» Harden

Sean Marshall Secures 5th spot

I have been quite busy over the past 24-48 hours with work and some cricket, a great game that should be more popular in the US if you ask me. However i did hear that Sean Marshall will be the Cubs 5th starter this season. I am absolutely delighted about this, Sean has done a great job over the past couple years doing whatever he was asked, leftie relief, some spot starts and he did a commendable job every time.

This means that Aaron Helman will move into the bullpen and Jeff Samardzija will either move with Heilman to the bullpen or move down to AAA as a starter to stay stretched out.

The Cubs will carry 12 pitchers this season, this includes the five starters, Zambrano/Dempster/Harden/Lilly and Marshall. Lou commented that 5 spots in the bullpen have already been secured, likely Marmol/Gregg/Cotts/Heilman and Vizcaino, which means there are two spots still up for grabs, Samardzija/Gaudin and David Patton who has done well this spring with a 1.17 ERA as well as Randy Wells.

David Patton has never pitched above A ball, so to think that he will start the season with the Cubs is a long shot, however the way that he is pitching has led Lou Piniella to say that he is in the mix, and if he continues to impress then why not give him a go.

Ok so like i mentioned in a earlier post, I’m getting bored with Spring Training, and if you have been reading this blog regulary you will likely be getting bored as well, generic posts about games that don’t really matter with little significance. So now i will rounding up the Spring Training games every few days, or even once a week, that doesn’t mean that there wont be more posts on other things.

Projected Rotation:

1) Carlos Zambrano……perhaps not the ace that many believe he is, but if he can avoid his bad month then he is as dominant as any pitcher in the game.

2) Ryan Dempster is coming off a great season, but now he has the contract, will his performances stay at a consistent level, i think they will but it is a question mark

3) Ted Lilly is a great number three guy, a good pitcher who is coming off a good season, will be as solid as usual this season.

4) Rich Harden, is this the best fourth starter in the league? absolutely, he’s an ace on many staffs, there are still injury concerns but if he stays healthy all season then he will add a lot to this rotation.

5) Sean Marshall, the one rotation spot that is not sewn up yet, Marshall has pitched well this Spring, and deserves a chance, he has every oppurtunity to be a 10-15 game winner this season.

Projected Line-up

C- Geovany Soto, a young guy with a ton of potential, he had a great rookie season, and anything is possible. Pitcher love him and he is a dangerous hitter.

1B- Derek Lee, a great glove man and a consistent hitter, needs to cut down on the DP’s this coming season..

2B- Mike Fontenot, glad the little guy will be given a chance, mini babe ruth has a rapport with Theriot and he has pop in his bat, could be his break out season.

SS- Ryan Theriot wont hit for power, but he will get on base, and swipe some bases as well, locked down.

3B- Aramis Ramirez is one hell of a player, the best hitter on the Cubs? probably, could go 30+ homers and 120+ RBI’s, hitting with Bradley in front or behind will benefit his numbers.

LF- Alfonso Soriano needs to keep his legs fresh, he can still run and he hits for power, can change a game from the innitial swing of the game.

CF- Kosuke Fukudome, stella defense and lets hope that he is the hitter of the first half rather than the second half.

RF- Milton Bradley, the new guy to the lineup, has a ton of potential but like Harden he needs to stay healthy, there have been questions of his temprement but under Lou he will be just fine.

Bench and bullpen will be done next week.

Zambrano will start Opening Day

If you remember last off-season, Carlos Zambrano was quoted as saying that he didn’t want to start opening day, was he joking? probably, but the stats don’t lie. Zambrano is set to make his 5th concecutive opening day start this year, after manager Lou Piniella chose him instead of Ryan Dempster to take the mound to kick the Cubs season off.

Zambrano is yet to win a opening day start, last season he took the 3-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, although signs of maturity are coming through in Zambrano, some people have suggested that it is because of his pumped up nature that he has been unable to control him emotions and been wild on opening day, however there have been no World Series predictions, no CY Young predictions from the Ace, even if he does not see himself as the ace of the Cubs pitching staff. It is probably worth mentioning that just because he did not get the win last year, doesn’t mean that he was not effective. Zambrano did pitch 6.2 innings of 0 run ball, all three Cubs runs came on the Fukudome homer in the 9th.

When told of his start on opening day, Zambrano commented that the Cubs don’t have a ace, they have four in himself, Harden, Dempster and Ted Lilly. Zambrano seems happy to share the linelight and pressure amongst his team mates, which can surely only be a positive in the long run.

Lilly to pitch before heading out to WBC

With the opening game in the cactus league just 2 days away, pitchers are starting to be designated games to pitch over the coming week. As i stated in my last post, Jeff Samardzija will pitch the opening Cactus League game on Wednesday at HoHoKam park against the team that swept the Cubs out of the play-offs last season. Mitch Atkins, who impressed at AAA last season will also pitch two innings in the game against the Dodgers.

Sean Marshall who like Jeff Samardzija is battling for the 5th starters role will pitch Thursday against the NL Central division rival Milwaukee Brewers. Marshall who many believe to be the early favorite for the rotation will have stiff competition, and will have to watch one of the competition perform first in Jeff Samardzija before he takes the mound.

Ted Lilly is slated for his only cactus league action Friday against the Texas Rangers. Ted Lilly will join team USA ahead of the WBC. The 17 game winner is one of the few Cubs players sill participating in the event.

Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster are not slated to start in the first round of rotation starts, pitching coach Larry Rothschild said that there were no problems with the pitchers. Rich Harden continued to throw off a mound with no problems, however he is a week behind other pitchers. Andrew Cashner impressed cubs management with his smooth arm action, and asked Cus hitter David Lee about his change-up that he has been working on, positive feedback was given.

Two day’s to go ladies and gentlemen.

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.

Last Springs Star!

Spring Training, the time where we can almost touch the season, but have to live with the fact that it is still over a month away. It is the ultimate tease, like dangling a hot dog in front a hungry dog, or like dangling a hot dog in front of a baseball fan at the ball game.

Some things have already occured during the first few days of spring training, so here is a quick round up of all that we have learned about the Cubs in 2009:

* Soriano could be moving from his favoured lead-off spot in the Cubs line-up. The Cubs were 69-36 last season with Soriano occupying the lead-off spot. With Soriano getting older and past trouble with his legs, moving him down the line-up might be the right move for Lou, taking the pressure off Soriano and the need to run.

* Last years fan favorite Micah Hoffpauier is being relied on this season to be the main power source from the bench. With Daryl Ward leaving a vacant spot was filled by the star of last Spring. He is livng proof that a strong spring can propel you into the thoughts of not just the management but the fans as well. He will also work first base and both outfield spots to give everyday players a rest here or there.

* Although Sean Marshall seems to be the leading candidate for the Cubs 5th starters role, it is by no means a foregone conclusion. Aaron Heilman, Angel Guzman and Jeff Samardzija are all eyeing the oppurtunity.

* Carlos Zambrano has revealed that he will not pitch in the WBC. He will focus all his attention on the Cubs, he also is likely to undergo LASIK eye surgery at some point this spring. He joins a list of Cubs players who have decided to give the WBC a miss this year, that list includes the likes of Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster and Angel Guzman.

* Rich Harden has commented that he is ready to go and has had a very productive off-season, and his shoulder feels healthy. Despite this he will still be watched carefully by the Cubs management.

* Unlike years previous, there have been no world series predictions by any of the Cubs players (Lets

keep it like that)

That is a very basic look at some topics right now, i will delve into more detail when there are any developments.