Carl Crawford deal is a bust. That wasn't going to get off the ground, as I figured. I had wishful thinking, however, and I let it consume me yesterday, and I am sorry. Right now, with the info we have my projections for the 08 season are:
- Alfonso Soriano
- Omar Infante
- Derrek Lee
- Aramis Ramirez
- Kosuke Fukudome
- Mark DeRosa
- Geovany Soto
- Felix Pie (uhh?), Milton Bradley
- (Pitcher)
All things considered, that is a fair lineup. Infante, as I discussed a couple days ago, will most likely result in reduced production, but Soriano could make up for some of that if he can hit homeruns in 2008 at a more consistent pace than knocking the crap outta the ball in September but no other month. If Derrek Lee's wrist is back to 100% strength, you can expect the Cubs #3 hitter to hit more homers, and if his average stays up there, then by all means he should make up for the rest of what Infante lacks.
Aramis was amazing this year, and I would expect him to play at that level next year, as he has been fairly consistent since the cubs got him from the Pirates. Fukudome I can't really vouch for, but his stats show he can have a good average, and has some pop in his bat, as well. DeRosa's been an above average hitter the last 2 seasons, but I wouldn't expect him to continue that, as he might go back to his ways of hitting in the mid to low .270s. Geovany Soto is yet unproven in big league play, but he was great in AAA, and he played well in major league play at the end of the year.
I like this lineup, especially if they can get off to a better start than last year. If they can end just as hot, start better than 2007, have a decent to strong middle, they'll be a playoff team in a weak NL Central division. The only problem after that, though, is the playoffs. They Cubs played like a little league baseball team in October, and made Dane Cook's job a whole lot easier. Well, that's all I have for today,
so until next time,
Ryan
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