Let’s be honest, the Cubs look bad right now. Since my last post, in which I mentioned the Cubs ability to stay without a losing streak this season, the Cubs have lost three, part of a four game losing streak.

The Cubs were swept by the Rockies in a rain shortened two game series this week. Matt Garza has actually been pitching better as of late, but was the victim of a Cubs’ four-error game. Garza lasted six innings and gave up five runs on three hits, one of those runs was earned. Starlin Castro committed three errors in the third inning and Darwin Barney contributed one error late in the game. I love the way they swing the bat. It’s great for the team having a couple guys like that with Fukudome and Jeff Baker rotating in and out at the top. They’ve done well so far but you have to lock it up on defense.

Fill in starter James Russell allowed four runs, three off of the long ball, in the second game and second loss of the series. The Cubs left seven men on base and went one for six with runners in scoring position. No errors in this game. Woo!

Things don’t look so good on the North Side. Zambrano is hit or miss and badly misses and apparently Ryan Dempster is going to be the same way for a while. I can only hope this starting rotation can fix itself. We’re in for a long year if it can’t.

It’s still a little too early to think about trading too, but Prince Fielder is going to be a free agent and I know the Brewers will be looking to get something for him rather than letting him walk. Unless, of course, the Brewers are in the hunt which I think could happen. We’ll see. Come on Cubbies! Let’s turn this season in the right direction.

Congratulations to the Blackhawks on a great season. I didn’t give them a chance down 3-0 and that was one hell of a game and series.

Bears Draft and Bulls playoffs time too!

A tough series against the Dodgers puts the Cubs in a pickle trying to finish out this home stand with a decent record. Los Angeles took two of three from the Cubs over the weekend. Terrible starting pitching spelled doom for Chicago in this series that included a thrilling win on Saturday, overcoming blowing a five to one lead and an eight to five deficit, late.

Game 1 was all L.A. The Dodgers crushed the Cubs in a game in which the Cubs had chances to score some runs. The Los Angeles Dodgers (the team from Los Angeles with a name that makes sense) committed two errors and Billingsley allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits in six and a third innings. The Cubs batted two for nine with runners in scoring position and left eleven men on base. Dodgers win, 12-3

Game 2 the Cubs showed up a little bit. Dempster looked like Dumpster once again. He pitched four innings of one run ball and then gave up three home runs in the fifth and sixth innings to blow a five to one lead. Reed Johnson was back in the lineup for the Cubs and didn’t miss a step, Jeff Baker followed suit and Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro kept up their torrid paces. Those four combined to go 11-18 with six runs scored and nine runs batted in. Dempster was terrible, going five and two thirds with three walks, seven earned runs, nine hits and three strikeouts but Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija and Carlos Marmol pitched three and a third innings of shutout ball after the Cubs regained the lead in an intense bottom of the eighth. Cubs win, 10-8.

So Zambrano had the chance to extend a pretty meaningless winning streak (10-0 since last August. He started kicking butt when the Cubs were out of contention). He also had the chance to give the Cubs their first winning streak of the season. The Dodgers had other ideas. Big Z got beat big in the first inning as the Dodgers scored five runs and would never relinquish the lead. Two more Cub errors didn’t help the cause and their second five run deficit in two days proved to be too much. Dodgers win, 7-3.

We enter play tomorrow against a really good Rockies team that we were able to fight hard against in Colorado. Matt Garza will take the ball tomorrow and hopes to build upon his last start against the Padres, his first good start of the year. This starting pitching really has to get straightened out. If Dempster, Zambrano and Garza are going to pitch like they have it’s going to be a long year. Cashner and Wells need to hurry back. It looked to me, at the beginning of the season, that hitting was going to be a concern and the pitching was going to be ok. The bullpen has been pretty solid so far this year, with a couple hiccups, but nothing compared to the terrible starting pitching. The Cubs have five quality starts in twenty-one games. Couple that with a shaky defense and this is not a recipe for success. Luckily for us, we’re still 10-11 and only a game and a half out of first place. Let’s get this pitching and defense locked in and see what we can do in the Central. Go Cubbies!

Oh yeah, and how bout those Bulls and Blackhawks!?

Ladies and Gentleman, your First Place Chicago Cubs.

A rocky performance by Marcos Mateo on Sunday turned what was looking like an opportunity to get out of Colorado with a series win against a very good team into a lopsided loss to the Rockies. Castro and Barney continued their sha-lacking of the ball and the Cubs were able to put up a good fight over the weekend but the Rockies took two of three.

The Cubs were happy to be home these past few days, taking on the San Diego Padres in the Friendly Confines.

Game 1 was a pitcher’s duel as Tim Stauffer was dealing for the Padres throwing seven shutout innings with four strikeouts, four hits and one walk. My big story of this game was Big Z. Zambrano tossed eight innings of shutout ball on three hits and one walk. He also struck out ten Padres in the no-decision effort. If the Cubs want a realistic shot at the NL Central and the playoffs, they need their big contracts to pay off. Zambrano has been horrible the past few years and he’s shown flukes like this. Regardless of whether or not fans want him out there and getting paid what he does, we desperately need him to anchor this rotation and play like the star he is supposed to be. Let’s hope he can keep it going. Tyler Colvin delivered a two out RBI double down the right field line to score Soto and end the affair in 10 innings. Cubs win 1-0.

Game 2 was rained out on Tuesday, forcing a Wednesday, day-night double-header at Wrigley field. Matt Garza finally came to play in the first game of the twin bill today and Reed Johnson sparked memories of ’07 and ’08 with some late game heroics. Finally Matt, finally! Garza tossed his best game of the year so far, six innings, six hits, nine strikeouts and three walks (all the walks occurred in the sixth inning, but Garza got Brad Hawpe to ground into a double play to get out of it). Marmol blew his second save of the year, giving up a leadoff walk, stolen base and sac-fly scoring Cameron Maybin. The battle worn on until the top of the 11th, when Reed Johnson sent a 1-1 pitch on a line just over the fence in left field into the waiting arms of the few fans that stuck around. Cubs win 2-1.

Game 3 ended up being more offense than the first two, as San Diego’s three home runs were too much for Reed Johnson and the Cubs and a series sweep was denied. It was 4-0, Padres, in the bottom of the 5th when the Cubs got on the board. Soriano led off the inning with a double and one batter later Reed Johnson doubled home Soriano, but was thrown out trying to make it to third. Jeff Baker singled, Fukudome followed suit and Darwin Barney came through with a clutch 2 out RBI, singling to center and scoring Baker. The Padres would tack on a fifth that would prove to be the game-winning run. Alfonso Soriano clubbed a homer in the eighth to make it 5-4, but the Cubs weren’t able to complete the comeback. Cubs lose, 5-4.

With the series win, the Cubs moved into a four-way tie with the Reds, Brewers and Cardinals for first place. I know we’re tied and I know we’re all at .500 but I haven’t been able to say “first place Cubs” in a while, so I’m going to bask in the glory while I can. Chicago will take their second off day in three days tomorrow before the Dodgers and Rockies come to town. I’ll take a 6 and 3 home stand if the Cubs can make it happen. Can I hope for better?

Trend I Like – Castro and Barney at the top of the order batting a combined .348, 47-135

Trend I Don’t Like - Errors… They were bad last year and they could prove to be a sore spot this year. 13 in 18 games is not good enough. Castro, Soriano and Ramirez account for 7.

Man, I like those rubber game wins a lot more than the losses. After a “buckle your seat belt” victory on Monday and a blow out loss on Tuesday, the Cubs offense and bullpen picked it up in the series finale tonight, clinching a best of three series 2-1 over the division rival Houston Astros.

Game 1 was all Cubs and Dempster settled in for the first time this year. The Cubs were cruising 5-0 through six innings. And then they remembered they were the Cubs. Houston made a run at it as Dempster gave up another late game home run, his fourth in three starts. The Astros made it interesting, but the bullpen settled down in this game and John Grabow, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol preserved the win for Ryan Dempster. Cubs win 5-4.

Game 2 was one of those games that I was happy I worked through. Three Cubs errors contributed to a blow out loss in which Angel Sanchez and Hunter Pence led the Astros onslaught, going seven for ten with six RBI and three Runs. The lone bright spot on the Cubs roster was Tyler Colvin who homered and doubled, each a good sign after starting the season with a .111 batting average. With Fukudome nursing a hamstring, Colvin will be looked at heavily. Astros win, 11-2.

As the first inning in Game 2 went for the Astros, so it went for the Cubs in Game 3. Castro led off the game with a single (imagine that, this guy is ridiculous). After Barney flew out and Byrd hustled to stay out of the double play, the Cubs got going. Ramirez singled, men on first and second, two out. Jeff Baker, hitting .385 entering the game (off the bench) lined a double down the right field line to score both Byrd and Ramirez. After Soto drew a walk, Soriano hit a towering three-run homer to left field. Then they remembered they were the Cubs. Zambrano gave up five earned runs in the sixth inning, after crushing an opposite field home run to tack on another for the Cubs, and left the game leading 6-5 after starting the inning up 6-0. The Cubs would add some relaxing insurance runs in the ninth and the bullpen squashed a comeback attempt by the Astros. (The top of the lineup was clutch again for the Cubs. Once again, I LOVE the youth movement. Barney and Castro are tearing it up)! Cubs win 9-5.

Trend I do like:

The bullpen has pitched 34.2 Innings and has given up 16 Earned Runs, good enough for a 4.15 ERA. Not great, but considering what I don’t like (see below) the bullpen has been pretty solid.

Trend I don’t like:

Samardzija and Grabow account for nine of those earned runs in 10.1 of those IP. Unacceptable. These guys have to be better. Samardzija looks like a guy we made a mistake investing so much in and Grabow looks like the guy who most people thought was going to show up after the Cubs gave him 7.5 million over two years. I can’t wait to dump some of these contracts… is there any way we can spend some smart money?

The Cubs lost their second consecutive divisional series this year as the Brewers took two of three from Chicago in Milwaukee. It seems the Cubs are happy continuing nibbling in the early going this season as eight of the nine games so far have been decided by 3 runs or fewer.

Jeff Baker had a solid night at the plate in Game 1, collecting four hits and joining Geovany Soto in belting a 2-run home run. Zambrano pitched well enough to win, giving up four runs, all earned, in six innings of work. Not too shabby, but then again, not the effort you’re looking for from a guy you’re paying $16 mil a year. Carlos Marmol pitched a rocky ninth, but earned the save. Cubs win 7-4

Game 2 dueled Matt Garza against the surprisingly stellar Chris Narveson and the little known Narveson showed up to play. Garza struck out eight Brewers but gave up five runs on eight hits over 5.2 IPs. Narveson struck out nine and gave up six hits through the seventh inning as he, Sean Green and Marco Estrada combined to shutout the Cubs. Prince Fielder continued tormenting the Cubs, clubbing three doubles and four RBI. Brewers win, 6-0

The rubber matched between the Crew and the Cubs pitted youngster Casey Coleman and ace Yovani Gallardo. Neither was great, both kept their teams in the game. Gallardo was on the ropes all game long as Ramirez started off with a double, scoring two Cubs, his first of three doubles and three RBI on the day. The Cubs would tack on two more in the second and third innings after, guess who, Prince Fielder hit a two-run jack in the bottom of the 1st. Braun added a two-run shot in the 3rd inning and they would go back and forth until Kerry Wood gave up his first runs of the year, a two-run home run by Casey Mcgehee that put the Brewers up for good. Brewers win, 6-5.

To my surprise, the hitting has been good for the Cubs. They are in the top ten in the league in most of the major batting categories. After these first few games though, I keep seeing a team that fails to come through with a BIG hit. I’ve seen a few times where batters can come through with something. Tyler’s Colvin’s bases loaded groundout to score one run yesterday and Marlon Byrd’s first pitch double play to end a game against the Pirates in which they gave us a second chance, Bottom 9 error come to mind though.

Besides that, Dempster and Garza have been roughed up early on and having Wells and Cashner on the DL doesn’t help. The jury is still out on which Zambrano will show up this season and Marmol has been anything but a sure thing. The rest of the bullpen has been pretty solid overall, they’re called on a lot though (reminds me of last year, 1 Complete Game all year by Cubs starters) and that can take a toll.

They say you can’t win the division in April and May, but you can definitely lose it. Sitting at 4-5 with a 2-4 division record (against teams that most people predicted won’t even have a chance) is not where you want to be. Fortunately for the Cubs, they travel to Houston next, where they should be able to take a series against a bad Astros team. Let’s see if the pitching can settle down and we can get this team clicking on all cylinders at once.

Well, the Cubs won their first series of the year. Today at 3:50 central time, J.J. Putz was able to salvage one victory for the Diamondbacks. I guess I should feel better about taking a series but I really felt this opening home stand was a good way to get off on the right foot this season. Before we preview, let’s recap.

For Arizona in Game 1 it was a tale of too many men left on base. Willie Bloomquist led off the top of the 1st with a homer and Kelly Johnson singled. Randy Wells, making his first start of the season for the Cubs, got Justin Upton to fly out before dispatching Russell Branyan and Chris Young on swinging strikes. Miguel Montero led off Top 2 with a single, nobody scored. The song remains the same until a big moment in the top of the 8th and Kerry Wood sealed it. The Diamondbacks were down 2-1. Castro allowed Upton to reach on an error and Russell Branyan followed that up with a single. After a groundout and an intentional walk Ryan Roberts was called out on strikes and Gerardo Parra popped out to Alfonso Soriano, stranding the bases loaded. In the meantime, the Cubs got a Soriano homer Bottom 3 and a Carlos Pena Sac Fly Bottom 4. Chicago added two in the Bottom of the 8th and Carlos Marmol shut the door. Cubs win, 4-1.

Andrew Cashner made his first career start as a Cub and he looked great for 5.1 IP giving up one run on two hits, one walk and two strikeouts. The Cubs got two runs off a Miguel Montero throwing error and a Starlin Castro RBI double. Ryan Roberts then hit a home run for AZ to cut the lead in half. Tyler Colvin stepped into Pena’s shoes and showed he could hold his own at first base. He connected on a two-run homer in the third inning of Tuesday’s game to put the Cubs up 4-1. The bullpen couldn’t keep the Win in line for Cashner, allowing Arizona to tie the ballgame at four a piece in the 7th but the Cubs came back with two runs in the bottom half. Sean Marshall gave up a run in his successful, fill-in closing effort. Cubs win, 6-5

Ryan Dempster made his second start of the year today as the Cubs tried to complete the sweep of the Diamondbacks. Chris Young (2 for 5 with a Triple, a Double and two RBI) would have no part of it and, apparently, neither would Ryan Dempster (7 Innings, 5 Runs, 4 Earned) and the Cubs defense (3 Errors).  Ryan Dempster struggled for much of the afternoon after starting the game in good shape. An RBI Triple by Chris Young turned into a 2-Run, Inside-the-park Home Run on an error by Alfonso Soriano. Geovany Soto and Blake Dewitt also contributed errors to the cause and the Diamondbacks added three in the 5th and one in the 8th on Catcher, Miguel Montero’s Home Run.  The Cubs fought back and made it interesting, but they couldn’t make it all the way. Diamondbacks win, 6-4.

As of today the Cubs placed Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner each on the 15 day DL. They are expected to call up Casey Coleman from Triple A to start for one and give lefty James Russell a start for the other. Randy’s injury, a forearm strain appears to be less serious than Cashner’s rotator cuff strain. They’ve had the best two pitching performances I’ve seen out of the starters so far this year, so I’m hoping for a quick recovery.

At 3-3, the Cubs start at Milwaukee on Friday before heading to Houston for a 3 game series. This is yet another opportunity to pounce on poor and/or struggling teams. The Crew is swinging a hot bat, but they’re 1-4 and the Astros haven’t been able to buy a win yet. You want to be able to beat each team at it’s best, but if you’re given a break in baseball, you better take it. This is another couple series we should take at least 4 W’s out of, maybe 5.

And hey, at least the Cardinals are 2-4.

Opening weekend didn’t go as planned for the Cubs. One would think starting the season facing the Pirates and the Diamondbacks would be beneficial to your team’s chances of starting off on the right foot. Think again.

The Cubs let a good start slip away in Game 1 of the series. Up 2-0 in the top of the 5th, Ryan Doumit led off the inning with a Single for the Pirates. After a ground out by Garrett Jones, Ronny Cedeno drew a walk and Kevin Correia sacrificed for the second out of the inning. With men on 2nd and 3rd, Dempster walked Jose Tabata and then promptly gave up a Grand Slam to Neil Walker, the ball easily clearing the right-center field fence. The Bucs would not relinquish the lead, taking Game 1 6-3.

In Game 2, things looked bad once again for the Cubs but an 8th inning rally provided the Cubs with all the runs they would need, scoring 5 off of Pirate reliever Evan Meek after Ross Ohlendorf was pulled with a shutout intact. Blake Dewitt delivered the game’s knock out punch, a 2 out, pinch-hit double to score Soto and Soriano,  the latter delivering the game tying 2 out single moments ago. Carlos Marmol slammed the door with a 3 K Top 9 to give the crowd something to dance to. Cubs win 5-3.

Game 3 seemed to be in the bag after a teeter-totter 6 innings. In Matt Garza’s first start with the Cubs and at Wrigley Field, he didn’t disappoint. The new starter erased Spring Training doubts about his ability with a 7 IP, 12 K, 3 ER performance: a career high in Ks for Garza. This game was back and forth though, the Cubs tied it at 2 in the 4th, the Bucs took the lead Top 5 and the Cubs tied it Bottom 5. In the top of the 9th inning it was Marmol with the opportunity to nail down a comeback win. In the previous inning, Kerry Wood got out of some trouble with some help from Tyler Colvin, gunning down the would-be-game-tying run from Right Field, showing the Cubs he can play some Outfield as well as hit. Marmol couldn’t get the same results. An error by Starlin Castro cost the Cubs the lead and Marlon Byrd couldn’t take advantage of a 9th inning error by the Pirates that put Castro on 3rd and Darwin Barney on 1st. Byrd hit into a close double play on the first pitch of the at-bat and the Cubs fell, 5-4.

—– Trend I don’t like

Seeing the Cubs go down early in each ballgame. It’s tough enough to win more than half of 162 games. Why make it harder on yourself by playing from behind all the time? The starters need to lock it up.

—– Trend I do like:

The bullpen, with the exception of Carlos Marmol, has been outstanding. The rest of the bullpen has compiled a 0.00 ERA in 7.1 IPs. I would like to note that fan favorite, Kerry Wood owns 3 innings of that stat.

Also, congratulations to Starlin Castro for winning the Co-NL MVP of the Week Award for the first (albeit short) week of the season. He’s a bright spot in the Cubs lineup so far this year, batting .500: 8-16 with 2 Triples and 4 Runs scored. If he doesn’t stick around for the next 20 years, I’m going to quit rooting for the Cubs.

With their next series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Cubs need to find some consistency in the lineup if they want to win. These are must-win games. How can you expect to compete with the likes of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Tim Lincecum, Tommy Hanson, Chris Carpenter, Zack Greinke, etc. if you can’t compete with the Pirates. I mean no disrespect, Pittsburgh is a great sports city and they deserve a baseball team they can root for. The fact is, the Pirates lost 105 games last year. The Cubs have no chance this year unless they can beat the teams they should beat, the bad teams. These two losses wouldn’t have stung as much if we played a higher caliber team but we didn’t. We played the Pirates and we lost 2 of 3.  It’s still early but you have to fix these problems in a hurry or the rest of the division is going to run away from you.

It is MLB Opening Day and I’m enjoying the Yankees and Tigers on ESPN as I write. It’s one day before Chicago Cubs opening day at Wrigley against the Pirates. As I prepare to watch this season, Mike Quade has had to make some final tweaks to the roster in preparation to play and has shown a willingness to let the youth step in and take over.

Blake Dewitt failed to show up this Spring, despite the fact the Cubs were going to hand him the starting 2B job. Darwin Barney had a great Spring after compiling a .286 BA in 4 minor League seasons. He hit .340 in 21 games, with a .411 OBP, 6 RBI and 7 Runs. Jeff Baker had a great Spring as well, hitting .360 with 1 Home Run and 6 RBI but he’s better suited for a reserve/utility infielder role. All that being said, Barney seems to have played himself into the Second Baseman starting role. It is great to see one of the home-grown Cubs come in and make some noise. I know it’s only Spring Training but the best thing you can do in Spring is play well, and he did exactly that.

Andrew Cashner is another young Cub who was able to take the reigns during Spring Training and never give them up. He was battling Carlos Silva and Braden Looper late into Spring for the fifth spot in the Starting Rotation. The Cubs promptly cut ties with Looper and the $11.5 million long relief/AAA starter to be, Carlos Silva after terrible Springs. As for Andrew Cashner, he finished with a 4.41 ERA in 16.1 IPs and that was enough to earn him the fifth spot in the starting rotation. He’ll make his first start as a Chicago Cub next Tuesday, April 5th against the Diamondbacks.

I feel good about this season. With a lot of the players that were on the team in 2007 & 2008, teams that won back-to-back division titles, there is no reason to think things can’t click all season long. Yes, there are questions and ifs but there is never one team who has nothing to count on or say “what if” about. The Cubs are healthy. They have some youth. They have some Vets. We should have a solid bullpen and a respectable rotation this year. If we can play some defense and hit the ball with any kind of consistency, we can make a run at a winnable NL Central.

Check back on Monday for my recap of the opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Happy Opening Day and Go Cubs!!!

As the Cubs started the Spring slate a little over a month ago one of the questions that needed to be answered was in the pitching rotation. With a little over a week left before Opening Day, Mike Quade has a tough choice to make. I liken this choice to the choices those in Washington D.C. have to make. Most of those choices affect a lot of people, if not all. These choices will make some people angry and some happy. These choices will be looked back on as wrong or right. As always, I am happy I’m not in the position to have to make those (or this) choice(s).

Obviously, who Mike Quade selects as the 5th starter in the Chicago Cubs rotation will not have an effect on the millions of families in the world or the nation as we know it. (Obviously, I blew this choice way out of proportion). But it will affect Cubs fans and their families and Cubs Nation. The reason it’s such a difficult choice to me is because of the extremely poor performances of those pitchers being considered for the gig.

Braden Looper came to Cubs camp thanks to a non-roster invite and hasn’t done much to argue his case, posting a 1-0 record with a 10.97 ERA in 10.2 innings. He’s allowed 3 Home Runs, 17 hits and 13 runs, all earned in 4 games, one of which he started. Looper is a career journeyman who’s recently played for the Mets, Brewers and Cardinals and while he did find some success closing for the Mets and starting for the Cardinals, he hasn’t been able to do much good over the past couple years. Now, I’m not one to determine a pitcher’s worth based on Spring stats but for someone fighting for a spot in the rotation he wouldn’t be my first choice.

Carlos Silva came on with the Cubs last year in a trade with the Mariners that saw two teams wanting to exchange horrible contracts. Fortunately for the Cubs, Silva started the year 9-0 with a sub-3 ERA. Unfortunately for the Cubs he was garbage down the stretch as he battled injuries and terrible consistency. It’s hard to believe, but he’s actually doing worse than Looper this Spring. Most of his bad luck came in his first Spring start that resulted in the first dugout skirmish of the season but he hasn’t done much better since. Overall, he’s 0-2 with a 15.88 ERA in 4 games (3 games started). He’s allowed 4 Home Runs, 29 hits and 26 runs (20 earned) in just over 11 innings pitched. What does this mean? Well, he’s had a terrible Spring and is not a pitcher I feel good about in the 5 spot this April.

Andrew Cashner has emerged as the third, and in my opinion the best, option as the 5th starter this April. He has yet to throw a 60 pitch outing but he’s done decent this Spring overall and outstanding when compared to the other two candidates. Cashner is 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA in 4 games (2 starts). He’s allowed 5 runs, all earned, in 11.1 Innings on only 1 Home Run and 11 Hits. He’s walked 7 batters in those 11 innings though, something he definitely wants to change if he’s going to have success in the Major Leagues.

It’s tough to just throw a young guy like Cashner in the fire that is the Chicago Cubs but sometime that’s what you need to see. No, I don’t want to see Silva and his $9 million sitting on the bench or in the bullpen  and thank God we didn’t give Looper much. You’re not just going to put an expensive guy on the hill because he’s expensive though right? As odd as that may seem, I have a feeling that is what’s going to happen. I hope I’m wrong… but even with Cashner in the 5 spot I’m having trouble seeing much production out of the end of the rotation for the Cubs. I’m happy we have Garza and Dempster and Wells (who’s having a magnificent Spring: 20 Innings, 3 Earned Runs, 1.35 ERA) pitching well in there  and I hope Zambrano can keep his sanity throughout the year.

While these choices may not mean life or death to millions of people, these are tough choices that millions of Cubs fans are going to be questioning: Who is going to be my 5th starter? Looper? Silva? Cashner? Who’s going to play Second Base? Barney? Dewitt? Is it going to be a long Summer? Can we hit the ball? Can we pitch with consistency and efficiency? Can we play defense? Spring stats might not be the best indicator of future pitching performances but at this point it’s all I’ve got and it doesn’t look so good.

As I speak… err, type, the Cubs are getting set to open up the second half of Spring Training facing the South-Siders. I’m left wondering why it is so difficult these days to catch a Spring Training game. There are streams online, video and audio I know, but is it just me or was it way easier ten or fifteen years ago to follow the MLB’s exhibition season? I know it doesn’t really matter; Spring Training, but I’d still enjoy a baseball game this time of year. We’re almost there ya know? Throw us a bone and start Sunday Night Baseball in March.

Thanks for allowing me to rant a little bit. Now I’ll get to the always-scrutinized Chicago Cubs. Not one week into Training and there’s a dugout skirmish caused by Carlos Silva and Aramis Ramirez. A-Ram committed an error in Silva’s first start that saw Carlos giving up two home runs and the Cubs committing four errors. Since Quade pulled a team meeting in the aftermath, the Cubs have been playing better defensively. I’m afraid the inefficiencies on defense are just a few questions of many that will be answered before we see where Chicago ends up in October. Castro is still only 20 years old and struggling with routine throws. Soto can’t seem to throw out a runner (something I saw a lot last year too). Pena and Ramirez are good on the corners, Fukudome and Byrd are solid in the Outfield but Dewitt is average, Colvin is looking better at First Base than he is in Right Field and Soriano is… well, we all know what Soriano can (or cannot) do defensively.

The good news is the Cubs are about as healthy as they can be (knock on wood and pet your rabbit’s foot or bald friend’s head). The two spot in the lineup will belong to Starlin Castro and the four will remain Ramirez’s spot. Marlon Byrd is doing nothing but great things this Spring (batting .650 in the three spot). That leaves leadoff, which will most likely be Fukudome’s spot in the early going as all Cubs fans will tell you he can tear up the baseball in April and May. I see Soriano falling into the five, Pena at six, Soto in the seven hole and Dewitt batting eighth in the lineup.

The team has been hitting well overall, but not for power. Mike Quade is just pleased to be healthy and managing a team who he says has a great work ethic so far this March. I’ll check back in next week with an update on the rotation.

Go Cubs!