Shortstop

2005 Starters: Neifi Perez, Nomar Garciaparra

2006 Projected Starters: Ronny Cedeno, Perez

I’m going to do this one using logistics.

Advantage: Cedeno.

Outfield

2005 Starters: Todd Hollandsworth, Corey Patterson, Jeromy Burnitz, Matt Murton, Jerry Hairston

Projected 2006 Starters: Murton, Juan Pierre, Jacque Jones, John Mabry

Wow. Um, just wow. The Cubs went from a somewhat solid mix of contact, speed, and strikeouts, to unproven, really fast, and whatever witty one-word euphemism for Jacque Jones.

A while ago, I started an article titled “Why Corey Patterson is not Juan Pierre”, but it’s a work in progress. All I know about Juan Pierre is that he’s the only player that will always swipe second and third against me whenever I play MVP Baseball 2005. And it seems the Cubs acquired him at the perfect time, after batting .326 with 45 walks, 45 stolen bases, and 45 reasons why he’s superior to Patterson (Reason #29: he will never be one of those “He had the potential to go 30-30” guys that live in the minors with 500 strikeouts.).

Matt Murton licked his chops last year after suffering as Todd Hollandsworth’s backup to become one of the most anticipated rookie debuts in history (21^st century history). Technically, he’s not a rookie anymore, but let’s pretend. I didn’t know Murton’s name until about 20 minutes ago, but he has 3-4-5 Club potential, a good arm, and defense. What does Hollandsworth yield? An injury-prone disappointment who’s been on 6 different teams in the last 11 seasons.

As far as Jacque Jones is concerned, the Cubs might want to re-think this acquisition. Jones has been a relatively dependent outfielder, but his numbers have taken a bit of a dip since his breakout year in 2002. He’s one of the more overrated players in baseball today, but he’s replacing the biggest disappointment in Cub history in Burnitz. After doing well as a member of the Rockies (I could go .283/37/110 in Coors Field), Burnitz showed to the world that he’s just not that good. So Jones is led in to transform the Cub defense, as well as shifting the source of offensive power back to the infield for Lee and Ramirez. But Jones’s numbers should shift back up with a change of scenery. The winds of Chicago could prove beneficial to Jones’s 2006 stat line.

Pitching

2005 Front Three Starters: Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, Mark Prior

2006 Projected Front Three Starters: Zambrano, Prior, Kerry Wood

I know, “injuries, injuries, injuries.” Everyone thought that Nomar Garciaparra was the missing piece to the puzzle of 2004. Then he got hurt, and then got hurt again, and Wood got hurt, and Prior got hurt, and The Curse of the Billy Goat lives on. If Zambrano can stay healthy, and Greg Maddux works well in April, and Prior and Wood go back to the lethal one-two domination they were in 2003, then this three will compose the best pitching trio in the majors. But it’s a lot of “What if’s.”

Other 2005 Starters: Glendon Rusch, Jerome Williams, Sergio Mitre

Other Possible 2006 Starters: Maddux, Williams, Rusch, Rich Hill, Wade Miller

“Greg Maddux is a sure-fire, first ballot Hall of Famer.” I wish we had Maddux in his prime. I mean, Mike Hampton is the only player to win the NL Gold Glove in the last 15 years who isn’t named Maddux. And Maddux will still be dependable enough to win at least 13 times this year, but he’s 40. And I knocked 33 year old Neifi Perez for being old. His performance will either be a signoff to his incredible career, or his membership card into the “Most Impressive Baseball Players Over 40 Club.” He’s always been consistent solely because his outs are mostly of the groundout/flyout variety. With a faster outfield and his same consistent infield, Maddux should be solid.

Thank goodness Sergio Mitre’s gone.

Thank goodness Prior and Wood should be healthy (sort of) by May, meaning Glendon “Salman” Rusch won’t have to pitch as often.

And finally, Jerome Williams is really young. This only means he’ll get better. He has loads of potential on his resume after going 10-7 for San Francisco in 2004. His health, believe it or not, has been a concern, but since working out all of the kinks in his shoulder, he has become (in the off-season) a reliable number five starter. But it’s embarrassing to be looking at him pitch, and only thinking one thing: “It’s Cecil Fielder on the mound.”

2005 Top Relievers: Ryan Dempster, Will Ohman, Mike Remlinger, Michael Wuertz, Roberto Novoa

2006 Projected Top Relievers: Dempster, Ohman, Bob Howry, Scott Eyre, Jae Kuk Ryu, Scott Williamson

Now, now, we don't need any more injured Cubs

I was wrong about Ryan Dempster. But I’m still a little worried about him. Not since 1994-95 did the Cubs start two seasons with the same closer (Randy Myers), and if Dempster gets hurt, it’s practically a Cub tradition to “audition” someone new for the role, then all of a sudden the new closer is awesome, the old closer experiences a setback, the new closer becomes the “permanent” closer, and the old closer gets traded to the crappy NL East team of your choice. So I hope Dempster stays healthy, so the Cubs have someone decent to pitch after surviving the visitors’ onslaught thanks to their shaky bullpen.

Final Word

The final word is health. So many people are at so much risk for undergoing so many different versions of Tommy John surgery, depending on whatever position they play. But if healthy, the Cubs look really good. I don’t know if Wild Card or Division Winner is in the stars for the “other team in Chicago,” but this season should be interesting for the Cubs this year. Keep your fingers crossed, Wrigleyville.

Projected 2006 Record: 87-75, third place in the NL Central