MLB preview: Chicago Cubs
Whether it was my pick of them winning the World Series heading into the 2008 or my prediction that they'd easily win the NL Central in 2009, the Cubs always come up short of what I expect of them. If nothing else, I expect that to change in 2010, because they can't realistically finish behind either Houston or Pittsburgh ... right?
2009 record: 83-78 (7.5 games back in NL Central)
2010 projected record: 82-80 (16 GB)
Probable starters:
C — Geovany Soto
1B — Derrek Lee
2B — Mike Fontenot
SS — Ryan Theriot
3B — Aramis Ramirez
LF — Alfonso Soriano
CF — Marlon Byrd
RF — Kosuke Fukodome
SP — Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Randy Wells, Sean Marshall
CL — Carlos Marmol
RP — John Grabow, Esmailin Caridad
Strengths: Assuming Ramirez can remain relatively healthy and Lee builds on his 2009 resurgence, they'll form one of the best corner infielder tandems around. The rotation lacks a true ace, but if Lilly gets healthy in a hurry, it's a solid 1 through 4 assembly of starting pitchers. Byrd and Xavier Nady should improve the outfield, as would Soriano and Fukodome playing better than they did last year. While the Cubs' stars don't shine as brighly as they once did, they still do have one of the deeper lineups in the league.
Weaknesses: I was worried about the bullpen before it was announced that Angel Guzman is out for at least a couple of months, and possibly for the rest of his career, with an injury. Really, Caridad is going to be your primary right-handed setup man after not even getting debuting until Aug. 10 of last year? Whether it's Marshall, Carlos Silva, Tom Gorzelanny or Jeff Samardzija pitching in the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in the rotation, they won't inspire much confidence. I'm not optimistic about either Fontenot or Jeff Baker being the primary second baseman, and I'm not optimistic about Soriano, the slimmed-down Soto or Zambrano until they prove that 2009 was a mere abberation.
