Spring Training is here!!!!

With spring training finally arriving it is time to take a look at how the Cubs roster is shaping up, what management will be looking for, and who we should be watching this spring. Don’t be surprised if you see a totally different Cubs squad on the field throughout Spring Training. Part of this is due to key departures such as Mark Derosa, which will not only open up a competition at second base, but also make the need for solid backups at all infield positions and the corner outfields a huge need for the Cubs this season. They will almost certainly need two or three players to fill the vacancies left from the Derosa trade.
There has been a lot of talk lately of moving Alfonso Soriano out of the leadoff spot and into a spot where the Cubs could get better use of his power to drive in more runs. This seems pretty unlikely because of the addition of Milton Bradley during the off season giving the Cubs a solid left-handed hitter in the middle of the lineup to complement Lee and Ramirez and will also add power from the left side of the plate. The only other logical place to move Sori in the lineup is the two-hole, however the knocks that people have of Alf leading off, excessive strikeouts and a low on-base percentage, also make him a bad candidate for hitting second. Expect to see Soriano remain at the top of the order, but don’t be surprised if one of the big boys in the middle of the lineup takes a day off or goes down due to injury, Soriano might be asked to hit in the 3 or 4 spot to add a spark to the offense. That being said, the top of the lineup and leftfield are pretty much solidified. Micah Hoffpauir will be Sori’s backup in leftfield. The two-hole might be a two-headed monster. Look for Ryan Theriot to get the bulk of the at-bats from that spot early in the season, but his double-play mates Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles might also get a chance to hit at the top of the lineup. Theriot is a good fit for this spot because he has a high on-base percentage and does a great job spraying the ball the other way. Ryan will be the everyday started at short. He is a solid fielder, although he lacks the range and arm that most shortstops in the game today possess. Fontenot and Miles could give the Cubs another left-handed bat at the top of the lineup if needed and Fontenot could give them a hint of power as 32 of his 74 hits last season went for extra bases. In the field Fontenot and Miles will share time at 2nd, while both will be expected to back up Ramirez at 3rd base and Miles will also backup Theriot at short. Expect to see a lot of both Miles and Theriot during spring training at multiple positions. Hitting third, Pinella will probably stick with Derek Lee. Lee has spoken several times this off-season about how he knows that he needs to be more consistent this year. Don’t expect to see the Derek Lee of a few years ago that hit 47 home runs, but if he can raise his average back up it will give a huge offensive boost to a club with an already explosive offense. There is no doubt Lee is still one of the best defensive first basemen in the league. Hitting forth will probably be Milton Bradley. Putting a lefty between Lee and Ramirez, who will hit fifth, will force opposing coaches to either bring in a left hand specialist to face Bradley or take their chances and have a right handed pitcher face him. We probably won’t see much of Bradley this spring because he has been having some pain in his quad. Management is more concerned with getting him ready for the season than seeing what he can do during spring training. As I already said, Ramirez will hit fifth and look to continue giving opposing pitchers nightmares. With three players who consistently hit for a high average and on-base percentage expect Ramirez to continue to pour in the RBI’s. Ramirez had the best season of his career in the field last year and he’ll have his eyes set on a gold glove this year. Following Ramirez will be last years NL Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto. He will begin his second year as the Cubs everyday backstop and the squad expects big things from him coming off an All-Star season. He should see a lot of good pitches hitting behind the big bats in the middle of the lineup so there is a good chance his batting numbers will increase. Vying for the Soto’s backup job will be Paul Bako, who returned to the Cubs this offseason after spending last year in Cincinnati, and prospect Koyie Hill, who has spent stints in the bigs but hasn’t been able to find himself in a solid role on the major league roster. Soto will be playing in the World Baseball Classic this spring so it will give the coaching staff a chance to get a good look at the backup situation. The center fielder will most likely hit seventh, and much like second base, center field will probably be occupied by a two man team. Kosuke Fukudome and Reed Johnson are expected to split time as the commander of the outfield. Kosuke will also be participating in the WBC so we will see a lot of Johnson and also get a look at newly added Cub Joey Gathright, who will be used most likely as a pinch runner this year. The Cubs management team will be watching Fukudome close this year hoping to see the player that they signed for a big contract a year ago. Batting in front of the pitcher will probably be whoever is playing second base on that given day.
The starting rotation will probably look pretty familiar, although we won’t see much of them this spring. The ace of the staff, Carlos Zambrano, is currently recovering from lasik eye surgery. He will make his first start on Monday, but will be very limited on the hill. Rich Harden is going to be taking some more time to get ready this spring because he is suffering from some on going shoulder problems. It is most important for the Cubs to get Harden healthy and to try to keep him that way. He could be the most electrifying pitcher on our staff when healthy, but has had many injuries in the past. Ryan Dempster says that he knows his body better than anybody and that he is in shape and ready to go this spring. Dempster, who moved from the bullpen to the rotation last year, is coming off the best year of his career and hopes to improve on that by being more consistent on the road this year. Ted Lilly will throw one game this spring before leaving to represent team USA at the WBC. Finally there will be a battle going on this spring for the 5th and final spot in the rotation. Marshall looks like he will be the leading candidate for this spot, newly added Aaron Heilman and rookie Jeff Samardzija will get serious looks.
It should be exciting to see how everything plays out this spring and most importantly we hope that everybody stays healthy and is ready when the Cubs open their season at Houston on April 6th.