I'm going to leave the Derrek Lee post up through the weekend, but let's also get started on Mark DeRosa.
DeRosa put up nearly identical numbers in his final season at Texas in 2006, and in his first Cub season in 2007, suggesting that he's a late bloomer and could probably have another similar season. But will the Cubs acquire, um, another second baseman, relegating DeRosa to "supersub" (read: part-time) status? Or will they stick with the guy who did a pretty good job in 2007, even while playing games at several positions?
I say he starts and ends the season as the starting 2B:
AB: 518
R: 70
H: 153
2B: 32
3B: 2
HR: 11
RBI: 67
BB: 50
SO: 100
AVG: .295
OBA: .357
SLG: .429
Mark DeRosa's career stats at baseball-reference.com
UPDATE [2008-2-19 13:02:19 by Al]: I have closed this thread. Final projection:
AB: 493
R: 69
H: 145
2B: 29
3B: 2
HR: 11
RBI: 69
BB: 53
SO: 89
AVG: .294
OBA: .333
SLG: .428