Opening Day roster appearing "barring trade" hmmm

He needs regular AB at Iowa, and Lou also seems enamored with Tracy and Millar (I actually like what I’ve seen from Tracy so far, too).

I know the Cubs are scouting just about everyone, but from what I hear, the likelihood of a pre-Opening Day trade is very small.

However, you could say the same thing for every team right now. That quote doesn’t mean a trade is going to happen, nor should it be expected.

Millar makes sense to come up with the team, but I doubt that’s going to happen. Personally, I’d like to see him there, but I just don’t think he’s got enough left in the tank to make it a full season. I’d like to see him over in Iowa, working with the minor league guys, and he’d be a nice addition come September or if there is any sort of injury to Lee or Hoff.

The odds of Colvin making the team are pretty slim. I think Fuld makes it for the defense and for his speed. I see him playing very much the same role on the Cubs that Reed Johnson will be play for the Dodgers… a late inning defensive upgrade.

Silva has surprised me, and if he keeps it up I think he deserves the two or three starts Lilly will miss. Gorz is Gorz… I really don’t expect much more than .500 from him, but 10 wins is still 10 wins – and I’ll take them.

I’m very concerned about the bullpen, but who isn’t right now. That sort of thing works itself out throughout the course of the season… the loss of Guzman is big, but we’ll make do. Maybe Spellcheck can slot in as a setup man if he gets his you-know-what together.

I think your comment about the offense is a little ambiguous. There are some SERIOUS bombers in the NL Central this year and some teams are going to score a TON of runs. The issue for a lot of those teams is how many runs they’ll give up. If our starting 4/5 can keep it together and limit damage, and of course our guys put a couple clutch runs on the board, I think we’ll be ok. One thing is for sure, there should be some very, very close games this year.

I haven’t been paying too close attention this spring training, so I guess I missed something. I was under the assumption that Blanco was going to make the team. What has happened that leads you to conclusively say that he won’t?

…with you on several points.

Blanco will not clear waivers. Somebody out there has room for a great glove / minimal bat MI. The Cubs are going to either get lucky and be able to trade him for something (prospect or in a package for bullpen arm) or just wish him well and say goodbye. Barney becomes your emergency SS if shuttle diplomacy is needed. If Riot gets hurt, I think Castro comes up and starts.

Only way Colvin makes the team is if one of the big 3 (Sori/Byrd/Dome) gets hurt. Otherwise he goes to Iowa to play every day. Yes, Colvin has opened eyes and impressed, but I’m surprised you don’t grasp the realities of having 3 well-paid veteran starters ahead of him. And sitting on bench will most likely do more harm than good for him, causing those raised eyebrows to be lowered. Assuming Nady is not DLed, he’s the “real bat” on the bench – Fuld fills the defense/PR role.

As for having questions in the bullpen and the need for another starter… you can pretty much say that every year. Oh and moving Wells would not be a good move, struggling or not. You can’t teach what this guy already has. Give him time and room to grow and he’ll be just fine.

He’s had a solid spring, and if they view him as healthy, a legitimate 3B backup isn’t going to be sent to Iowa for Tyler Colvin.

Colvin could potentially edge out Fuld if Lou develops a crush on him, that’s really the only avenue open for Colvin making the team, they’re not going to carry 6 OF. Plus Tracy already backs up LF, so they really have 5.5 OF already without Colvin.

I don’t like the idea of Fontenot being the backup SS. His potential offense would be much more welcome there, but there’s pretty much no way he’d be anything greater than mediocre defensively, and even that is hoping for a lot. It makes far more sense for the backup SS to be a great glove man than a ‘hope-he-rebounds’ offensive player.

In my opinion, the bench should be:
Nady
Tracy
Fuld
Hill
Blanco

The only issue with this bench is if Blanco will be ready to go with his spring training injury. Otherwise I’m pretty sure this is the best bench available from who is in camp. But, I’m all but certain that Fontenot is still viewed as an asset by management, and will therefore be on the 25 man roster. I don’t know who gets cut for Fontenot, I would hope it’s Fuld, because the only other logical option is Tracy, and that would be moronic if he’s healthy. Aramis Ramirez requires a solid backup available at all times, he’s a likely bet to start 130 games or less this season.

The only way I see Millar making the team is if they go with 11 pitchers, or if Nady or Tracy starts the season on the DL. Millar would certainly be a nice guy to have around for morale, but they have players who are better at everything he offers on the field.

However, since that isn’t going to happen, they really have to keep Tracy. Otherwise, they’re essentially going to have one backup for the middle infield and third base, which would be insane. Since Kevin Millar has played a whopping 32 games at third, he just doesn’t inspire confidence as a viable backup option there.

I still don’t see the point of having a seventh relief pitcher who’s just going to gather dust in the bullpen, especially when Lou has shown a propensity to burn through his bench early and have nobody left if the game goes into extra innings. There were a few games last year where I seriously wondered which pitcher would have to go in to play somewhere if a position player got hurt late in the game. I don’t like seeing Big Z constantly being used as a pinch hitter because of the danger of him getting hurt, and using Koyie Hill as an emergency third baseman is just asking for trouble. But then, I’ve never won a game as a major league manager, so what do I know?

Colvin goes for more time….he’ll be back, this year…..still don’t like the SS situation and the starters

and they were talking about Tyler Colvin and his chances of making the Cubs as a bench player. They said that the bench role should be reserved to veterans, like Kevin Millar, and I agree with them. Tyler Colvin is a good, young outfielder with some potential, and I don’t want him to spent his time sitting on the bench while he’s missing some at bats in Iowa. For that reason alone, I don’t want him to make the team. Even if he does, it’s clear that he won’t be taking the job away from Soriano or Fukudome anytime soon, and a young guy like him still has plenty to learn in Iowa. As for Sam Fuld, I hope he makes the team. He knows the game well, and could be used more as a defensive replacement than an offensive power off the bench.

and I dont htnk Fonty is that…

than millar or tracy. We have guys that can b/u at 3rd and 1st.

If the Bullpen does not collapse in the next 2 weeks and the Cubs feel their 4th and 5th starters are serviceable, they will not make a trade before Opening Day. The Cubs will use April and March to see where the weaknesses are and determine if any other clubs want to dump a rent-a-player. Lou Piniella has stated that he thinks there is some money there to increase payroll, if Hendry thought it would get the team in the playoffs.

Unless a no-brainer deal is thrown the Cubs way, what you see is what you get for the Cubs Opening Day roster.

Because of the cold weather that plagues Chicago at the start of the season, would it be possible to DL Nady and Blanco to start the season? You could keep Baker, Fuld, Hill, Tracy, and Millar to start the season as our bench. Rushing Nady doesn’t make sense if we want his bat/glove later in the season to platoon with Dome. I like the Millar idea at Iowa maybe later in the season as a mentor. Colvin, who has dazzled this Spring, needs to be in Iowa to start – maybe even the centerpiece of a trade for pitching (it pains me to say). Am I crazy?

why do the Cubs need 12 pitchers to start the season. You always hear that they can get by with a four man rotation early on. So why keep 12?

Muskat Ramblings:

Could it be they DL Nady?