Ryan Dempster provided a solid spring training debut – pitching 2 scoreless innings retiring all 6 batters that he faced in the Cubs 10-3 win over the Oakland A’s on Monday.  This is good news for a Cubs pitching staff that is dealing with its share of troubles.  The Cubs should be good at the front end of the starting rotation once Ted Lily returns, but the 5th starter spot and the bullpen could have some issues.  A good Dempster showing in 2010 will mean some stability that should help keep the Cubs bullpen fresh and ready for a grueling 162 game MLB schedule.

Sean Marshall worked 2 innings giving up 1 run on a solo home run and 1 other hit.

Jeff Samardzija worked 2 scoreless innings giving up 1 hit and 1 walk in the process.

Tom Gorzelanny gave up 2 runs on a home run in his 2 innings of work.

Marshall, Samardzija and Gorzelanny (along with Carlos Silva) are competing for the final starting slots in the rotation.  The other 2 will likely end up in the bullpen and once Ted Lilly returns, a 3rd out of the group will get dropped back into the bullpen or sent to Triple-A to continue working as a starter.

Two good hitting performances in the game – Ryan Theriot was 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored, while Mike Fontenot was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s and 1 run scored.  Kosuke Fukodome had another hit in the 2-hole behind Theriot and is hitting .500 during the first few games of spring.

Manager Lou Pinella has gotta be happy with some of these performances…

Injuries to Angel Guzman and Jeff Gray have opened up competition for a few extra bullpen slots for the 2010 Cubs.

Guzman who has had a history of arm injuries will have an MRI on his sore right shoulder this weekend.  Guzman will likely not be ready for opening day and his 2010 status is now up in the air again.  After a solid 2009 in which he appeared in a career-high 55 games (with a 2.95 ERA), this is a big blow for the Cubs who had thought he put his injury woes behind him.

Jeff Gray has been dealing with a sore groin all spring.  Gray was projected to be the right-handed set-up man for Closer Carlos Marmol, so the longer he sits, the more dire the situation for the Cubs.

Right now, the 3 locks for bullpen spots are Marmol, John Grabow and Esmailin Caridad.  Sean Marshall and Jeff Samardzija could also land spots in the rotation if they do not win one of the 2 open starting rotation spots.

Other bullpen candidates include Jeff Stevens, John Gaub, Thomas Diamond, Blake Parker and Andrew Cashner.  Manager Lou Pinella likes what he’s seen out of Cashner so far: “Cashner’s a nice looking young kid.  That’s going to be up to the organization.  First of all, let’s see how he pitches here.  Let’s see what the organization has planned as far as starter, reliever.  I think Jim will make that decision and rightfully so.”

This is not good news for the Cubs.  GM Jim Hendry might have to work a little magic to pick up a more established reliever once spring training camps break in early April.  If not, we could be looking at a lot of young kids pitching a lot of meaningful innings for the Cubs at Wrigley Field in 2010.

Alfonso Soriano continues to improve his conditioning this Spring and it looks like he will be ready to start against the cross-town-rival White Sox on Saturday in Mesa.  Soriano’s rehabbed knee is responding well so far and he has been working with new Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo (his old hitting coach with the Texas Rangers) on shortening his stride during his swing.  Hopefully all the extra work will pay off for Soriano in 2010.

Manager Lou Pinella is optimistic about getting much better production from the $18-million man this season: “He’s healthy, and we expect him to be a better all-around player. We’re not going to expect 30 stolen bases from him or anything like that.  Hitting in the 6th hole, he can save his legs a little more… What we need from Alfonso is some power and RBI production… Let’s hope he has an injury-free season and gets back to where he was a couple of years ago and [is] a little more disciplined and [has] a healthy season, and a productive one.”

Amen to that — Soriano can’t be as bad as his .241 batting average and .303 on-base percentage during the 2009 MLB schedule.  Despite playing in only 109 games in 2008 due to injuries, he still clubbed 29 HR’s and drove in 75 runs in 453 at-bats.  If he can get close to that in 2010, that would be a huge improvement for the Cubs.  It would also mean that Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez would have a little more protection in the middle of the lineup.  That can only mean good things for the Cubs offensive production in 2010…

The Chicago Cubs are on the verge of signing Juan Yasser Serrano.  Serrano is a highly touted right-handed Cuban pitching prospect.  Serrano defected from Cuba in April 2009 after pitching for the Cuban Junior National Team in an international tournament.  So far the Cubs have denied all reports regarding Serrano.  Other sources have indicated that the Serrano signing should happen within the next month or so.  Serrano still needs to complete a physical and some additional legal paperwork, but it looks like all signs are a go for Serrano.

This would be a solid acquisition for the Cubs.  You always hear about the Red Sox or Yankees landing these “can’t miss” pitchers from abroad, so it would be great if the Cubs started getting in the mix with these guys too.  We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything more definitive with Serrano in the upcoming weeks.

Randy Wells will open up the Cubs spring training slate with the opening start against the Oakland A’s on Thursday.  Wells started the 2009 season at Triple-A Iowa but ended up being the Cubs most reliable starting pitcher taking advantage of a slew of injuries to Cubs regulars during the course of the long MLB schedule.  Wells ended up making 27 starts, going 12-10 with a stellar 3.05 ERA.  He struck out 104 batters while walking just 46 in 165 1/3 innings pitched.  That all added up to a nifty 1.28 WHIP.  Wells locked up a starting spot in the 2010 Cubs rotation with his consistent performance in 2009.  Manager Lou Pinella will look to Wells to anchor the 4th spot in the rotation once Ted Lilly returns from his shoulder surgery.

Wells credits playing guitar and trying to write songs with keeping him on an even-feel during the long MLB season.  He has played guitar for about 4 years and in the last year has gotten serious about expanding his playing abilities and writing music.  It’s not easy according to the righty: “I’m just starting out.  I enjoy writing down thoughts and memories.  We get to do so much cool stuff.  It’s nice to write down and remember it.  It’s like taking pictures… It keep syou out of trouble and from spending money and doing dumb stuff.”

Whatever it takes I guess.  With questions at the back end of the rotation until Lilly’s return towards the end of April, it is really important for Wells to get off to a good start in 2010.  Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster should be fine at the front end, but it will be up to Wells to bridge that gap in the 3-spot in front of a quartet of hopefuls – Jeff Samardzija, Sean Marshall, Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny.  We’ll keep you posted here after a few weeks go by during spring training.  If 1 of the 4 breaks out with a few good appearances in a row, they could lock up a slot in the starting rotation fairly early on.

Cubs Closer Carlos Marmol is already looking sharp during this throwing sessions this spring.  That has got to be good news for Cubs Manager Lou Pinella and the rest of the Cubs pitching staff.  Pinella had this to say about Marmol’s status: “Marmol’s throwing the ball so easy and is so far ahead of where he was last spring.  He’s confident and is working himself into shape.”

Koyie Hill caught Marmol for part of his batting practice session and he echoed Pinella’s sentiments: “Marmol looked very sharp today with his control, breaking ball.  We’re going to need him, too.  He’s another one who takes a lot of pride and works very hard in what he does.  It’s not by accident.  It’s not just because he’s gifted and has a lot of ability, it’s because he works his tail off.  You can tell.”

Starlin Castro – perhaps the Cubs shortstop of the future – even took a few swings off of Marmol.  He stayed his ground on a slider that didn’t break and got plunked in the middle of the back.  Pinella was impressed with Castro’s batting – “He didn’t leave — he stood there, to his credit.”  Aramis Ramirez decided to skip Marmol’s batting practice session.  Ramirez only likes to take BP from coaches during live batting practices or in the cages.  So he avoided having to face the nasty Marmol.

That is great news for Cubs fans.  If Marmol can pick up where he left off in 2009, he could see a 30+ save-year for Marmol in 2010.  And if that happens, that would probably mean good things for the Cubs overall record in 2010.

After a rough start to the spring (sore knee, nasty flu), Ted Lilly is finally back at camp.  The only bad news — this latest flu bout probably cost him any shot he had at being ready by opening day 2010.  He missed 5 straight days because of a nasty virus and flu-like symptoms, including a 103-degree temperature.  “It makes you really appreciate your health when it’s taken away… It didn’t hurt, it just felt weak.  I felt some strength was taken away for sure.  It’s awesome just being able to stand out there with the sun on my face and on my feet.”

The Cubs and Manager Lou Pinella have already indicated that they are going to take it slow with Lilly this spring.  Sean Marshall, Carlos Silva, Jeff Samardzija and Tom Gorzelanny will all compete for the final 2 spots in the Cubs starting rotation to start the season.  And once Lilly returns towards the middle to end of April, 1 will get bumped down to the bullpen or minor leagues.

Not sure if this is good or bad – but Alfonso Soriano is “surprised” at how good his knee feels.  Even though he hasn’t run full speed just yet, it looks like all signs are a go for the Soriano Express.  Soriano had this to say about his condition thus far: “I’m surprised.  I feel much better than [Monday].  That’s a good thing.  It’s only the second day and I see the difference… I can move around — that’s the only thing I’m doing 100 percent, is the fielding, and I don’t feel any pain at all.  No problem… I need to trust it more.  That’s the biggest thing.  I think my knee is good, but now I have to trust that it’s 100 percent.”

I guess it is good news that Soriano is feeling this good this early in camp.  Then again, until he shows up on the field in April and can produce during the regular season on a regular basis, I won’t get my hopes up too much.  Soriano seems to be an injury waiting to happen – even on routine plays – so anything can happen during the next 2+ months of spring training.

Hopefully taking the pressure off Soriano by moving him down to the 6th spot with help matters.  If he can increase his HR and RBI numbers by just a little bit from 2009 (he clubbed 20 HR’s and drove in 55 runs in 2009), that should go a long in helping the Cubs offense get back on track in 2010.  A season which sees Soriano hit close to 30 HR’s and rack up over 70 RBI’s will mean good things for this Cubs team.  Let’s hope he – as well as the rest of the team – stays healthy in 2010…

Carlos Zambrano will likely be the Cubs opening day starter against the Braves in Atlanta on Monday April 5th.  Zambrano has made 5 straight opening day starts for the Cubs, but he picked up his 1st win only last year against the Astros in Houston.  Big Z gave up just 1 run and 5 hits in 6 solid innings in the start last season.  Manager Lou Pinella had this to say about the decision: “We haven’t even gone there yet… I’ve been here three years and Zambrano has been the Opening Day starter every year.  I don’t anticipate any difference there.”

It’s unclear who will start the Cubs home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on Monday April 12th.  If the Cubs let Big Z and Ryan Dempster start on their regular 5 days’ rest after their 1st start, the starter would likely be the winner of the 4th starter’s role coming out of Spring Training.  If the Cubs use 5 starters right out of the gate, then Dempster would likely start the Cubs home opener at the Friendly Confines.

Let’s hope Big Z can get off to a good start this season.  He showed up in camp in great shape and will likely face one of the best young pitchers in the game today – Tommy Hanson – in the opener.  Should be a fun way to test their mettle and see how they shape up against one of the better teams in the National League in 2010.

Marlon Byrd is excited to show off his outfield skills in center field at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs in 2010.  For a big man, most analysts are surprised to see Byrd in action – how well he covers ground in center field in spite of his muscular 245 pound body.  Current Cubs player Sam Fuld is impressed with what he has seen so far: “It goes to show you what an athlete Byrd is.  He certainly doesn’t fit the prototypical center fielder’s body.  He looks more like a linebacker or NFL running back.  He’s obviously proven he can play the position.”

Byrd acknowledges his critics, but knows that he is at home in center field: “I know a lot of writers and scouts who haven’t seen me play in the outfield don’t think I can play out there because of my size.  When people see me play, they know I can play.”

Gotta love the confidence.  I also love the stability that Byrd brings to the center field position for the Cubs.  Byrd had a breakout year with the Texas Rangers in 2009 – .283 batting average with a .329 on-base percentage.  His 547 at-bats, 20 HR’s and 89 RBI’s were all career highs and he also scored 66 runs.  He’ll also have the same hitting coach, as Rudy Jaramillo left the Rangers for the Cubs organization as well.  I don’t like the fact that he is turning 33 in August – GM Jim Hendry’s signings of “older players coming off of great seasons” have not fared too well of late – but hopefully he has at least 2 more good years left in the tank.

Having Byrd patrol center field also allows Kosuke Fukudome to move back to right field where he is more “comfortable”.  If Fukudome feeling more comfortable in right field helps to improve his hitting, that will be a good the Cubs offensive production, especially at the top of the order.  We’ll keep you posted as spring progresses – let’s just hope we don’t get caught in the injury bug with any projected starter.  We need everyone healthy during the 2010 MLB schedule!