Looking Back

I didn't get a chance to be part of the Cub Reporters blogger round table but I answered some of the questions anyways, lets see how they panned out...

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?

CP - 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.

I guess that's like a, "well duh" comment, but Prior did not have the best year.

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

CP - 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.

A tough call on this one. Weurtz and Leicester pitched well at times with Leicester having a pretty good year. 41 IP, 35 SO's, 3.89 ERA, 5-1 record. Impact? I don't know.

Q: What should be done with Juan Cruz?

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

Well he was traded and became a regular bullpen man in Atlanta. Maybe the comment should of been he just needs to feel wanted, period. With Baker he was jerked back and forth in the rotation and the minors. 72 IP, 70 SO's, .224 BAA, 2.75 ERA, with Atlanta. Tell me again why we didn't need those kind of numbers? Don't be surprised if he ends up being Atlanta's closer soon.

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

CP - Overall its a little bit better. I don't trust Remlinger or Mercker 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. A lot of people need to remain effective out of this aging pen to be a significant improvement.

Mercker and Remlinger were effective when healthy so I was wrong on that account. And I nailed the bad Farnsworth year. Overall the bullpen was not much better than last years, they still blew way to many games.

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?

CP - Not if they repeat the hitting from last year. And that should be no problem to avoid. But expect a lot 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 don't 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.

Yes it was not a good sign as the Cubs offense continued to sputter. But something very weird happened this year with the splits. The Cubs hit a respectable .273 against RHP but only .249 against LHP. Usually it is the other way around as most of our hitters are better at hitting LHP.

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.

Ok I was way harsh on Barrett. I didn't believe in him, but he changed my mind over the course of the season. But was he better than Miller offensively?

Barrett - .287 BA, 16 HR, 65 RBI
Miller - .272 BA, 9 HR, 58 RBI

Yes he was, but not by much. To my credit I expected much worse from both these guys with Miller being less sucky. So I will put that down as dead wrong, or should it be an ohh so close? -shrug-

But I do miss Millers defense, Barrett had some key passed balls down the stretch that lead to big innings from opposing teams. Overall I was pleased with Barretts defense this season, he actually improved, which is better than remaining the same or declining.

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

CP - 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 don't 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.

And it didn't jive as Lee actually sported identical stats as what he put up in Florida. BIG SURPRISE, well not to me atleast. Jim Thome is elite, Derek Lee is good, and that's it.

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?

CP - 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 don't 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.

I still think the trade sent a bad message to our minor leaguers. No change on that.

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?

CP - Todd Walker. Mark Grudz has never put up back to back good seasons. And I don't 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.

I don't put Walker down as having a significant impact because he barely played down the stretch. I said it at the beginning of the season and I said it when Grudz came back from injury that if you want to lose you play Grudz and if you want to win you play Walker. Baker wanted Grudz to play, so we lost. I know it's a lot more complicated than that, but that is just the way I feel about the Walker, Grudz situation.

Grudz actually put up another decent year for the time he played but his RBI ability is still seriously lacking. Walker proved he is the better offensive threat.

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?

CP - I want Moises to hit .350 again. But I don't 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.

Dead wrong about Alou's fragile body as he stayed healthy and actually had a pretty good year. Alou and Patterson both had some terrible hitting months that were below the .200 line I believe, but they remained in the every day lineup.

I think Patterson jumped right back on the horse and had a fine season. I know most wont agree but I liked what I saw from him this year. He played a much better CF than I thought he could, and showed that he has a deadly and accurate arm from the OF. .266 BA, 24 HR, 72 RBI, 91 Runs scored. I am happy with that since he is 25. I expect more in the coming years.

The obvious major drawbacks are his low OB due to not taking walks and extreme SO's which totaled 168 this year. Those numbers can't continue. But I am willing to stick with it for a few years to find out where he is headed. That is unless ofcourse Beltran kicks him to the curb, then I really don't give a damn about Patterson. I just don't think the Cubs will even be in the bidding for Beltran.

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.

Due to injury Walker played more at 2nd base.

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

CP - 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.

Yep still believe that.

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?

CP - 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.

I believe he was signed long term, though I could be wrong.

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

CP - 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.

Yes there was a big difference in being the hunter and the hunted and the Cubs did not handle it well. They bitched, moaned, complained, and found excuses in everyone else but themselves for their failures.

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

CP - 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 everyone's 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.

This year ended up being, god I hope no one is injured today. Again I was correct about dreading the offense as they did all of the above this year and much worse on some occasions. We saw a lot of HR's but it did not translate into a better offense at all.