By: Chad Ruter
Since I vowed to myself I wouldn’t give the time of day to the pre-deposition involving Roger Clemens, my article tonight will bounce around a couple different places.
- I really can’t blame Justin for becoming a Yankees fan when he started watching baseball. It’s like a kid near Philadelphia not liking any sports, then all of the sudden gets into them because it was the next best thing to finding a girlfriend. If he’s smart, he sure as hell wouldn’t attach himself to the local Philly teams, considering none of them have won a title since the Dr. J and Moses Malone 76ers team back in 1983. In hindsight, maybe being a sports fan my entire life is what killed me? Nobody in my family liked sports, but I ended up a die-hard fan of all teams Chicago (all Cubs, little White Sox) because those were the only teams on TV growing up (yes, I was one of those kids that grew up with 5 channels until I was 9). But if I didn’t become a Cubs fan, I might have never found fantasy baseball to keep me sane during the grueling six-month campaign. Being a Bears fan forced me to seek out other quarterbacks not named Krenzel, Burris, Stewart, Quinn, and McNown through fantasy football. Hell, the post 3-peat (times two) Bulls teams drove even the craziest of Bulls fans to the bottle, and me to fantasy basketball. Justin and I took opposite paths to becocming fans of the teams we adore, and the fantasy sports we couldn’t live without. But I never regret becoming a Chicago sports fan. Although I will try my damnest to get my kids to cheer for someone else if we can’t get a championship between now and then!
-I tell ya, I picked one helluva year to move into Chicago. A city where everyone owns 2-wheel-drive cars in a region in the country that averages between four and ten feet of snow. Driving home after 3 inches a snow more than doubles my normal drive-time because people slip/slide around all over the place with a few idiot drivers causing problems for everyone on the road. I need sunshine and heat worse than Shaq needs Nutri Systems. And despite the four inches of snow we received today – I’m ecstatic. Reason being: Justin reminded me that pitchers and catchers report tomorrow morning for my Chicago Cubs!! Let the games begin people! We get to enter a spring training where we have no reliance on Mark Prior and Kerry Wood to be 200 inning contributors, and our bin of potential starting pitchers is 8-deep.
- While we’re on the subject, prepare for Cubs pre-reporting-pre-spring-training rant in 3, 2, 1…
The back end of our bullpen looks to be our strength, with Wood, Carlos Marmol and Bob Howry all throwing 90+ with control and moxy. Carlos Zambrano should bounce back slightly with no contract to worry about or outrageous personal goal-setting to live up to. Ted Lilly and Rich Hill are locked into rotation spots, while Jon Lieber, Ryan Dempster, Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher, and Jason Marquis have plentiful competition to see who fills spots four and five.
Catching wise, we no longer have to put up with the horrible game-calling, awful defense, or lack of interpersonal skills shown by Michael Barrett. Nor do we have to endure the escapades of the light-hitting, powerless, armless shell of his once All-Star self in Jason Kendall. Instead we hand over the reins to the young Geovanny Soto, who won the Pacific Cost League MVP award, and provided some much needed offense during the late September playoff push. He could have a breakout season this year, but I still remain a bit skeptical because he was never considered a top prospect until he finally started hitting last year. The ray of hope: his jump in production coincided with a loss of weight the Cubs asked him to get rid of. Henry Blanco returns to fulfill the final year of his contract as the backup catcher – primarily providing a spell for Soto once a week while providing great defense off the bench. Koyie Hill will bounce back and forth to the Majors as needed as well.
Shoot…that’s just a pre-reporting day special…just wait until we get some spring training games under our belts!
- Talks have been quiet for awhile, but now that the Erik Bedard deal has been completed, I would love to see the Orioles take the next logical step and trade speedy 2B Brian Roberts – to the Cubs. It would be wonderful if he could move over and play SS, but my guess would be that he would play 2B everyday, take the leadoff spot to allow Soriano to move down, and turn Mark DeRosa into a super-utility guy that plays 5 out of every 7 days with no drop in production wherever he plays. Heck, if either Sam Fuld or Felix Pie work out, you could put DeRosa in RF, and move Fukudome to CF. You’d see a slight drop in defense, but a dramatic upgrade in offensive production.
- I was a bit off on my prediction for the legend known as Joba. I was correct in my assesment that he should start in the bullpen, go to AAA to stretch his arm out, and then jump into the Yanks rotation. I was incorrect in the amount of innings he’d throw. I thought he only threw 80 innings last year. Instead, he pitched 100+ innings at four levels in 2007 – making the leap to 140 innings a very smart maneuver by the Yankees. Expect him to do that this year (barring injury of course), and to expand that number to the 180-190 range in 2009, and then letting him throw as many as he can starting in 2010. Brian Cashman continues to run the Yankees beautifully. If George Steinbrenner didn’t go over his head to make a couple brash moves a few years ago…the Yankees might be in an even better position.
- The thing that has me aching the most for spring though….golf baby. The Masters music was playing on a commerical during an ESPN broadcast, and my excitement level hit the apex. Only 4 more weeks till we go to Augusta! Get your four-irons and wedges ready!
-CR
