Chicago Cubs

With baseball season right around the corner, it’s time to revisit the glory that is the Cardinals fan. We join Matt Sebek’s October, 2007 column in progress…

On Tuesday morning, 22 groups of collective baseball fan bases will have months to ponder the season that was 2007. For some fans, 2007 was a rebuilding process and a promising sign of things to come in 2008. For others, it was a complete disaster.

This is easily the best prediction for the NL Central I have encountered so far. Here is what he has for Houston and where each team will finish:

Houston Astros

I have to say, I really do not see a lot of teams competing for the National League Championship this year.  Many of these teams look good, but I cannot see them going deep in the playoffs.

Starting with the west, you have teams with very good pitching.  The Diamondbacks have a great one-two punch with Brandon Webb and Dan Harren.  After them, it gets shaky.  A lot of these starters really don't make batters nervous.  

For everyone who picked Marmol in fantasy, the answer whether Marmol would be the closer is answered.  He will remain the setup man.

Kevin Gregg has been a monster during spring training, not allowing a single run.  Marmol on the other hand has struggled, having an ERA of 4.50.  What hurt Marmol was that he played in the WBC, while Gregg stayed and put out the show of his life. 

Saturday, I wrote an article comparing the Cubs infield to the rest of the NL Central. This article will compare the Cubbies' outfield against their divisional foes.

A little side note, I'm using the MLB.com team depth charts as my source as to who the starting outfielders will be.

Although there's a good chance Reed Johnson and Kosuke Fukudome will platoon in center field, the Cubs.com depth chart has Fukudome listed ahead of Johnson as of March 29.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Slezak wrote an article in Sunday's newspaper titled Bad-neighbor Policy at Work. Her main premise is that the Chicago Cubs "disregard responsibility to the community (by hosting) concerts (and wanting) more night games."

Well I say tough baseballs, Ms. Slezak. If you want the benefits of living around Wrigley Field, you have to accept the good with the bad.

On Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Tribune reported that Lou Piniella has named Kevin Gregg as the closer for 2009.

For two years, Marmol has been lights out in the setup role and looked like a shoo-in for the Cubs closer role in the future. Kevin Gregg, on the other hand, has pitched well, but doesn't have nearly the talent that Marmol has.

Most people are surprised with this decision, as the closer battle in Spring Training seemed more like a token contest rather than an actual competition for the role.

The Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday afternoon that Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella has formally chosen Kevin Gregg as his closer to start the 2009 season.

This leaves Carlos Marmol as the setup man, a role in which he earned a trip to the All-Star Game last season.

Gregg was acquired in a trade for pitching prospect Jose Ceda earlier this winter, and has had a dominating spring camp in Arizona. In nine games, Gregg has 8.1 innings pitched, one win, ten strikeouts and zero earned runs allowed added to no losses and just two walks.

After two years of playoff disappointment, the Chicago Cubs are gearing up for another World Series run. The Cubs are the most balanced team in the NL, if not, in all of baseball.

Last year as a team, the Cubs batted .278 and had and on-base-percentage of .354. As a staff, the Cubs had a 3.87 ERA.  All of these stratistics lead to them winning the NL Central for the second season in a row.  Here is a closer look at each of the positions for the Chicago Cubs.

Catcher

Today is "Earth Hour", where people are encouraged to shut off their lights for one hour in a symbolic act to conserve energy. But in Arizona, there is nothing symbolic about the decisions Lou Piniella, Larry Rothschild and the gang have to make.

In the bullpen, only four spots are set. The closer will either be Carlos Marmol or Kevin Gregg, with the slight edge going to Marmol at this point. However, Gregg has pitched very well this spring. Either way, one will pitch in the eighth and one in the ninth.