Well spring training is finally over, and the Cubs are on the way to Houston to open up versus the Astros on Monday night. A few random thoughts to get us to opening day.

Pinella made the right choice in Gregg –As much as my heart wanted Marmol to start, you could see right away this spring Marmol wasn’t ready. It was crystal clear after blowing the save for the Dominican Republic in the WBC. He’s so young, and he’s emotional. I don’t think mentally he was ready to assume the closer role. Meanwhile Kevin Gregg came in and did exactly what he needed to do. In 11 games he was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Yes he was perfect. How do you make any other choice? Pinella made the right move.

The bullpen isn’t as strong as you think it is –  As good as I think Gregg and Marmol can be as a 1-2 punch in the 8th and 9th inning, the middle relief isn’t as strong as you’d like to think. The cornerstones of what we thought was gonna be a stellar middle relief with Samardzija (7.31 ERA), Guzman (7.31 ERA) Gaudin (10.26 ERA), and Vizciano (6.10 ERA) all made Pinella’s decision of who to keep a lot harder. In fact, the final two spots for the bullpen won’t be decided until Sunday. This puts a lot of pressure on the starters and that’s one thing I don’t want Pinella to do is stretch the starters so early in the season.

Micah Hoffpauir has got to play — This was one of the reasons I wanted the Cubs to trade Derrick Lee. Hoffpauir is ready. I know he’s young, but he’s ready, and I’m getting sick and tired of our #3 hitter hitting into more double plays then home runs. As good as Lee is on defense, he’s been a liability on offense for almost two years now. Hoffpauir was second in hits this spring tied for first in home runs and tied for first in runs. This is not a Corey Patterson or Felix Pie situation. Hoffpauir is ready. I hope he can give Lee a lot of breaks and maybe even take his spot.

The offense is a lot deeper then last year — I mean a LOT deeper. The bench reminds me of 2003 but better. Gathright, Hoffpauir, Johnson, Miles can all start for any team. Gathright and Johnson will get a lot of playing time giving rest to Fukudome, Soriano, and Bradley. Hoffpauir and Miles can fill in for Rameriez, Theriot, Fonentot and Lee. It’s a team with a LOT of speed, and less power, something that Pinella has been working on since he got here. They had the highest on base percentage of any team in the National League in the spring. That’s what Pinella wants. they also led the NL in walks too. Both good signs.

The cubs are for the most part healthy, they are deep, and they are prepared. Could this be the year? Only time will tell. I will say this…..the hunger seems to be there.

Tune in Monday for opening night!

By: jpligon75 on Apr 4th, 2009
Tagged as: This Site

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