Spring Training Tidbits

Here some general news out of the Cubs front:

1. Prior threw 25 pitches to batters yesterday. He said he just wanted to throw fastball strikes to get started. He said he feels great and likes not being behind schedule and being a part of the team again. Z, Marquis, Hill, Lilly, Miller, Eyre, Dempster, Howry, Cotts, Ohman, Weurtz, Samardzija and Ryan O'Malley all joined Prior in throwing to hitters.

2. Lou said the most impressive pitcher he seen so far was Cotts. Here is the quote from cubs.com-

"I'm going to tell you who threw the ball well today was Cotts," Piniella said of the lefty acquired from the White Sox this winter. "He used all his pitches. He has a good slider, good breaking ball, good changeup. That's one of the reasons we're giving him a chance to start here is to make him use all his pitches. He has got a good arm."

I think its great that he is doing so well. He could fill the long-reliever well, but as a starter I'm hesitant to put him in the mix just for the mere fact we already have 6 potential starters. I would just leave him in the pen.

3. Does Hill have a spot in the rotation? The answer is yes! The cubs have come out and said there rotation would go Right, Left, Right, Left, Right. Here is what Lou says-

"I fully anticipate he'll be in our rotation," Piniella said. "And my son has got him on his fantasy team, so I can't mess that up."

Carlos Zambrano will start Opening Day, with lefty Ted Lilly expected to follow, and either Jason Marquis or possibly Mark Prior in the third spot.

"With the starting pitching, one good thing is we're deep enough and have enough options that we don't have to rush any decisions," Piniella said. "That's a pretty good situation to be in. We have a real nice combination of lefties and righties. Let these kids compete and they'll tell us where they want to be."

To me it sounds like Lou might have his mind made up for the majority of the rotation but things could change from now til then.

Here is what I think Lou will have as his rotation-
1. Z
2. Lilly
3. Prior
4. Hill
5. Marquis

Then putting Miller in the pen. That's what I think he would do.

4. Wood did a side session because of rain but Lou said" he is ready to go"

5. Izturiz is ready to show Chicago the player of old. The gold glove, speedy, all star shortstop.