What should be one of the bigger advantages for top major league organizations is the size of their wallet and the ability to move top prospects for accomplished stars during the off-season. The New York Yankees were able to trade some of their high level prospects in exchange for center fielder Curtis Granderson. The Boston Red Sox spent a ton of money for a solid starting pitcher when they inked John Lackey. The team with the third largest payroll behind the two aforementioned teams is the Chicago Cubs. They signed free agent Marlon Byrd to a cheap 3 year contract. It was not exactly a stellar off-season for the second year in a row for Jim Hendry and company.
It’s hard to believe a team could have pigeon holed themselves to not be able to make any big moves when their payroll is so high. The Cubs had to scratch and claw just to be able to trade 2009 disappointment Milton Bradley who was shipped off to Seattle. In return, the Cubs received Carlos Silva who isn’t expected to do anything more than fill in some innings while Ted Lilly is on the mend at the start of the season. That is being optimistic. The Cubs also resigned John Grabow to a pretty decent contract considering the team had options with cheaper veterans or in house options such as John Gaub. Oh and the Cubs did sign Xavier Nady (coming off his second tommy john surgery), Chad Tracy (who hasn’t hit in years, and Kevin Millar (who seems to have been around forever). While it does seem to bolster the bench with veterans, these moves along with the others don’t add up to making significant strides in improving after a lackluster 2009 campaign.
Not much is expected this year from the Chicago Cubs at least from its fans. 2009 is now looked at as what to expect rather than expecting the Cubs to be more like the 2007-2008 teams. Why should fans expect to see a change? There are glimmers of hope. Health will play a very important part of the Cubs season. Carlos Zambrano and Geovany Soto have already shown to be in much better shape than last winter. Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano have had plenty of time to rest and should be ready for the season assuming they stayed in shape. These four can definitely play key roles in giving this team closer to 90 wins and a chance at the division.
Their biggest obstacle this year will most likely come from their rivals; the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals had themselves a fine off season as the signed Matt Holliday to huge contract which will keep the slugger protecting Albert Pujols for years. They also signed Brad Penny to a contract in hopes of Dave Duncan returning him to prominence. And we all know that is a distinct possibility. The health of their two aces will be something to watch. Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright is as good a 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation as any in baseball.
This really has been a long off-season for many reasons. The Cubs did get a new owner which always brings in more hope but fixing the bathrooms seems more on his mind than fixing the back end of the bullpen. The Cubs did receive good reports on many players but can they perform to the level of two or three years ago. The Cubs got rid of Milton Bradley and Kevin Gregg. Well, that’s good. But is it enough?
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on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 11:15 am and is filed under John's View.
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Iowa Cubs (AAA)
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