Spring Training 2010

[1060Ivy]

<!--quoteo(post=80094:date=Feb 19 2010, 04:46 PM:name=Clapp)-->QUOTE (Clapp @ Feb 19 2010, 04:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80083:date=Feb 19 2010, 02:45 PM:name=JBconway)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JBconway @ Feb 19 2010, 02:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80041:date=Feb 19 2010, 12:35 PM:name=Coach)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Coach @ Feb 19 2010, 12:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Lilly:
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->MRI went well. Normal wear and tear on knee and Lilly is throwing now.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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good news. cubs screwed the pooch by not signing any decent to solid starting pitchers this offseason ( silva DOES not count towards this). our starting pitchers are the brittle bunch & an injury waiting to happen. at some point this season, lily, big z & dempster will be on the dl. we have 0 depth this year. losing harden & not getting a body in his place will hurt this team in the end
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I think the rotation is the team's strength actually. Injuries are possible with any rotation... there's not a single 1 of our main 4 that really stands out as a major injury concern, assuming Lilly can go by mid-April to May as reported. Zambrano's made 30 starts in 6 of the last 7 years, with last season being the only time he didn't(still made 28). Dempster made at least 31 starts and threw over 200 innings each of the last 2 years. Lilly's made at least 27 starts in the last 4 years.

I would've loved to get an upgrade at the #5 spot, but at the price it would come... can't get too mad.
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Despite having each of member of the Cubs starting rotation go on the DL, the Cubs managed to have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball in 2009 so I can understand why you believe that pitching is one of the Cubs strengths. In 2009, the Cubs had the 5th lowest ERA, the 2nd most strikeouts, 3rd lowest BAA and 6th lowest WHIP. I can understand why you believe that the Cubs pitching is a strength.

My concern is that those performances were last year. The loss of a Rich Harden, a very talented, but frustrating pitcher, exposes the Cubs starters. Now the Cubs have guys who were battling to be a No. 5 last year spring training penciled in as their No. 3 and 4 spots to start the season. The number of talented options has reduced.

Now, you might consider that the Cubs pitching is a strength due to the weakness of Cubs in other areas - offense, fielding, etc. which could be an interesting argument.

Like many I believe, the 2010 Cubs should score more runs than the 2009 Cubs but the pitching will weaken. Hopefully, fielding will improve with Byrd in CF, Fukudome in RF and a full year of Aramis at 3rd.