New
Cubs:
Henry Blanco, C (Twins)
Jeromy Burnitz RF (Rockies)
Chad Fox, RHP (Marlins)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (Orioles)
Stephen Randolph, LHP (Diamondbacks)
**Cody Ransom, IF (Giants)
**Scott Williamson, RHP (Red Sox)
Looking for
Greener Pastures Elsewhere:
Moises Alou, OF (Giants)
Paul Bako, C (Dodgers)
Matt Clement, RHP (Red Sox)
**Ben Grieve, OF (Pirates)
Ramon Martinez, SS (Tigers)
Kent Mercker, RHP (Reds)
Sammy Sosa, OF (Orioles)
** Signed to
minor league deal
The Deal: Last season was a huge disappointment
for the Chicago Cubs as they improved their record by only a single
win over their 2003 campaign. Since the time the 2004 season ended
the team has been undergoing major reconstruction. Gone are the
big bats of Sammy Sosa and Moises Alou, as well as strong starter
Matt Clement. This leaves holes that the Cubs needed to so they
turned to Jeromy Burnitz who’ll have big shoes to fill. The
key addition this off-season has to be Jerry Hairston Jr., who is
a better defensive second baseman than Todd Walker but can also
play the outfield.
Strengths:
The obvious strength for the Chicago Cubs should again be the starting
rotation - if they can remain healthy they might be the most dominating
staff in baseball. Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano and Greg
Maddux all have the potential to win 15 or more games.
Offensively
the Cubs could be very strong but the top of the lineup, which could
feature both Corey Patterson and Jerry Hairston as table setters,
should be outstanding. Both men have great speed and should be getting
on base at a very good clip. It should help the rest of the offense
immensely.
Weaknesses:
The glaring weakness of the team is still the bullpen - especially
the closing situation, which the Cubs were unable to address on
the free agent market. That leaves LaTroy Hawkins who blew 9 of
34 chances last year as the most likely candidate to close although
the team has discussed using Ryan Dempster in that role. Dempster
is a risky choice however as he has just pitched 20.2 innings since
returning from Tommy John surgery after the 2003 MLB season.
Possible
Opening Day Lineup:
Corey Patterson
CF
Jerry Hairston Jr. 2B (he’s a better 2b than Todd Walker)
Nomar Garciaparra SS
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Jeromy Burnitz RF
Derrek Lee 1B
Michael Barrett C
Todd Walker LF
Keys To Success: Last year’s key for this
team was health. The pitchers didn’t have it and the team
struggled mightily. Now with their biggest bats gone the team will
need a healthy pitching staff and it will need Aramis Ramirez to
show that last year was not a fluke and that he really can carry
a team - especially since the Cubs failed to sign Magglio Ordonez.
A solid bounce back season by Nomar Garciaparra and a bullpen that
can hold leads would be nice too.
Predictions:
Win Wild Care, If they stay healthy could sneak into the 2005 World
Series
The
Future: The Cubs have a good young core of players especially
pitchers but they aren’t that far from becoming eligible for
arbitration or free agency. In looking at the names lost compared
to the names gained during this off-season you can see the effect
of the team’s budgetary constraints. It was especially pressing
as part of the Sosa trade. The team is going to have to make some
hard decisions when it comes to direction for the team and just
who they should re-sign going down the road. They may have to do
it sooner rather than later if the Cubbies can’t find a way
to win it all this year.
