Big League Chatter

The Chicago Cubs are one of baseball’s most storied franchises.  They
are currently still owned and operated by the Tribune Company which is
owned by Sam Zell.

BigLeagueChatter has been running a four part
series on the sale of the Cubs and the potential owners. Part 1 can be found here, and Part 2 here.

While no one
knows for certain who will end up buying the Cubs the payroll for the
team continues to increase as the north siders vie for their first
championship in a century. This season there is a lot of buzz surrounding the team…..and not
just about the sale of the franchise. During the off-season, the Cubs
landed RF Kosuke Fukudome from Japan.  The left-handed hitting RF is
known for playing good defense, good average, decent power and decent
speed.  The Cubs hope he will fill their needs in RF and as a
left-handed hitter.  The trio of LF Alfonso Soriano, 1B Derek Lee and
3B Aramis Ramirez are the main guys for the Cubs.  SS Ryan Theriot is
the team’s sparkplug while Mark DeRosa will start at 2B, but is capable
of playing just about anywhere on the field. Two youngsters look to
fill out the lineup.  The Cubs are hoping that Felix Pie will be able
to hit major league pitching this season and roam CF at Wrigley Field
this summer.  Behind the plate rookie C Geovany Soto will be the
starter. He impressed everyone with a fine September in 2007.  The
bench may consist of the following players. 1B/RF Darryl Ward, 2B Mike
Fontenot, IF/OF Ronny Cedeno, LF/RF Matt Murton and OF Sam Fuld.
The Cubs pitching staff has seven guys competing for five starting
rotation spots and three guys trying to fill the closer’s role.  The
starting rotation will be led by Carlos Zambrano.  The Cubs need for
the talented Zambrano to be consistent this year and avoid any swoons.
He will be followed in the rotation by two lefties.  Ted Lilly and
Rich Hill.  Lilly had a good season in 2007 after coming over from the
American League.  Rich Hill continues to improve and will be a solid
number three man in this rotation.   The final two slots will be filled
by two of the following four pitchers….Jon Lieber, Jason Marquis,
Sean Marshall and Ryan Dempster.  The bullpen looks to be strong with
Howry, Wood and Marmol.  If Wood proves he is capable of pitching on
consecutive days, the Cubs will use him as their closer.  If not, Howry
or Marmol may fill the role until he is ready.
The Cubs took two months before they started winning consistently last
season.  This year, manager Lou Pinella, looks to have them start
strong from the first game of the season.  The Friendly Confines has a
good chance of hosting games in October this year.  But the Cubs do
have history going against them.