Sunshine and baseball

I am really bad at this whole blogging thing, and for that I apologize. It's not like I'm especially busy, there really is no excuse for my lack of posts.

Anyways, tomorrow I head out on a vacation. This is noteworthy for multiple reasons. One, it will mark the first time in a year since I'll be leaving the state of Illinois (except for 3 hours in Missouri two weeks ago, which deserves its own post). Two, because I'm going somewhere that's 75 and sunny, two descriptions that can't accompany Evanston, Ill. in February. And three, because for the first time in my life, I am going to see the Cubs in spring training as they prepare for the 2010 season.

Tomorrow morning, my dad and I will board a plane to Phoenix. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be in the stands of Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, AZ, watching the North Siders take on the Oakland A's in the first game of the year. We'll be there each of the next two days as well, soaking in the sun, watching the team and looking forward to (hopefully) an enjoyable year at the Friendly Confines.

It won't be all fun and games though. There's always a lot of questions surrounding the Cubs, and this year is no different. Here are 10 that I'm hoping to find answers to over the next three days:

1. The number one priority for the Cubs, like with every MLB team, is health. We know Ted Lilly is out for a while, but can guys like Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, Ryan Dempster stay in one piece for the next seven months?
2. How does new center fielder Marlon Byrd look? If the answer is rhymes with Shilton Cradley or Beed Rohnson, the team is in trouble.
3. There's been a bunch of buzz about my man Carlos Zambrano, who apparently has lost a lot of weight since the end of 2009. Can he still bring the heat, and more importantly, will the new shape he's in slow down his home run swing? (Seriously, the most important thing for Z is consistency. Always has been, always will be.)
4. Is Carlos Marmol ready to be a full-time closer? And if so, who will step up to be the 8th inning guy? (Did anybody ever check to see if Jim Hendry suffered some sort of brain damage in the hours before he made the trade in the winter of 2008 for Kevin Gregg?)
   
5. Derrek Lee had a great year last season. Is it too much to expect that he can duplicate it when he's going to be 35 in September (and is entering the final year of his contract)?
   
6. Speaking of final years, will Lou Piniella change anything knowing this is likely his last chance as skipper to win a championship?
7. I've heard great things about top prospects Josh Vitters and Starlin Castro, but can the two live up to the hype and make the big league roster? And do the Cubs have any young arms that can give a jolt to the pitching staff?
8. Two third-year players have big pressure on them in 2010. No player frustrates me more than Kouske Fukudome. Has the right fielder figured out a way to propel his awesome April's into a full-year of solid play? And did Geo Soto finally realize he can't play catcher at 275 pounds?
   
9. Who is going to play second base? Jeff Baker is solid, but shouldn't play every day. Same goes for Mike Fontenot. Somebody needs to step up or the cries for Mark DeRosa will keep getting louder.
10. Finally, do they sell Old Style in Mesa? Is there ivy on the outfield walls? Can I take the Red Line to the stadium? Will they fly a W flag following a victory? Can it be April 12 yet?