The two projections we've done so far -- Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones -- have both come in very, very close to the career averages for both players.
Now, here's one where I figure we'll have some wildly divergent thoughts for 2006, given the uncertainty about Wood -- whether he'll be ready for Opening Day, and what his status will be. Will he be a rotation starter from day one? Will he miss time? Will he wind up in the bullpen?
Let's pick the following categories for Kerry:
Games, Games Started, Innings, Wins, Losses, Holds, Saves (the latter two just in case you think he'll be a reliever), Walks, Strikeouts, ERA
Have at it, and a couple of notes: with the recent snowfall in Chicago, I've reposted the "snowy" BCB logo -- and with the temperature 38 degrees at this writing, it may not be long before it goes back to the bare-branched ivy look.
And in today's Sun-Times, Chris DeLuca says that the Orioles might be interested in Todd Walker, and that this would likely be done in tandem with the persistently-rumored Julio Lugo acquisition. I have not seen any corroboration of the Walker rumor anywhere else other than the Sun-Times.
If Walker is dealt, then I think Lugo would just about have to be acquired to make up the offensive loss of Todd. They are similar offensive players -- Lugo with a bit more speed, Walker with more power, and Walker adds the lefthanded bat that the Cubs could use. Personally, I'd rather keep things the way they are... but this swap wouldn't be terrible.
Finally, one more thing about Wood -- the photo above is from his first major league start, a 4-1 loss to the Expos in Montreal on April 12, 1998. Wood threw 4.2 innings, allowed four hits, three walks and four runs, with seven strikeouts.
Little did we know that four starts later, Wood would make history.
UPDATE [2006-1-24 13:21:51 by Al]: Here is our community projection for Wood:
G-28; GS-22; IP-149; WINS-11; LOSSES-6; HOLDS-2; SAVES-2; WALKS-67; STRIKEOUTS-162; ERA-3.79
Not too unreasonable, actually. If he does this, the 2006 Cubs should be in good shape.