2010 Chicago Cubs....

The 2010 Chicago Cubs are an interesting bunch, they definitely do not have the additions of big named players like they had years ago with Lilly, Soriano, etc. Things this team does have is a better hitting coach, solid players, better bench, and big expectations for their big contract players. Things this team does not have is a strong bullpen, strong back half of the rotation, and of course distractions named Milton Bradley. All in all this team will fare well in 2010 I think. Lets break them down some-


Pitching Rotation-


While the Cubs are far from having a strong rotation it does have a nice top 3 and will be better when Ted Lilly gets back. One thing the Cubs may have to address during the season or at the trade deadline is finding a stronger 5th starter. I think Marshall, Gorzo, and Silva just do not cut it for a 5th starter on a playoff team, so the Cubs will have to make an addition there. Overall the Cubs rotation will be solid but not spectacular and should always keep them in games.


Bullpen-


This is the weakest part of the Chicago Cubs. This pen is full of inexperienced youngsters and an unproven closer with hardly any veteran leadership. I think the pen will determine whether the Cubs win or lose games this year. This is another area they will have to develop throughout the year. But they could make me look bad if they come out a preform well, although I do not see it.


Bench-


One of the strongest areas for the Cubs this coming Season. They will provide the Cubs will late inning rallies and power off the bench. It is hard to consider Tyler Colvin a bench player but he will start there until the Cubs grow tired of Fukduome. Chad Tracy and Xavier Nady bring experience and pop of the bench while Baker gives them versatility. I am truly pleased with the Cubs bench this Season.

Infield-

You cannot complain about this infield (besides 2nd base). When you have Lee and Aram starting at the corners and a nice hard worker in Theriot at SS it is hard to say anything bad about them. They will be solid once again and if Aram can start 140+ games like I think he will you might be chanting MVP in August.


Outfield-

Alot of people pick the Cubs outfield to falter and not produce any more than last year. I think they are wrong! Soriano healthy, Marlon Byrd's addition to CF, and Tyler Colvin's surprising Spring has to get you pumped up. You have a nice outfield that will produce solid numbers while playing decent defense. Hard to ask for more.

2010 Cubs Regular Season Record
86-76 - Wild Card Winners - Lose in NLCS to Phillies

Cubs MVP-
Aramis Ramirez

Cubs Best Pitcher-
Carlos Zambrano

Other Awards-
Tyler Colvin- Rookie of the Year

That is your 2010 Chicago Cubs....

2010 Infield Projections...

Here is my Chicago Cubs Infield Projection for 2010-

1. Geovany Soto- I expect Geo to have a bounce back campaign but will not equal what he did his rookie year. I still expect power numbers to be down but his average and RBI to go up. He is one of the 3 keys to the Cubs offensive success this season and I think he will deliver.

.268 Avg.
.350 OBP
13 HR
59 RBI
21 2b
41 Runs
120 Hits
2 SB

2. Derrek Lee- I expect Lee to put up numbers close to last season but with his power numbers decreasing some. He will be solid again and should net himself an extension with the Cubs or payday in the FA market with his nice numbers.

.301 Avg.
.370 OBP
30 HR
94 RBI
34 2b
90 Runs
169 Hits
1 SB

3. Mike Fontenot- He will have a nice year this year but will not have the type of season Lou and staff had in mind when naming him starting 2nd baseman. He will still do OK.

.262 Avg
.339 OBP
6 HR
32 RBI
18 2b
31 Runs
97 Hits
4 SB

4. Ryan Theriot- Theriot will do what Theriot does just about every year. Put up solid numbers up and play with heart. He should be right around where he was at last season.

.290 Avg
.350 OBP
4 HR
48 RBI
22 2b
80 Runs
169 Hits
20 SB

5. Aramis Ramirez- Can he stay healthy? I say yes! This year we will finally see the Aramis we all know he can be. I expect great production out of him and playing a ton of games in his first healthy season in a while.

.309 Avg
.388 OBP
35 HR
115 RBI
41 2b
88 Runs
168 Hits
1 SB

6. Koyie Hill- He will do OK for a backup and will not dazzle you with his number of ABs or stats.

.220 Avg.
.299 OBP
1 HR
12 RBI
5 2b
8 Runs
26 Hits
0 SB

7. Jeff Baker- I expect him to do decent off the bench but will not compare to the numbers he put up last year with the Cubs.

.269 Avg.
.330 OBP
5 HR
26 RBI
18 2b
29 Runs
64 Hits
2 SB

8. Chad Tracy- I think he will do well in limited duty for the Cubs as well as a pinch hitter. He will put up similar numbers to Baker.

.277 Avg.
.334 OBP
5 HR
30 RBI
16 2b
31 Runs
71 Hits
0 SB


All together the Cubs infield will fare very well in 2010 with a breakout season from Aramis and solid year from Soto and Lee should put them in the hunt for a playoff spot. Should be very fun to watch in 2010 if they all stay healthy.

2010 Outfield Projections

Here is your 2010 Outfield Projections for the Chicago Cubs-

1. Alfonso Soriano- Sori will have a bounce back year after injured plagued him all of last season. He will go hot and cold this year just like last season but I think Rudy will really help him a lot. I think you will see more homers and a decent average. All in all I think he will have a good season for the Cubs.

.275 Avg.
.319 OBP
31 HR
85 RBI
35 2b
81 Runs
160 Hits
21 SB

2. Marlon Byrd- I expect him to put up great numbers at Wrigley this year. I think his power numbers will decline but his OBP and Avg. will increase going to the weaker NL Central. He will be as close as you can get to the amount of money shelled out by the Cubs for him.

.300 Avg.
.361 OBP
14 HR
65 RBI
34 2b
60 Runs
140 Hits
8 SB

3. Kosuke Fukudome- He will not have a break out season because he will lose playing time to Tyler Colvin. Fukudome will play good defense, have a good OBP, but a low power, and a little bit higher Avg. gets him ridding the pine with Colvin getting more time in RF.


.260 Avg.
.375 OBP
7 HR
45 RBI
20 2b
51 Runs
101 Hits
7 SB

4. Xavier Nady- He will see some time in LF but I will take into consideration he will not get a ton of time in the outfield early on and plus will mainly play against lefties. I also will take into consideration that he is injury prone so his games will not likely reach 130 games. He will still produce good numbers though.


.280 Avg.
.340 OBP
16 HR
61 RBI
21 2b
53 Runs
118 Hits
2 SB

5. Tyler Colvin- I may have came down with Colvin fever and have rose colored glasses on but I think he is the real deal. I expect him to tear up the NL Central this season and win the Rookie of the Year Award. His stats show why......


.305 Avg.
.333 OBP
29 HR
87 RBI
39 2b
79 Runs
171 Hits
20 SB

The Cubs outfield will fare much better this year with the addition of Tyler Colvin and Marlon Byrd along with a healthy Soriano. Nady will get hit for good numbers in while I think Fukudome will struggle again this year. All in all they are going to have a good year in the outfield.

Here are the combined Outfield stats for the Cubs-

.284 Avg. (total)
.345 OBP (total)
97 HR (total)
343 RBI (total)
58 SB (total)

While our outfield looks pretty slow there power is definitely there and a decent OBP as well. I like our outfield this season and the projections I posted should put us in the middle of the pack for productive outfields in baseball.

Up Next.... Cubs Infield Projection...

Until Next Time....

Millar Out, Tracy In...

The Cubs picked Chad Tracy over Kevin Millar today. Jim Hendry said it was a very tough decision but Tracy does bring more to the table than Millar. Tracy is a left-handed power bat, that can play 1st, 3rd, RF, and LF and is pretty good defensively. Not to mention he is much younger. Because of this the Cubs released Kevin Millar.

It is sad to see Millar go but I am sure he will land a job in the majors, especially if injuries occur.

Until Next Time...

2010 Starting Pitching Projections

Here is my 2010 Starting Pitching Projections for the Chicago Cubs.

1. Carlos Zambrano- After a very disappointing 2009, I fully expect to see a more mature yet still a fiery competitor in Carlos Zambrano. I feel this is the Season the Cubs will realize they made the right decision signing him to an extension. His strike outs will not break 200 but his ERA should go down because he now pitching to contact.

32 games started
211 innings pitched
85 walks
165 K's
18-7
3.51 ERA

2. Ryan Dempster- The guy can pitch well last Season but it did not show in his stats. I expect him to be between his 2008-2009 stats. He will be solid but not spectacular. His K's will stay the same but his ERA will definitely drop in my opinion.

30 games started
198 innings pitched
81 walks
178 K's
14-7
3.33 ERA

3. Randy Wells- I feel the league will catch up to Wells a bit this Season so his numbers will go down. Lets not forget the chance of a sophomore slump. His wins stay the same but his ERA, SO, games started, and innings pitched will go up. I expect Wells not to do as well as last year but not blow up by any means.

29 games started
182 innings pitched
60 walks
130 K's
12-8
4.01 ERA

4. Tom Gorzelanny- I do not expect much for him in fact I expect him to be replaced in the rotation sometime this season by Marshall, Lilly, or a minor leaguer. His projected numbers by me will show you why.

6 games started
36 innings pitched
15 walks
27 K's
1-3
5.95 ERA

5. Carlos Silva- I fully expect him to do better than last year but that is not saying much. He will post a high ERA and I do not think he will pitch in a ton of games before he gets replaced by someone.

12 games started
69 inning pitched
29 walks
35 K's
4-4
5.45 ERA

6. Ted Lilly- I expect Ted Lilly to be Ted Lilly plain and simple when he comes back.

27 games started
174 innings pitched
40 walks
160 K's
14-6
3.98 ERA

7. Sean Marshall- He will end up starting some games for the Cubs because of Silva and Gorzo not getting it done. I expect Marshall to do very well as a started. So he will start double digit games for the Cubs.

19 games started
111 innings pitched
42 walks
80 K's
9-6
4.12 ERA

All together the Cubs will have a good top three rotation until Lilly gets back and Marshall gets inserted into the rotation. It will then be a very solid rotation and will win a lot of games for the Cubs. Here is the combined stats for your 2010 Chicago Cubs rotation-

155 games started (7 games will come from spot starters, new players, or bullpen)
981 innings pitched (with that number our rotation will avg. 6 innings pitched a ball game)
368 BB
775 K's
72-39 (the bullpen will be the decision in a ton of games)
4.33 ERA (entire rotation avg.)

There are my projections for the 2010 rotation.

Up next-
- Outfield Projections
- Infield Projections
- Team Projection

I will not be doing a bullpen projection because it is just too inconsistent to project.

Until Next Time....

Cubs Trade Talk....

We have not heard much trade talk about the Cubs until now...



- The Rangers are looking for a backup corner infielder before Opening Day and the Cubs could help them do so. It is rumored that the Rangers have interest in either Kevin Millar or Chad Tracy for there backup position so it is likely the Cubs will deal one or the other depending on who makes the team. Right now I am hearing Millar has earned him a spot on the roster.



- The Cubs have some interest in veteran left-hander Nate Robinson. The Cubs are looking at potential replacements for the back end of the rotation if Silva or Gorzelanny do not produce early on. The Cubs also feel they are too right handed in the rotation so will look at lefties to replace either Silva or Gorzo. Nate Robinson is owed 10 million this season so the Cubs would have to send a bad contract there way or have the Tigers pick up most of the tag. Robinson is 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 19 innings pitched this Spring.



- It is rumored that Fukudome is on the trading block and being "known to be available" by Jim Hendry with the emergence of Tyler Colvin. I have heard that the Astros, Dbacks, Giants, Mets, and White Sox all have some interest in Fukudome, but probably would expect the Cubs to pay a "good portion" of his contract.

- Tyler Colvin has made the team out of camp and now only Millar, Fuld, Tracy, and Hoffpauir are battling for the final spot. My bet is on Millar.

Until Next Time....