The 2011 Cubs--A Quick Look

Spring has sprung, and the 2011 Cubs look to be an improved squad. Here's a quick glance at the Northsiders position by position...

• C-Geo Soto: At age 28, Soto has become one of the best backstops in the NL. Health was an issue in 2010, which meant lots of at bats for automatic out Koyie Hill (Soto's backup). The Cubs have to get 130+ games out of Geo this season.


• 1B-Carlos Pena: Many Cubs fans were disappointed by the Pena signing, but considering the options I think Jim Hendry did pretty well. Pena's power and ability to draw walks will be a welcome addition to a lineup that needs a jump start.


• 2B-Blake DeWitt & Jeff Baker: Not an exciting platoon, but it could be an effective one. Baker is helpless vs. RHP, but he's provided a potent bat against southpaws. DeWitt has shown decent plate discipline early in his career, and he's only 25.


• 3B-Aramis Ramirez: Fans forget what a solid player Ramirez has been during his time in Chicago. Yes, last year was a disaster, but Ramirez put up big numbers from 2004 to 2009. He turns 33 in June, so there's no reason to think he can't rebound.


• SS-Starlin Castro: The sky is the limit for young Starlin. Hanley Ramirez comparisons abound. Sounds good to me.


• OF-Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd, Kosuke Fukudome, Tyler Colvin: Cubs fans are an interesting bunch. They love Byrd and Colvin and hate Soriano and Fukudome. I guess it's based on salary. My advice is to erase the dollar signs from your brain. Players make what they make. Get over it. The truth is that Soriano and Fukudome have underachieved, but they've still contributed. The Cubs need Soriano's power and Fukudome's onbase skills. Byrd is a useful CF who will likely hit lefties again. Colvin's athleticism and raw power make him a streaky and intersting option. The four-man OF rotation could end up being a strength this year.


• SP-Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Matt Garza, Randy Wells, Andrew Cashner: If the Cubs have an advantage in the NL Central, it's the starting rotation. The upside here is very high. Cashner is a wild card of course, but a season isn't defined by a team's fifth starter. If he flops, the Cubs have plenty of young arms to choose from as a replacement.


• RP-Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, John Grabow, etc: I'm not as excited about this collection of relievers as many Cubs fans seem to be. I see market corrections for Marmol and Marshall, who pitched out of their minds last year. Kerry Wood will probably be productive when he's healthy, but God only knows when that will be. John Grabow is beyond terrible. The rest of the bullpen options (Mateo, Samardzija, Russell, Coleman, Diamond) aren't worth discussing.

Will the Cubs win the NL Central? Probably not. However, they'll be much better than last year and they'll likely stay in the race through Labor Day. I see 82-80 and a third-place finish.

Quade Fires Back

Here's what Cubs manager Mike Quade had to say regarding Carlos Silva's recent attack on the organization:

• “Everyone needs to know that this was my call. It wasn’t Jim Hendry’s. If [Silva wants] to be irritated with somebody, this is on me, OK. It was my decision, complete and totally. I was really disappointed when I heard [Silva's comments]. First of all, he’s dead f—ing wrong, OK, about my pitching coach. And I have no f—ing time for that. Respect is a two-way street. I don’t want to hear anything about respect. If you ain’t giving it, you ain’t getting it.”

I usually don't care what players and coaches say to the media, but this was the right thing to do. Silva's classless comments needed to be addressed. Hopefully this is the period at the end of the sentence.

Jimmer Strikes Again

I know Jimmer Fredette is a great college player, but you don't have to kiss his ass when he plays poorly. Here is his line from last night's loss to Florida:

11-29 FGM-A
3-15 3PM-A
2 REB
5 ASST
6 TO

After the game, Greg Gumbel called his performance "courageous." You know what's courageous? Throwing up brick after contested brick down the stretch while wide-open teammates watch in frustration.

Bad Player, Bad Name

As a lifelong Cubs fan, my world is often confusing. This spring the head-scratching has reached a new level.

Almost every fan I talk to is rooting for Darwin Barney to win the 2B job. Yes, the same Darwin Barney who "slugged" .374 in 1,700 minor league plate appearances. He's also the same Darwin Barney who won't take a walk if you give him a box full of cash.

I know Blake DeWitt and Jeff Baker aren't very exciting options, but those two players are Chase Utley compared to Darwin Barney.

Plus, his freakin' name is Darwin Barney!

"The Trade"

The Nuggets record since trading Carmelo Anthony? 9-2

The Knicks record since acquiring Carmelo Anthony? 7-7

All is well in my universe.

Random Thoughts

A few NCAA Tournament observations, questions, and predictions...

• Gus Johnson has to be the best announcer in sports. I'd love to hear him call a baseball game.
• After playing five games in five days, U-Conn shows no signs of slowing down. I really thought they would struggle in the first round. Shows what I know.
• Bruce Pearl probably just coached his last game in Tennessee.
• What the hell happened to Michigan State this year?
• To the surprise of almost nobody, Gonzaga and West Virginia look rock solid.
• Way back when, I picked Pitt to win it all. I'm not changing my mind.
• Is anyone else sick of Jimmer Fredette?
• VCU is knocking off Georgetown tonight. Write it down! Bet the farm! Keep the faith! Save the planet! Let the wookie win!
• Apparently Charlie Sheen picked Akron to cut down the nets. No word on who Emilio Estevez picked.
• Craig Sager has the worst hairpiece in the history of mankind. His rug makes William Shatner's head helmet look real.
• I love the Illini, but smart money says they go down in the first round yet again. I really hope I'm wrong!

Mr. Foot, Meet Mr. Mouth

Just when you thought the NFL labor fight couldn't get any stranger, Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson decided to give us his two cents. This excerpt is from Profootballtalk.com:

"It’s modern-day slavery, you know?” Peterson said. “People kind of laugh at that, but there are people working at regular jobs who get treated the same way, too. With all the money . . . the owners are trying to get a different percentage, and bring in more money.”

First and foremost, we've all said (or typed) stupid things that we wish we could take back. Hopefully that's how Peterson feels. Having said that, these comments are beyond ridiculous. Modern-day slavery? Really? How much money did you earn last year, Adrian?

Remember it's a business folks, plain and simple. When the financial pie is this big, of course tempers will run a little hot. Of course that doesn't excuse criminal stupidity. I just hope that die-hard fans who are usually "pro player" have the ability to tune this nonsense out.

Getting Ugly

The Players have fired the next shot in the ongoing NFL labor feud. According to ESPN...

"The NFL Players Association is putting into place a plan that would prevent each top college prospect from attending next month's draft in New York, according to multiple league sources. The NFLPA already has contacted 17 top prospects that ordinarily would have received an invitation to attend the draft and informed them not to go."

This is a potential blow to an otherwise entertaining spring tradition. The NFL draft and its in-depth coverage has turned into can't-miss TV for millions of fans.

For the record I still plan to watch, as the "rookie putting on team hat" segment never did much for me. However, I doubt most football enthusiasts feel the same way.

I hope drunken Jets fans will still storm the facility and boo whoever their favorite team selects. Now that's can't-miss TV.

The NFL Labor Situation

As many legal experts predicted, the NFL Players Union has decertified, opening the doors to a lockout, court battles, and more.

Of course this is frustrating to fans, but it's way too soon to fear the worst. Perhaps Buffalo Bills' player rep George Wilson said it best yesterday:

"Fans, players, everybody needs to take a deep breath and take it one day at a time. The season doesn't start until September. If we get to July, August, and September and start losing games, then I can understand people getting emotional. But it's March. Take a deep breath."

I don't know much, but I do know that once both sides start losing checks, a deal will get done. We'll have football in 2011, and not with replacement players.

Riley Sounds Off

I've never been a big Pat Riley fan, but I enjoyed his comments about his team's recent losing streak and the media's collective panic-button reaction:

"Write it off. It's the media being neurotic. It's [the media's] need to make a story, create a story, and make that story come true. And that ain't going to happen. We're just in a tough time right now. We'll get through it...It's like anything else, like I always say, the playoffs will tell."

I'm sure there are still objective sports writers covering the Miami Heat, but many of them seem to fall into the category Riley described. And he's 100 percent correct about the playoffs. Would you want to face LeBron James and company in the postseason? No thanks.

Keep it up, Pat. And keep the Gordon Gekko haircut, too. It still works.

Trouble In Philly?

ESPN is reporting that surgery is now an option for 2B Chase Utley, who continues to battle knee problems.

Not to push the panic button in early March, but this would be a serious blow to the Phillies. You can say what you want about Halladay and Howard, but Utley is clearly their most valuable player. It's almost impossible to replace a middle infielder who gets on base and hits for power.

Is a Michael Young deal in the Phillies future? Perhaps. That rumor has been floating around for weeks. Nothing against Young, who has been a fine major leaguer, but at age 35 he's certainly no substitute for Utley.

Bulking Up

According to MLB Network, Rockies LF Carlos Gonzalez added "19 pounds of muscle" during the off season, and Braves RF Jason Heyward is "up to 250 pounds."

How long until some knucklehead sports writer accuses one of them of using steroids (without any evidence of course)?

Early Predictions

Opening day is right around the corner, so why not come out "swinging?" Get it? Anyway, here are my early predictions for the 2011 season:

NL East--Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Mets, Nationals
NL Central--Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, Pirates, Astros
NL West--Rockies, Giants, Dodgers, Padres, D-Backs
Wild Card--Braves
NL MVP--Ryan Braun
NL Cy Young--Tommy Hanson

AL East--Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles
AL Central--Twins, Tigers, White Sox, Royals, Indians
AL West--Rangers, Angels, A's, Mariners
Wild Card--Yankees
AL MVP--Joe Mauer
AL Cy Young--Jon Lester

I'll take the Red Sox over the Phillies in an epic seven-game series. Yes, the Phillies "Big Four" will come up a little short.

Upon Further Review

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote a great piece about the so-called "can't-miss prospect." One interesting excerpt is an old quote from Chipper Jones about then teammate Jeff Francoeur:

"He's going to be a superstar, no doubt about it. He'll be the next Dale Murphy. If he continues to hit and play the outfield like he has for the first 20 or so games of his career, we're going to be talking about more than that."
-- Chipper Jones, 2005

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to stardom. NL hurlers figured out that Mr. Francoeur never met a pitch he didn't like. I don't care how great your "tools" are, nothing sandbags a career like poor plate discipline.

It's 2011, and Francoeur is starting over with the Kansas City Royals. He's only 27, so there's still time for him to get back on track. However, with a career onbase percentage of .310, I wouldn't hold my breath.

And In This Corner

From ESPN.com...

Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Silva and third baseman Aramis Ramirez scuffled in the dugout Wednesday during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Maryvale, Ariz.

My first thought was, "Hopefully Ramirez didn't break has hand on Silva's face." My next thought was, "With my luck, Starlin Castro will somehow get injured." My final take, "I'll be really glad when the Cubs part ways with Carlos Silva."

If that guy does anything at all in April, the Cubs should deal him to the highest bidder. It's the last year of Silva's rotten deal, so he should be a little easier to move.

Don't let the door hit your giant ass on the way out, Carlos.

Testing Testing

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, former Alabama QB Greg McElroy scored 48 out of 50 on the Wonderlic aptitude test. And we're supposed to care why?

I've never understood the fascination with the Wonderlic scores of rookie football players. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad McElroy knows that the words "resent" and "reserve" mean "neither the same nor opposite." That skill should serve him well in life.

Now, can he actually play pro football?