Opening Notes:
- Harold Reynolds thinks the Cubs addressed their problems this off season.
- John Hart says the club is built to win. John doesn't think Cubs fans should worry about what happened in 3 games last year.
- Hart says that the Cubs have a lot of swing and miss in their offense.
- Reynolds loves the Cubs pitching and bullpen.
- Harold says not to under estimate Joey Gathright.
Arrivals: Kevin Gregg, Aaron Heilman, Luis Vizcaino, Milton Bradley, Joey Gathright, and Aaron Miles.
Departures: Rich Hill, Jason Marquis, Bob Howry, Kerry Wood, Michael Wuertz, Jim Edmonds, Felix Pie, and Mark DeRosa.
The Cubs got more athletic and left handed this off season.
Hazel Mae talks with Ryan Dempster:
- Being healthy and putting guys away when he was ahead in the count were the 2 factors that contributed to his success last year.
- Ryan has had more fun than ever before the last 2 season.
- It seems that Demp always contributes according to Hazel.
- Ryan said that there is a correlation between sac bunts and wins. Ryan thinks the more sac bunts a pitcher gets, the more wins they get.
Projected Rotation:
1. Zambrano
2. Lilly
3. Dempster
4. Harden
5. Marshall/Heilman
Pitchers Talk:
- John says that you could argue that the Cubs have 3 number 1 starters.
- Hart gave Ted Lilly lots of credit.
- Harold thinks Sean Marshall will have a great year.
- Matt points out that the Cubs can wait until the end of April to decide on the #5 starter (because of off days they will not need one early.)
- Harold called Jeff Samardzija "the most popular player on the team".
- Reynolds thinks Kevin Gregg is over looked.
- Hart says that deciding between Gregg and Marmol for the 9th inning is a good problem to have. He likes the depth of the Cubs bullpen.
- Harold likes Chad Gaudin as a bridge guy.
Hazel Mae talks with Derrek Lee:
- Lee thinks the Cubs tried too hard to win a World Series last year and it back fired.
- Derrek says the Cubs are tired off that postseason disappointment, but there is a long season ahead.
- He wants to hit more like he did in the first half of last year, not the second half.
- Lee says Milton Bradley is very humble and serious on the field. He likes the edge Milton plays with.
Infield Talk:
- Harold calls the Cubs corner infielders "as good as anybody".
- John says Derrek Lee is a great guy to have as your leader.
- Reynolds calls the DeRosa trade "interesting." The Cubs will not expect to get DeRosa's production out of Miles.
- Harold thinks the Cubs will miss Ronny Cedeno.
- John thinks the reason for trading DeRosa was to get more left handed. He likes the versatility and defense that Miles brings.
- Matt calls Aaron Miles a tough out.
- John says Theroit, Miles, and Fontenot are going to be very strong on defense up the middle.
Hazel Mae talks with Sweet Lou:
- Piniella thinks the "100 year thing" put too much pressure on the team last year and they ended up trying to force it.
- He thinks that when you keep knocking on the barn door sooner or later you break through.
- Lou sees a lot of himself in Milton Bradley.
- Piniella doesn't see anything wrong with Bradley being a competitor.
More on Piniella:
- The guys say Lou is very important to baseball.
- John thinks Lou leads with his personality.
- He says that this is the right type of club for Lou.
- Harold likes how Lou combines different managing styles.
Hazel talks with Milton Bradley:
- Bradley told Hazel that Jim met with him early in the off season and the team and Bradley were a perfect fit.
- Milton goes out there to entertain and a have a good time, but it's all about winning.
- He is just as upset as the fans are when his team loses.
2009 possible Cubs lineup:
- Alfonso Soriano, LF
- Aaron Miles, 2B
- Derrek Lee, 1B
- Aramis Ramirez, 3B
- Milton Bradley, RF
- Geovany Soto, C
- Kosuke, CF
- Ryan Theroit, SS
More on the Cubs outfield:
- John Hart does not think Alfonso Soriano is a true leadoff hitter, but he thinks Soriano can beat you in a lot of different ways.
- Harold says it comes down to Soriano being comfortable in the lineup.
- Reynolds thinks Kosuke needs to get off to a good start, or else he might find himself on the bench.
- Hart knows that the Cubs were expecting a lot more out of Fukudome.
- Matt and Harold talked about Reed Johnson and Joey Gathright adding flexibility and good defense to the outfield.
- John likes the speed option off the bench in Gathright.
Ryan Theroit talks with Hazel Mae:
- Theroit says the Cubs are in the same spot that they were a year ago because of the second postseason sweep in a row.
- Theroit takes pride in getting on base and scoring a lot of runs.
Theroit and Soto are the only Cubs homegrown position players that will likely start on Opening Day. Hart thinks the Cubs have a good system with good leadership.
Top Prospects:
- Josh Vitters
- Micah Hoffpauir
- Hak-Ju Lee
- Jeff Samardzija
- Andrew Cashner.
Harold says the Cubs could use these prospects for trades.
Matt and Harold talked with Reed Johnson:
- Reed is interested in baseball history and loves playing at Wrigley Field.
- He would like to stay a Cub the rest of his career.
- Johnson says it is special to be able to compete in Chicago for the Cubs.
- Reed talked about his amazing diving catch last year in Washington. He says he saw that play before it happened.
- Johnson says that there is nothing you can do to prepare your body for the cold of Chicago in April. Reed says that it gets warm in the dugout with the heater blowing in there.
- He says that his college career at Cal State was an important part of his baseball career.
Billy Williams thoughts:
- Billy want to take the positive out of the last 2 years.
- He says that the 3rd time is a charm.
- Williams says the Cubs are pretty much the same team that won 97 games last year.
Cubs all time Team:
Batting Order-
- Ryne Sandberg, 2B
- Billy Williams, LF
- Sammy Sosa, RF
- Hack Wilson, CF
- Ernie Banks, SS
- Mark Grace, 1B
- Gabby Hartnett, C
- Ron Santo, 3B
- Mordecai Brown, P
- Manager- Leo Durocher
Pitchers and Bench:
- Lee Smith, Closer
- Fergie Jenkins, SP
- Greg Maddux, SP
- Bruce Sutter, RP
- Andre Dawson, OF
- Aramis Ramirez, 3B
Harold Reynolds thinks Ron Santo belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Where are they now?
- Jody Davis: Catching coord. in Cubs system
- Ryne Sandberg: Cubs AA manager
- Keith Moreland: Univ. of Texas football analyst
Predictions:
- Harold thinks the Cubs will win the division. He thinks the team is better than they were last year.
- John Hart also has them first. He says the Cubs are clearly the class of the Central.
That's it for now, I'll have more posts soon!
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