Play ball

Believe it or not, we are less than a month away from the start of spring training. Sweet Lou and the Boys (My mom says that sounds like a southern blues band, I think it seems more like a 2008 World Series Champ) report to Mesa, Arizona on February 14 and their first exhibition game is a few weeks later. So what has changed since the last time the Cubs took the field, October 6, 2007? Is this team built to repeat as NL Central Champs? And can they actually win a playoff game this time? Let’s look at five key questions in a very early preview of the 2008 Chicago Cubs.

1) Who is this new Japanese outfielder and what can be expected?

His name is Kosuke Fukudome, he will wear #1, and is supposed to be a great left-handed hitter plus a solid right fielder. That’s the basics. Looking more in-depth, it seems like Cubs management wants him to bat somewhere between second and fifth in the order, which seems like a smart idea to me. In ’07, the two hitter always seemed to have some success hitting between Alfonso Soriano and Derek Lee, but then wouldn’t end up scoring because one of the run-producers would strike out. (According to the great website baseball-reference.com, Cubs #2 hitters scored only 99 runs, which isn’t a lot considering they were hitting in front of Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Cliff Floyd, etc) If Fukudome is as good in America as he was in Japan- .351 BA, 31 homers and 104 RBI his last full season, which was 2006- then it will be a great signing. Plus the chance to hear Ron Santo try to pronounce his name will be worth every penny of the $45 million contract.

2) Any changes to the pitching staff?

Lets see, changes to the pitching staff…what could that be? Oh yeah, there’s Ryan Dempster switching from closer to starter, Jason Marquis being demoted from #3 starter to having to fight for his job, Will Ohman and Mark Prior being released (Thank God), either Bob Howry, Carlos Marmol or Kerry Wood going from setup man to closer, and the signing of Jon Lieber to compete with Dempster, Marquis, and Sean Marshall to fight for the final two spots in the rotation. Plus Carlos Zambrano supposedly losing some weight and Ted Lilly being promoted to opening day starter because of Big Z’s struggles to open the year. Other than that, everything’s the same as ‘07.

3) Is Alfonso Soriano still batting first?

As of right now, the answer is yes. Over the winter, Cubs GM Jim Hendry attempted to make a trade with the Baltimore Oriels to acquire second baseman Brian Roberts (who appeared on the Mitchell Report). That never went through, so the North Siders still have Soriano batting first. Based on last season’s results, that will mean some more good (12 leadoff homers) along with some more struggles (130 strikeouts, 31 walks). Personally, I would like a different guy batting first and have Alf in the middle of the order to drive in runs. And if not that, then hopefully his legs are feeling better so he can steal more than 19 bases. A team will always have more success if they have a threat to steal bases, and honestly its not going to be good if only two guys (Ryan Theriot and Soriano) have double-digit steals again this year.

4) Who is signing the paychecks?

On opening day 2007, the Tribune Company-owners of the franchise since 1981- announced they were being sold to real estate mogul Sam Zell. Zell was then going to sell the team and Wrigley Field to a different person, but keep the newspaper. That was all supposed to be done by opening day ’08. Of course, there has been no progress. So now the Cubs are stuck with an owner who doesn’t want them and questions all around about adding payroll, changes to the ballpark and the long-term future of the entire club. In a perfect world, Zell would find a person to buy the team that wouldn’t ruin Wrigley, but would be committed to winning a title (Mark Cuban?). But in the real world, we have to wait as much as a whole ‘nother year to see who will own the club.

5) When can we expect the first Lou blow-up of the season?

Based on last year’s results, the over/under is June 2. That was the date of Piniella’s dirt-kicking tantrum that resulted in a four game suspension back in 2007. I looked at this in two ways. One is with a team he knows better, Sweet Lou isn’t going to tolerate a slow start like he did last season. If the Cubs struggle out of the gate, he’s gonna end up getting tossed sometime in April or May. But the other side of that is with a more experienced squad, he might let the players handle it and try not to become the main story, meaning he won’t get the heave-ho until the middle of the summer. I’m going with that second theory and taking the over. Piniella will explode at some point this season, but it will not be until later in the summer.