Radio Recaps, Brewers off season Recap, and more!

Some updates-

• Carlos Zambrano will not be in the World Baseball Classic. He said that he has to correct his right eye.
• Zambrano took BP at Fitch Park with Geovany Soto earlier.
• Carlos Marmol is expected to close for the Dominican Republic.
• Zambrano has come to camp with a mustache!
• Speaking of Zambrano- we'll have to wait and see whether or not Lou chooses him to start on Opening Day, it's not a sure thing.
• As of right now, Alfonso Soriano is going to be the Cubs leadoff man.
• Former Cub Billy Petrick has signed with the Windy City Thunderbolts.
• Link to Paul Sullivan article.
• Lou Piniella said that he was saddened that Alex Rodrigez, his former player, tested positive for anabolic steriods in 2003.

Reed Johnson joined David Kaplan last night on Sports Central:

• Johnson is in Vegas. He is headed out to Arizona on Saturday.
• Reed doesn't think the Cubs are overlooking any of the teams in their division. He said that the Brewers could be pretty competitive.
• He thinks that the team felt the NLDS was over last year after they lost game 1. He feels that they should realize it is a 7 game set.
• Johnson says players have an idea of which guys are using banned substances.
• He thinks baseball has dealt with the era in a good way with their policy.
• Johnson says that the other 103 names should be kept secret because that was the agreement, but he understands the other side of it too. He used the phrase "Let the leaking begin."
• Kap asked if Reed had ever heard the play-by-play of his catch in Washington last year. Reed said no, so Kap played Cory Provus's call of the catch.
• "It's going to be 25 guys bonded for the rest of our lives if we do win this this," Reed said.

Todd Hollandsworth joined Mully & Hanley for a preview of this season.

• Todd says it makes for a brighter day when you know that next year has arrived and pitchers and catchers have reported.
• This is a good team, and there is good reasons to be exited about it.
• Todd doesn't think the rest of the NL Central teams did too much this off season.
• Hollandsworth thinks that everyone around all of baseball feels that it is the Cubs turn to win one.
• Todd thinks the Cubs have made improvements to a 97 win season.
• He said that every season is like a 500 page book, and last year was a great first 450 pages, but it was like someone grabbed the book out of our hands and threw it out the window so we didn't get to read the last 50.
• Holly says that the balance is what the Cubs were after, and that's what they got.
• The organizations is hoping that this team will flow better than last years team.
• Todd thinks adding Bradley and subtracting DeRosa becomes a wash.
• He seems to think that Kosuke is a very important piece to this team.
• Kosuke needs to drive the ball back up the middle.
• Hollandsworth says that fans have to realize that Jake Peavy sounds great right now, but he could take away the Cubs flexibility at the all star break if they take on his contract and give up the prospects. He thinks addressing the issues you have in July is more important than adding Peavy now.
• Todd's personal opinion is that the strength of the team is the starting rotation. If Dempster stays the same, Big Z goes back to himself, and Harden stays healthy, the Cubs don't need Peavy.

Jeff Samardzija talked with Waddle and Silvy today on ESPN 1000.

• Jeff has gotten his Spring Training haircut, because it's a little hot in Mesa.
• Samardzija says that there are a handful of great pitchers battling for the last spot in the rotation and he is grateful to get a chance to win that spot.
• He says he had the right guys around him to help him get used to the bullpen last year.
• Jeff has been starting his whole life and that is what he would like to do.
• Lou was "kind of clean" with Jeff last year. He says he only got chewed out once by Lou.
• Samardzija joked that he hasn't ever had an easy going coach, even in little league when his dad, Sam Samdzija, coached him.
• He says Larry Rothchild always gets him "locked in" in camp.
• Jeff says that the chemistry on the team is "pretty ridiculous" because everyone is so close.
• Samardzija does have a 4th pitch that he didn't use in the bullpen, his change-up.

Bruce Levine reported from Arizona on ESPN 1000:

• Lou Piniella thinks Jim did a really, really nice job this off season.
• Piniella will manage differently this season resting some players more often to "keep his veterans fresh" for the whole season.
• Carlos Zambrano has eye drops to use from the doctor and he will use them for about 3 weeks.
• Zambrano has an eye infection and he will have to postpone LASIK surgery.

Let's shift gears and conclude our NL Central off season recaps by taking a look at Brewers off season.

11-12-08: Picked up the option on Salomon Torres.

11-25-08: Signed R.J. Swindle to a one year contract and signed Jason Bourgeois to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.

12-1-08: Signed Scott Thorman to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

12-2-08: Salomon Torres retired.

12-4-08: Signed Jorge Julio to a one year deal.

12-9-08: Re-signed Mike Lamb to a one year deal.

12-12-08: Non-tendered Chris Capuano.

12-16-08: Signed Chris Capuano to a minor league deal with invite to Spring Training.

12-18-08: Signed Trot Nixon and Chris Duffy to minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training.

1-13-09: Signed Trevor Hoffman to a one year deal.

1-26-09: Re-signed Craig Counsell to a one year deal.

1-29-08: Signed Tim Dillard, Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel, Casey McGehee, Brad Nelson, Angel Salome and Mitch Stetter to one-year deals.

2-3-09: Avoided arbitration with Rickie Weeks.

2-4-09: Acquired Chase Wright from the Yankees for Eric Fryer. Signed Ramiro Mendoza to a minor league deal with and invite to Spring Training.

2-12-09: Signed Braden Looper to a one year deal. Claimed Nick Green off waivers.

The Brewers also lost...

CC Sabathia

Eric Gagne

Jason Kendall

Ben Sheets

Ray Durham

I'll give their off season a 3 out of 10. They lost lots of pitching and made up for the bullpen losses but not the key rotations losses of Sheets and CC.

I'll keep you posted on everything going on in Mesa.