The Other Fifteen

The entire Tribune staff goes for the full pants-off dance-off with his in-depth spring training articles. Oh my stars and garters, it's what I've been waiting for.

And, digested into convenient little bullet points for you, the bidness:

• "Lieber, Jason Marquis and Ryan Dempster will battle for the final two spots, with the odd man out going to the bullpen." Translation: Ryan Dempster, setup man. (Or Jason Marquis, long reliever. Death is not an option.)
• "As the second year of Camp Lou begins Wednesday at Fitch Park, Piniella's familiarity with the Cubs roster likely will result in fewer changes over the course of the season. Or at least that's the theory of the man in charge. ... The Cubs could finish spring with a much different lineup than the one Piniella envisions and he's ready to call more audibles if necessary. The only certainty as spring training opens is that Piniella knows his personnel, and the majority of the players in camp know what to expect from 'Sweet Lou.'" So... yeah, I'm leaning toward the latter.
• "But Theriot could be a Cub from the 1930s or '40s." Certainly his slugging average looks like a Cub from the 1930s. (I am, of course, being unfair. Theriot's SLG last season was .346; the NL-champion 1935 Cubs slugged .414. Their worst hitter, SS Billy Jurges, hit .241/.304/.314, though. So maybe that's the Cub from the 30s Theriot could be.)

Of particular note is Dave van Dyck's roster rundown. I have no idea how much of it is sourced and how much is speculative, but it's absurdly interesting stuff. It says Tim Lahey is headed for AAA, which doesn't seem to jibe with what I understand about the Rule Five draft (although I've heard he may end up being the PTBNL from the Craig Monroe deal.) Other than that, van Dyck seems to think that Closser, not Hill, has the better chance of replacing Blanco if injuries prevent him from breaking camp with the team. Good to hear.

Gordon Wittenmeyer provides more fluff, less stuff - about the only news is that the Cubs aren't after Joe Nathan (which I didn't think they were) and aren't counting on the Orioles giving up some guy named Roberts.

Labels: Baseball, Chicago Cubs