Cubbery is BACK!!

After a year's hiatus, i'm back and i'm blogging. I k%now its been a while and who knows if anyone will stumble upon this site, but here goes anyways.

So after a week of baseball, what do we know for sure about the cubs this season?
I'm not going to be 100% negative and say that they're not a playoff team, but currently, they do NOT look like a playoff team.

The most glaring issue I see is the outfield situation. How is a year later and we're still talking about getting Colvin enough at bats. I'll tell you how; His name is Fukudome. I find it IMPOSSIBLE to believe that the cubs couldn't find any takers for this obvious bust. The Yankees spend top dollar for busts just for shits and giggles. Offensively he is nowhere near as talented as Colvin, nor does he have half of Colvin's "upside". Hendry seems so unwilling to admit defeat that he'd prefer to hold on to a bad contract rather than dumping a guy.

Pena appears to be an upgrade at first, Han Soto (its gonna be a thing) seems to have gotten some of his offense back, and up until two days ago the rotation appeared to be in better shape than in recent opening weeks. Still, its early, and I've already spent the cash on MLBTV premium package, so I'll watch a lot, and hopefully write a lot.

Lets wrap up a series win against the beer makers tonight!

Panic Time??

I got to watch my first full game today. Living on the west coast and having a full time job, I'm saddened by the fact that I will probably see fewer than half of the games this year. (More night Wrigley games please)

At first, just by watching Gameday updates on BlackBerry and after game box scores, I was FREAKING out about the bullpen. But I liked mostly what I saw today out of Grabs, tho I do agree with fellow chatter who commented that maybe he's not a great Lefty v Lefty match up due to not having a killer slider. He looked MUCH better against the righties he faced today.
Marshall really seems to excel in the middle relief role and as our starters get stretched out, I'm not too worried about him being over-used. The Russell kid had a good outing and I think Berg is showing promise. Smardja is quickly going to pitch himself back to Iowa and I think it will take a while for Loupa to put Cardiad back in during a close game. Luckily I do think there are some viable options in the minors and I don't think Hendry will be too slow to make a switch; it may even be worth dangling Smardja out on the market to see what could be garnered.

But ONCE again, the Cubs have the same type of offense. Very few plate setters, 4 guys in the middle of the lineup trying to hit HR's and nothing else, and a catcher that is proving that steroids really do work (allegedly) every time he's at the plate.
These cubs, remind me more and more of the Dusty cubs. No walks, no stolen bases, and everyone waiting for a HR. Colvin and Sori need to be put into a true platoon situation and Colvin can bat 2nd, and Fuku could move down to 6th. This is just a suggestion, but I think Colvin has MORE than earned the chance to start more than once every 5 days.

I DON"T think its time to panic. If the Cubs can snag another W in Cinci tomorrow, they'll be at .500. Aram will heat up in June when he always does and the Fonty/Baker platoon may prove itself to be at least adequate.

But think about this. Aside from Silva, the only other major acquisitions that have made it to the roster are Nady and Tracy. Two guys from the scrap-heap, neither of which were known for their on-base prowess. Meanwhile, Mark DeRosa has made an immediate impact on the SF Giants, taking walks, slapping singles AND hitting home-runs, all while available to play 5 positions if needed. I made the comment today that the Giants at least seem to have a Vision and a "Formula for Success". Not sure if the Cubs have had that since the Prior/Wood/Sosa years...

Some bad oh-mans

I know there have only been two games so far, and that this is a LONG season, but its pretty obvious that one of the main off-season priorities was not met. That being, acquiring an experienced veteran arm for the bullpen and most importantly, to fill the huge void that is the 8th inning. Samardzija, based off of Monday's appearance and glimpses last season, does not apper to be comfortable in ANY bullpen role. I was going to post about my frustration with Z and his inability to calm the EFF down during important starts, but decided to give him a larger sample size. The bullpen, I don't trust enough in its current condition, and hope that Hendry doesn't wait until August to fix his most blatant off-season error in recent history.

Colvin Causing Confusion

According to Bruce Levine of ESPN, Tyler Colvin will be on the Cubs opening day roster. This leaves ONE spot up for grabs between Tracy, Millar, Fuld and The Hoff. According to earlier blogo-rumors, that spot could already be wrapped up by Tracy.

That makes sense because Tracy can probably play all 4 corner positions in a pinch and he's almost a decade Millar's junior.

I'm more confused by the 0utfield situation. With Nady already the designated 4th outfielder, where/when will Colvin get to play? Loupa said last week that Colvin would only play if he could find at-bats, sooooo... this either means that they're planning on another injury ridden Soriano year, or they're already doubting Fukudome's chances to be a regular starter.

Personally, I've been rather unimpressed with Fukudome's Cubs stint thus far, but sadly, probably also have all the other GM's in the league. I would LOVE to see him dealt for that experienced bullpen arm, especially since Tracy can most definitely be a stop-gap late inning/extra inning sub in the OF.

Announcing Colvin this early and trading Blanco are definitely interesting moves, and I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't the last before opening day.

Cubiatrics

Remember when Ryno sprained his ankle, or was it his wrist??? I wanna say it was the year after his error-less games streak? (Notice how I can't pinpoint the injury or the year)
Can you remember Gracie EVER being sidelined for days at a time? Neither SOSA nor Maddux missed any considerable amount of time during their tenures either.

I've ranted on this before, but there is some sort of residual bad karma lingering in the Cubs training room and its been there since KWood's rookie season.
Back then it was Woods and Prior keeping each others spots warms on the DL.
Then Nomar tore his hammy RIGHT off the bone as it were!!
Then Lee's hand/wrist gets broken on a freak cubbery-liciuos play.
Z felt lonely so he started to stop by for weeks at a time (One of those stints was actually from surfing the web too much)
Soriano joined the DL fray with multitude of various leg injuries.
...and last year ARAM wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and apparently wanted another taste this spring!!

What is going on with this training staff?? Is Mark O'Neil giving out happy endings?? Did Sammy leave a stash of porn under the trainers table?

And now DLee has injured his back by improperly sitting in a chair?? Good thing he wasn't taking web-classes from Z! I know that injuries are a 'part of the game' and that other teams (see the Mets) have been just as badly off, if not worse, in recent years.

But this is just plain ridiculous. Dare I say CUBBERY at its best? Colin Cowherd on his radio show mentioned the Cubbies and my ears perked up. He followed with the question: "Why are they in 'Wait and see Mode'"? Valid question, Colin. All of the above is another painful reminder to me of why we should have Kept Jake Fox around rather than bringing in two 'past their primers' in Millar and Tracy. He was a fresh breath in an increasingly stagnant atmosphere. Young blood rather than old tired, post PED muscles. Sadly, I'd prefer Millar OR Tracy over Baker/Hoff but apparently the cubs HAVE to keep baker around because he can play 2nd and 3rd.

This infield situation is a mess. Makes me wonder if Loupa/Hendry have considered. Plattooning Theriot, Castro, and Fontenot between the two middle infield positions, keeping Tracy and Millar because they can both play 1st and 3rd and both have more pop than Baker, and try to package Baker and Someone for some bullpen help (Subject of upcoming rant, to be sure) All I know is that with Aram and DLee dancing the Wood/Prior DL tango, backup power at the corners HAS to be at least close to the top of Hendry's concerns.

Sadly, once again, the Cubs risk stalling out of the gate due to injuries, and then rely on the tried and true 'When this guy gets off the DL, it'll be like making a trade without giving anything up'! reasoning for not trying to improve mid-season.

Already Worried...

Aram out with a sore 'something'..already. I hate to say I told you so, especially due to the fact that I haven't posted anything in almost 3 years, but regardless, Hendry should NOT have so callously gotten rid of Jake Fox. A power hitter that can sub at 3rd, 1st AND CATCHER!!! In exchange we get a seldom-heard-of reliever in the form of Jeff Gray and then invite Kevin Millar and Chad Tracy to camp: Two guys past their primes with pretty much the same pros/cons as Fox had, plus (in Millar's case) an extra 10 or so years. I've actually always liked Millar and hope they keep him, but Aram's soreness could force the Cubs' hand to keep Tracy or Baker due to their 3B experience.... Not to sully Millar's prowess at 3B. He DID play 4 games at 3rd for the Jays last year.

I absolutely love Aram when he's on the field, but it appears that its getting exceedingly difficult to keep him there, and with Lee not getting any younger, Fox was an asset that should have been kept until at least the end of camp this year. Now there's indecision in the infield, AND in the bullpen due to Gray's 'I slipped on the pitcher's mound' injury. (never a good sign for a pitcher I might add).

Hope to be posting more, but for now, here's to Aram being cured by opening day, or we might lose another season before it gets started.