Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first of March. It is also the first spring training game for the Chicago Cubs.

I do not mean to place any significance on the game. It means nothing. It does not count. In many ways, it is just for fun.

In other ways, it is serious business. Piniella has already shown us what we expect to be the opening day lineup: Soriano – CF; Murton – LF; Lee – 1B; Ramirez – 3B; Barrett – C; Jones – RF; DeRosa – 2B; Itzturis – SS; Marquis – SP

Outside of the starting pitcher, this is what you can reasonably expect to see opening day, barring injury or last minute trade. Piniella has even stated what I did yesterday. He agreed his starting five would be Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, Hill and Prior.

Okay, okay. Truthfully, he said the top four would be all but Prior, but you know if Prior is at all healthy this spring, that he will be number five. The Cubs are paying him too much to sit in the pen or toss in Triple A. Everyone in the country wants Prior in that rotation come the first of April.

Piniella is smart not to commit. Still, you can hear the wheels turning from here. Carrie Muskat quoted Piniella as saying, “He’s really done everything that everybody else has done. He’s right on schedule.”

That does not sound like someone who is going to send the big guy back to Triple A. That sounds like someone who wants to admit that Prior is number five, but is smart enough to hold back in case Jake Fox lines one off Prior’s groin.

There is so much to be excited about regarding the Cubs, I am even excited about the coaching staff. Gerald Perry has a great track record as a hitting coach from Seattle and Oakland. Mike Quade knows the young kids from Triple A and will be a huge asset.

If we could have found a new pitching coach, I would be in heaven. Rothschild has not shown much over the past few years. Nor has the training staff, including Dr. Adams and Mark O’Neal.

Still, I am no doctor, trainer or pitching coach. Rothschild is respected, even though the pitchers have fallen down in recent years. Surely Piniella would have found someone else if he believed Rothschild could not do the job.

Tomorrow, the expected starting lineup will hit the dirt running. Of course, they will only play for a couple innings, but it will be fun knowing a real game is in the making.

I will be at work, but when the clock strikes two, I will say a silent prayer for the team in Mesa. All we want is to see a good effort. Or maybe a strikeout by Marquis and a home run by Derrick Lee. Then we will feel much better.