On the Field in the Spring

We are now just three days (two days and twenty hours) from the first spring training game. As I said before, I know it does not matter, but I still am giddy.

Spring training is fun because you get to see and hear about people you hope you won’t think about until spring next year. People like Eric Patterson and Donald Veal. These two, and others, are the future of the Cubs. March is fun to think about the future of the Cubs. Once April hits, it is all about what is happening now.

That is not to say I do not look in on the minor league teams. My son and I took a couple trips to Peoria last year. We saw Ryan Norwood poke one out. We got a signature from Jody. Life is good in the minors!

Yet, as a Cub fan, I want the Cubs to go all the way. This is not the time for Patterson and Veal. This is the time of Soriano and Zambrano. This is the time for men. This is the time for the horses to run the race and cross the finish line first.

So when I think about the Cubs, I am looking realistically about who will be on the roster on opening day. Pinella has already said he wants thirteen fielders and twelve pitchers. That said, who will these likely be?

Catching is easy. There will only be two: Michael Barrett and Henry Blanco. If someone gets hurt, Geovany Soto is waiting in the wings. It may not be the absolute best catching team, but I would say they rank in the top five among the thirty teams in the majors.

The outfield is a little harder to sort. It all hinges on whether Alfonzo Soriano can play center field. If he can, everything starts to work out. If he can’t, General Manager Jim Hendry has some explaining to do.

The plan will be to have Matt Murton play most of the games in left, Soriano play everyday in center and Jacque Jones play everyday in right. Cliff Floyd will get plenty of time in left as well, getting into sixty to eighty games.

The question is, who will be considered the fifth outfielder? Of thirteen fielders, I expect there will be five outfielders, six infielders and two catchers. The Cubs signed Daryle Ward as a backup. Will he be considered the fifth outfielder or a sixth infielder, backing up Derrick Lee at first and helping a little in the outfield? Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa have been mentioned as outfield help. Maybe Ward will be the fifth outfielder and Tomas Perez or Bobby Hill will be a sixth infielder? Is there any room for Angel Pagan?

There are a lot of question marks in that last sentence, but I have to toss one more in the mix. Will Jacque Jones be traded? That would leave room for Angel Pagan, but only if he becomes a center field option and Soriano heads over to right. Or does DeRosa goes to center or right field and Theriot start at second?

Oops! One more question. What if the Cubs trade Jones for a bonafide centerfielder? Back to Iowa for Pagan?

Lots of outfield questions, and a couple of infield questions as well. Ramirez, Itzuris, DeRosa and Lee seem like a solid starting infield. Theriot seems to be the main back-up, along with Ward covering Lee. Still, I cannot see the team going to Cincinnati without a second infielder. Maybe Jones will be sent away for a new back-up.

It sounds like I want Jacque Jones to leave town, but really I don’t. He is just a logical choice for a last minute trade.

For a set thirteen, there seems to be a few questions to be answered in the next four weeks. Tonight, let me know what you think. Tomorrow, let’s look at the pitching.