My annual post fill in the blanks

Happy St. Patrick’s Day this year.

May the probable irish lad Sean Marshall be the 5th starter and be great!

One of my favorite days of the year. Even though I’m not Irish, my wife is and therefore to a certain extent, so shall I. My kids are all in green today and the corned beef & cabbage is in the slow-cooker.

With that said: As Z and Soto go, so do the 2009 Cubs

If Z is relatively stable, doesn’t whig out and has a decent season, the team will excel.

If Soto can stay healthy, overcome any sophomore jinx and remain the rock he’s been thus far behind the plate, the team will really excel.

I base these assumptions on a happy Z, makes a happy clubhouse and a lesser tension team, not to mention his W/L record will also be good. A healthy and productive Soto can handle the staff, leveling out their peaks & valleys and provide the long-needed stability behind the plate at Clark & Addison, not seen IMO since a Mr. Randy Hundley.

They both need to be at the top of their game (and i think they will be) for the Cubs to win it all

Can those two stay healthy? If they can, the Cubs are going to have a great season.

…no at least halfway-decently-constructed roster should depend on the success of only two players. And I don’t think that’s the case for the 2009 Cubs. (Er, well, there remain glaring depth problems at 3B and SS, but anyway…)

That said, if any team were to, say, lose their top two starters, it would probably either crash and burn or drastically lose altitude. So an easy answer to this question would be any of Big Z, Harden, Demp, Lilly or Marshall.

All THAT said, if I had to give an answer (which I don’t, but I’ve already written two paragraphs so what the hell), I guess I’d say Aramis and Big Z. As parenthetically mentioned, losing Aramis’ glove at third base and bat in the lineup would really expose this team – unless, of course, Corey Koskie really does fulfill his promise as the Jimmy Ballgame of ‘09. (I’d rather not have to find out, though.)

And Big Z? Well, like it or not, he remains in some sense the passionate heart and soul of this team. The rotation could probably hold things together without him, but I think the team still needs his presence in the dugout and on the mound. He may not be an ace, but there’s really no one else like him.

I’d probably call Geo a close runner up. But the Cubs have a number of backup catcher options that could at least call a decent game and take care of the defensive end of that position.

I think bullpen will decide alot of things but staying with the topic, the two players I think are Dome and Dempster.

Will Dempster be at least close to his 2008 form?? If he is alot of questions are answered. We know about what Lilly, Z, and Harden can/will do.

ALOT of things hinge on Dome. ALOT ALOT ALOT of things. What kinda hitter he shows to be will decide the lineup. Will he be a contact hitter?? Will he hit for power? Will he hit at all??

Mary goes to Father O’Malley and says her husband just died.

Father Omalley asks "Did he have any last requests?

She said “Yes he asked me to put down the gun”

And here’s my favorite irish saying

May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

I’ll go with Aramis and Marmol.

With no Marmol, I think the bullpen loses its most valuable member, and no Aramis exposes the Cubs lack of depth behind him.

I’ll go with Dempster and DLee, based on no scientific evidence whatsoever.

We need Demp to duplicate what he did last year (sans postseason), and we really need DLee to help set the plate for the 4-5 spot.

Fun thread. :)

Dave