line-drive gap hitter with excellent on-base numbers and the potential for 15-18 homers.
If Pie totally flops, we might see Fukudome shifted to center with Matt Murton taking over in right. Sam Fuld, a 10th-round pick out of Stanford in June 2004, is also in camp and coming off a tremendous showing in the Arizona Fall League.
Key Player(s): At this stage of camp, there are really only two questions critical for Piniella and the Cubs to answer. The first is to sort through the bullpen and determine a closer. The second is whether or not Pie really is ready for a big league job. If Howry, Marmol, Wood and Pie do come through, they could make Dempster look like a very smart guy.
Futures: The Cubs are basically even money to take home a second consecutive NL Central flag this year at The Greek, with a +645 price to win the NL Pennant for the first time since servicemen were returning from the Pacific and European theatres of WWII. The Greek also lists Chicago at +1815 to win their first World Series since 1908. BetCris listed the win total at 87, with the over drawing -120 to the under’s -110. My sims averaged out right on that spot, 87 wins. We’ll see where that number might shift once the rest of the books come out with their win totals.
