Cubs Round Table

I missed the e-mail The Cub Reporter sent around to the Cubs bloggers for the round table. So I went ahead and answered them anyways. Enjoy....or not.

Q: Most pundits agree that the Cubs have one of the best rotations in baseball. Will the rotation live up to the hype? If so, which pitcher will have the best year? If not, who will falter, and will the team be able to overcome it?

For the most part the rotation will live up to the hype. The only way it wont will be because of injury. By far Mark Prior will have the best year. He is leaps and bounds ahead of where Wood should be.

Q: Which, if any, of the Cubs pitching prospects will make an impact on the team this year?

None. Baker as we all know has zero patience with rookies. There is always some crusty veteran who Baker thinks is better than some nobody prospect. Shawn Estes, and Lenny Harris are perfect examples. And afterall were talking about a man who benched Rich Aurilla for a year so he could play the crafty veteran Jose Vizcaino in San Fran.

Q: What should be done with Juan Cruz?

For the sake of his career he needs to be traded. I think all Jose Cruz wants is a legit shot in the rotation, anyones rotation. He has no future with the Cubs barring catastrophic injuries to the front 5.

Q: How much better is the Cubs bullpen this season than it was in 2003?

Overall its a little bit better. I dont trust Remlinger or Merker to remain effective. And if Borowski falters your down to 1-2 dependable arms. What is this an even numbered year? Which Kyle Farnsworth is gonna show up? I hope its not the 7.00 ERA one. Alot of people need to remain effective out of this aging pen to be a significant improvement.

Q: While there are very few questions about the pitching, there are plenty of questions about the offense. Will the Cubs score enough runs to hold off the Astros in the NL Central?

Not if they repeat the hitting from last year. And that should be no problem to avoid. But expect alot of droughts in the offense like what happened last year. The Cubs can win 15-2 one day then get shut out the next 2 games. We still dont hit RHP very well, i think around .250 overall. And our division and the National League as a whole is dominated by very good RHP. Its going to be all about getting the 3 run homerun this year. Just like it has the last 3-4 years. Not a good sign.

Q: Who will have a better 2004, Michael Barrett or Damian Miller?

Damian Miller - I think Barrett is nothing more than a Alex Gonzalez clone with the bat. Were are gonna miss Miller's defense, and Barrett's small improvement in hitting over Miller wont be enough to take away from his defensive short comings.

Q: Who will have a better 2005, Derrek Lee or Hee Seop Choi?

Derek Lee. I am not quite in the boat that Derek Lee will have a monster year just because he is in Chicago compared to the Florida. What i dont get is a move to Chicago for Lee means he will have monster numbers while if Pudge came to Chicago his numbers would decrease? Huh? People seem to knock Pudge for playing in the SAME EXACT park but prop up Derek Lee on a golden horse. That train of thought doesnt jive.

Q: The Choi for Lee trade was a classic example of trading potential for current performance. Do you think it was the right trade to make for this year? What about for the future of the team?

Yeah it was the right trade to make to win this year. On the other side it sends a terrible message to an organization who has troubles developing positional talent. If you dont come out hitting like Albert Pujols your trade bait. It puts tremendous pressure on minor league talent to be good right away. And very very very few players hit straight out of the gate.

Q: Jim Hendry was very active this winter. Everyone expects the Lee and Maddux acquisitions to help the team immensely. Was there another, lesser transaction the Cubs made this winter that you think will have a significant impact on the team?

Todd Walker. Mark Grudz has never put up back to back good seasons. And i dont expect him to do it this year. I put Walker down as one of the players the Cubs should get over a slowing Luis Castillo. He brings a much needed ability to hit RHP that we are missing, and he has RBI and extra base potential. Plus he makes a cool $1.75 million your going to get your moneys worth with him.

Q: What sort of seasons do you expect Moises Alou and Corey Patterson to have? If one or the other struggles, will Dusty pull them from the lineup, or stick with them?

I want Moises to hit .350 again. But i dont see it happening. He is pretty injury prone, so he will probably miss significant time this year, which will just make Todd Hollandsworth our every day LFer. Alou will be given every chance in the world to play if he remains healthy. If he is hitting .230, he will still be our #4/#5 hitter. Remeber who is our manager.
Patterson should jump right back on the horse and continue to do what he was doing last year. Patterson doesnt walk, has speed, and power. He is a Dusty player, he will play if only hits .230 as well. Well as long as he jacks 30 HR's. OBP be damned.

Q: Who will get more playing time at second base, Mark Grudzielanek or Todd Walker? Who should get more playing time?

Baker has already said its Grudz's job. You know my stance, Walker.

Q: How close is Sammy Sosa to being a Hall of Famer?

He already is. I can already hear the Sammy Bashers screaming bloody murder. He has one of the greatest 5 year runs in the history of baseball. His career numbers also are worthy of induction. No question he is a Hall of Famer.

Q: Recently, GM Jim Hendry locked up Greg Maddux, Kerry Wood and Derrek Lee for the next few years. Who on the current roster, if anyone, should get the
next long-term contract?

Aramis Ramirez. Considering how long it took for us to find a decent 3rd it would be insane for Hendry to just let him walk away. If he hits 15 HR's and drives in 75 RBI. He will still be locked up.

Q: As a Cubs fan, are you having a hard time dealing with the fact that the Cubs go into this season as favorites?

Not really, every year i hope Cubs are going to win the division and the World Series no matter how horrible i think the team might be. But there is a difference between being the hunter (last year) and the hunted (this year). Should be great to find out how the team handles it.

Q: What are you looking forward to about the 2004 Cubs? What are you dreading about them?

By far the pitching. Last year was pretty fun, but i dreaded waking up and seeing Estes name on the day to pitch when i had the day off. GREAT, Cubs baseball, day off, Shawn FREAKING Estes. Shoot me now. This year i will have the pleasure of waking up and not caring who is pitching, because they are all going to be so much fun to watch.
Again the offense. Us fans will scream at the TV for wasted opportunities. Lead off double, followed by SO, walk, and then double play. Or everyones favorite. Bases loaded no outs, infield pop fly, SO, liner out to the 1B. We should see some more HR's hopefully. HINT HINT - AmRam and Lee. Thats your que.