Looking Forward to 2008

Hello my (limited amount of) readers.

I am sorry to inform you that Jim Hendry claims that he has no interest in getting A-Rod, the best hitter in all of baseball.

According to an MSNBC report from Tuesday, " 'Doesn’t make a lot of sense,' said Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry."

This isn't good news, but it could be worse. Also, the Cubs have made it clear that Dempster will be moved. I speculate a move to the rotation, which would be fine for me. I'm not crazy, but he is a former All-Star starting pitcher and 15-game winner. Sounds better than 3/5 of our rotation.

I would be OK with a lineup much like this one when opening day comes back around:

1. Alfonso Soriano-- LF
2. Ryan Theriot-- SS
3. Derrek Lee-- 1B
4. Aramis Ramirez-- 3B
5. Mark DeRosa-- 2B
6. Jacque Jones-- CF
7. Matt Murton-- RF OR
8. Kosuke Fukudome-- RF
9. Geovany Soto-- C
10. (Pitcher)-- P

That lineup wouldn't bother me a bit. In my opinion, Murton should've been a starter in right last year. He led the team in BA the year before, and that means it was a Dusty-like move.

Murton also hit well off the bench towards the end of the year after being recalled from Iowa. To me, though, it seems like Lou hasn't really taken to Murton that well. Murton's power numbers have also gotten better in at-bats:homers ratio.

The pitching rotation should look something like this:

1. Carlos Zambrano-- RHP
2. Ted Lilly-- LHP
3. Jason Marquis-- RHP
4. Rich Hill-- LHP
5. Ryan Dempster-- RHP

Also, Bartolo Colon is on the market. Not ace material anymore (posting a 6.34 ERA in 2007 and a 5.11 ERA in 2006), he should come at a discount price for a starter. Other notable starter free agents:

• Tony Armas Jr.
• Roger Clemens
• Matt Clement
• Scott Elarton
• Josh Fogg
• Tom Glavine
• Mark Redman

The bullpen should look like this:

1. Will Ohman-- LHP
2. Michael Wuertz-- RHP
3. Scott Eyre-- LHP**
4. Kevin Hart-- RHP
5. Kerry Wood (SU)-- RHP
6. Bobby Howry (SU)-- RHP
7. Carlos Marmol (CP)-- RHP

There are also free agents availabe for unsure spots in the pen such as Kevin Hart, maybe? They are:

• Antonio Alfonseca
• Armando Benitez
• closer Fransisco Cordero
• Scott Eyre**
• Eric Gagne
• LaTroy Hawkins

**He is actually a free agent right now but I can't see the Cubs NOT re-signing him. He was such a valuable asset towards the end of the 2007 season.

Those are my predictions and projections for the upcoming season, just a little earlier than expected.

For 2007 stats of hitters, go to http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?c_id=mlb

For 2007 stats of pitchers, go to http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?c_id=mlb&baseballScope=mlb&teamPosCode=all&statType=2&timeSubFrame=2007&sitSplit=&venueID=&Submit=Submit&timeFrame=1

Thanks for reading. Also, www.baseball-reference.com is also a great website to check out for statistics, as are www.goatriders.org and www.baseballalmanac.com.

Until next time,

Ryan