joe: Looking at this team on paper, the sky is the limit, there is speed, power, exuberant youth and insanity everywhere you look. However nothing with the Cubs comes easy, and that is even more alarming since they are in a gift division, where teams seem to hover around .500, get ravaged by injury or feel content to parade out perennial losers. With St. Louis facing plenty of questions around their primary slugger and their pitching staff, and Milwaukee still being a little to young to be taken seriously, this is the Cubs Division to lose.
This may be the best corner infield in baseball with both, Aramis and Derek Lee capable of putting up 35-40 Homeruns and driving in over 110 runs each. As a matter fact along with being the best corner infield, this duo may also be the best backcourt in Chicago, as Derek Lee was recruited to play basketball at UNC, currently the number 1 school in the nation, and I am confident that playing 3rd base Aramis is quick enough to defend some guards. If all else fails, the Bulls may need to explore this option. Regardless, coupling these two with a healthy Alfonso Soriano makes for at least 100 HRs in the lineup right off the bat, so any dudes planning any summer vacations to the Mid-west, make sure you put a game at Wrigley on your itinerary because we all know 'chicks dig the longball' so you're guaranteed at least 50 hookups in the Wrigley Field bleachers.
Kosuke Fukudome, the next big position player from Japan signed with the Cubs and is expected to contribute some much needed pop in the outfield from a source other than Soriano. Japaneese transplants must deal with so much attention during their rookie seasons that it's a wonder some of them succeed immediately. The Cubs are hoping that since he is not being bought on to be a "savior" he will have ample opportunity to ease in and be productive. Other young players on the Cubs roster include sparkplug, Felix Pie, who at best could be the type of phenom Soriano was and at worst he could be an actual pie, and I dont know about you - but I never met a pie that I didn't like so the kid can't lose. Ryan Theriot played almost a full season last year and took the role of disruptor on the basepaths and displayed a pretty impressive glove at short, if he can improve on his contact and draw a few more walks he will be a fine addition to this already dynamic outfield.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the roster is the pitching staff. Here you have everyone's favorite crazy Carlos Zambrano who signed a fresh new deal and also broke at least 3 bats over his knee (every pitching coaches dream) after bad at-bats. Aside from a rough beginning to 2007 which can be attributed to contract negotiations and Micheal Barrett's poor effect on pitchers, Zambrano finished the year with dominant outings and hushed those that say that his workhorse schedule the past couple of years were beginning to take their toll. Rich Hill is primed for more success, his tall lanky frame makes it seem like he is delivering his curveball a couple inches from the batter's head and tossing it straight down into the catcher's glove. When he's on it's hilarious to see the befuddlement on the face of opposing batters; and Ted Lilly and Jason marquis are quality innings eaters that wont surprise anyone but will give a solid output on any given day. Finally the bullpen should be able to protect many a lead as Carlos Marmol moves into the closer role with the still electric Kerry Wood looming just in case Marmol cannot handle the job full-time. This team is an absolute problem and we should fully expect to see them playing meaningful September baseball. 
quang: it has been 100 years since the cubs last won a world series. there have probably been four or five generations of die hard fans that have died hard without their beloved cubs finishing one season as the best team in baseball. a century has passed. do you realize how much time a century is? think about this, the last time the cubs won the fall classic, fall wasn't even a season, the president of the united states was christopher columbus, and america's pastime was racism. anyways, some of you may know by now that i'm a white sox fan. thankfull. though for whatever reason, i'm not a white sox fan that hates the cubs. maybe it's because i'm not a native chicagoan or because henry rowengartner is one of my favorite fictional characters ever, but i rarely openly root against them. sure i call them "the cubes" every now and then, and sometimes i'll burn effigies of certain cubs players, but it's mostly all in fun. so with that in mind, i genuinely like their chances this year.last year, the cubs were the team with the fewest wins to make the playoffs. and just to do so, they had to stage a furious rally to catch up with the brewers, who helped by fading down the stretch. unfortunately, the upstart diamondbacks swept them back home in the first round and highlighted one of the cubs' biggest weaknesses coming into the postseason, not winning many games. i think the cubs can expect last year's deficiencies will be a thing of the past, as this year, from top to bottom, the team looks much improved. cliff floyd and jacque jones have been replaced with heralded prospect felix pie and japanese import, kosuke fukudome. though both are unproven in the majors, they should be heads and shoulders above the proven liabilities that were floyd and jones. additionally, the cubs are returning their core of derrek lee, aramis ramirez, and alfonso soriano. all three are right in their prime years and are as potent a right-handed trio as there is in the league. catching for his first full season, is highly-regarded geovany soto. similar to pie and fukupayme, soto is very raw and unproven. but since he's replacing team cancer michael barrett and offense cancer jason kendall, if soto finishes this season without once poking himself in the eye with a bat it's an upgrade. my biggest question surrounding the cubs' position players concerns the middle infielders. ryan theriot had a pseudo-break out season, but by the end was barely league average. second basemen mark derosa had a quietly solid year but recently had heart surgery. and though doctors say he should be able to play later this month, heart surgery is always a big question mark.
pitching wise, though i'm not sure how talented the staff is, the cubs appear to have tremendous depth, which is often times just as important. fiery ace carlos zambrano is back for his eighth season on the north side. he had is worst full professional year in 2007. and despite leading the national league in walks allowed for the second consecutive year, he still had a more than reasonable 3.91 era. after big z, the cubs trot out ted lilly, who led cubs starters in era and whip last year, and rich hill, who built off his strong finish to 2006 to be one of the better 3rd starters in the league. after that though, i'm not sure what to expect. they've seemingly guaranteed the fourth spot to ryan dempster who has been a closer since 2005 and since 2006 has had trouble pitching one effective inning nevermind six. for their final rotation slot, the cubs are trying to decide between jon lieber and jason marquis. i'm not sure if sean marshall is in the picture, but i think any team would be glad to have him as their fifth wheel. besides, lieber is 37 and marquis is redundant seeing that the cubs already filled their quota of french names with theriot. but if sweet lou does decide to hand the job over to one of these two, at least it means we'll get to see the cubs outstanding bullpen more often. though kerry wood, carlos marmol, and bobby howry are all competing for the team's vacant closer job, between them angel guzman, neal cotts, michael wuertz, the cubs will be in good hands, specifically hands that will baffle opposing hitters.
overall, i think the nl central will be a tight race between the cubs and brewers. i'm giving the slight edge to the cubs, even though i think milwuakee has a much higher ceiling, because the cubs have more pitchers than the brewers. though if the cubs fall short i suspect it will be because bullpens are completely unpredictable year to year and they have three position players who are playing their first full major league season. either way, since i'm not sure the cubs have enough to win the world series it looks like after this year, the cubs will have had waited as many years since their last championship as cruella deville has dalmations. unless of course, when the white sox win the world series this year, they change their name to the cubs.
Unsung Hero: - Carlos Marmol (j)
- Matt Murton (q)
- Geovany Soto (d)
- Mark DeRosa (j)
- Jason Marquis (q)
- Ted Lilly (d)
The Padres Chris Young throws a hard high one at Derek Lee's head, Derek Lee calmy walks out in the general direction of the mound, when antagonized by Young the two trade wild yet off-target haymakers. (j)- After a scuffle between he and the dugout of a game, Michael Barrett eventually gets traded to the Padres. With Barrett on board, the Padres successfully miss the playoffs. (q)
- Carlos Zambrano punches teammate Michael Barrett in the face. The face! (d)
- When tensions flare up again between 6'5 Derek Lee and the Padres' 6'11 Chris Young, it doesnt come to fist-a-cuffs but the two meet after the game for a heated slam dunk contest. (j)
- Kerry Wood finally plays a full season when the players union surprisingly decides to go on strike in mid-April. (q)
- Pronunciation of Kosuke Fukudome’s name causes Cubs games to be broadcast on a seven-second delay.
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