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Carlos Marmol is considering not pitching in the WBC, Lou Piniella made a joke comment to Marmol that while he was away pitching in the WBC, Kevin Gregg would be in Mesa pitching 98mph fast balls. Marmol and Gregg will compete for the closers role and Marmol doesn’t want to miss a beat, however he commented that it is always hard to turn down your country. He is expected to make a decision today on whether he will pitch in the WBC or stay in Mesa with the Cubs, I’m hoping that it is the latter.

Jeff Samardzija will pitch the opening cactus league game Wednesday agains’t the LA Dodgers at HoHoKam Park. Samardzija will be vying for the 5th starters role with Sean Marshall and Aaron Heilman. The young hurler from Notre Dame will be given the ball first and asked to show what he can do. Samardzija spent the majority of last season in the Cubs bullpen so will need stretching out if he is going to be considered for the 5th starters role. Set rotation pitchers like Carls Zambrano and Ryan Dempster will now pitch until the second week of games.

Rich Harden is yet to face live hitters, Lou is holding him back to make sure that his shoulder is fully healthy. Harden will pitch two more side sessions before facing the likes of Soriano and Bradley in live batting practice. Harden has commented that he feels great, and his daily routine to get himself ready to go is working fine.

Koyie Hill and Paul Bako will compete this spring to be Geovany Soto’s backup. Bako has collected quite the number of Jerseys from being moved around so much, he doesn’t offer much on the offensive side of the ball, but he can continue to mentor Soto, who is going into his 2nd full season with the Cubs. A little bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone.

The Cubs might be looking for extra infield help, although carrying 12 pitchers and 13 position players does not give much room for Wiggle. As of right now there is not a back-up for A-Ram at 3rd base, DeRosa who took on that role last season is now in Cleveland. Jake Fox has been taking ground balls at 3rd, however with a back up catcher, Hoffpauier, Johnson, Gathwright, and either Miles or Fontenot, there is not much room left to add cover at 3rd.

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Soriano can still run

Just days after Lou Piniella suggested that Alfonso Soriano might drop down the line-up, it has been commented that it would be ‘improbable’ that Soriano hits anywhere but the 1 spot. However the Cubs are set to experiment this Spring with different lead-off hitters. Lou has stated all Winter that his regulars will be getting some extra days off, a lead-off man is needed when Soriano takes to the bench, the likely candidates being Ryan Theriot and Aaron Miles.

Soriano reacted to the news by saying:

“I’m very happy — happy at how I feel [physically],” Soriano said. “I think [Piniella] saw me running, and he knows I can be the guy I was in 2001, 2002. I feel very good right now.”

Both seasons saw Soriano swipe 40 or more bases, so can Soriano swipe 40 again? i seem to think that he won’t, he has battled leg problems for the past two years, and putting pressure on him to run might not be the best thing. Although if Soriano want’s 40 bases and is healthy, he may well get them.

When Lou was asked about the possible line-up for 2009 he replied that he was leaning towards a lineup of  Soriano, Miles, Lee, Bradley, Ramirez, Fukudome, Soto and Theriot. That is one strong line-up if you ask me, left handers, right handers,  power patience and speed.

Lee has no sympathy for steroid users

On a day where Alex Rodriguez met 200 reporters to pour his heart out on his past steroid use, every spring camp had steroid clouds floating about. Unless a Cubs player is highlighted in steroid allegations, this is the only post that i will make on steroids. It is a problem in baseball, and I’m sure everyone accepts that, (well maybe everyone apart from Marvin Miller, who gave a unconvincing interview on steroids not being a problem during the Michael Kay show on 1050ESPN last week) however I’m a baseball fan, and i love the game, so i would much rather talk about the on field events rather than chime out yet another story on steroids, that people are getting very bored of hearing about.

Derek Lee, one of the most loved Cubs was asked for his opinions not only on A-Rod but on steroid users in general, and here is his reply:

“There should be zero tolerance,” Lee said. “We’ve had plenty of warnings. There’s no excuses. You get caught now, there should be no sympathy and you do your time.”

“I think a year is — if you got banned, I wouldn’t feel sorry for a guy,” he said. “Maybe if some guy got caught and truly didn’t know what he was taking, in that instance [it'd be different]. But if you’re taking steroids, there should be no sympathy.”

A scathing review by Derek Lee, who has admitted that he has been asked the point blank question of whether he took steroids, and even if he denies it, who is to believe him? Palmeiro denied it, Alex Rodriguez denied it. Every player in this era will be tarred with the same brush, if this was ‘the culture’ like Alex Rodriguez suggested in his interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons, then who can we believe? that is the saddest part of this whole predicament, we simply don’t know who’s records are tainted and who’s are not.

Derek Lee is not the first person to come out and ask for harsher punishments, David Ortiz said that the punishment should be harder, Ozzie Guillen, the man who always has something to say also commented on it. I heard a fan call into ESPN yesterday, and her simple statement was, shut these players up!, i could not disagree more with this comment, if there are going to be changes to the punishment for steroid users, the players union is going to have to accept them, what better way to encourage this to happen than speak out agains’t the users. This ‘fan’ was telling players to be quiet, I would like them to be louder and more vocal on the issue.

With the Barry Bonds trial just around the corner, I’m afraid the steroid stories in the national and international media have only just begun.

Another down, three to go.

Edit- I have just edited this post, it has just been announced that Derek Lee will also skip the WBC.

Aramis Ramirez arrived at Cubs Camp in Mesa Arizona, and decided that he likes it so much he would prefer to stay instead of represent his country in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Now my personal opinion, great decision. I admire what Bud Selig is trying to do with the World Baseball Classic, especially after baseball was dropped from the 2012 Olympics in London. However the timing of the Classic could not be any worse.

It is my personal opinion that players should not be playing at such a elite level this early into spring training. There is a big difference between Spring Training games and the games at the World Baseball Classic. You risk injury to potential stars ahead of the new season, players miss time to bond in camp. The Cubs have added some vital parts of the 2009 lineup this Winter, and Lou Piniella has already stated that he would like to experiment with the lineup, how are we supposed to do this with some of the most important parts of our lineup spread across the country? It’s near impssible to get a clear view.

I like the WBC, but it’s timing makes it impossible for me to want to see Cubs players participate.

A-Ram joins several Cubs players who have opted to stay in Mesa. Ted Lilly/Derek lee and Geovany Soto currently stand as the only Cubs players planning to participate in the upcoming classic.