Doomwatch 2006
A new script is making the rounds among Chicago sports media. This latest offering says the Cubs are doomed -- because three of the five starters they planned to break camp with will start the year on the DL.
In this case, one out of three is bad, since the only one who we were planning on going north with to start the year was Mark Prior. His shoulder strain, as hard as it is to imagine for some medical experts, was an unexpected spanner in the works.
The other two guys are no surprise at all. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth over Kerry Wood's future. Last month, the media experts were saying that his best-case scenario would be a return sometime in May. Some were predicting he'd come down with leprosy or bird flu or Romulan fever or some other fatal illness and would never pitch again.
That was last month's script, so it's long been forgotten. Now that the news out of Cubs camp is that Wood's rehab is progressing quite nicely, the worrying is what will happen if Wood can't come back by 1 May.
And just to prove that the medial script readers are insane, the other guy they're shocked won't be ready by Opening Day is Wade Miller. Yes, that Wade Miller.
Look no further for proof of the media's phoniness. Nobody in their right minds thought Miller would be ready this April. Hell, I wasn't expecting him to do anything until August. But now he's an integral cog in the Cubs' pennant express.
Jeebus help us.
As GM Jim Hendry gently reminded the press gaggle, "Two of the three, we knew exactly what we were getting into." Yes, we all knew -- but some of us prefer to pretend otherwise...
But we can't feel sorry for ourselves, because the rest of the league isn't going to. To start the year, it looks like the rotation will be Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, Glendon Rusch, and Jerome Williams. Not a quartet that will strike fear into the hearts of batters. But not the worst in the division (thank you, Reds).
With several off days in the first few weeks of the year, we might not need to use a fifth starter very much in April. It looks like the competition will fall to some young pitchers -- Rich Hill, Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall, and Jae Kuk Ryu are in the running.
Of course, the same media that cracks on Baker for not giving young players a chance are now carping on Hendry to swing a deal for a Proven Veteran™ to shore up the rotation. Bravo for life's little ironies...
** In other non-news out of Cubs camp, there was a small flurry of Alfonso Soriano talk. Dr. Phil Rogers, among others, said Hendry needs to make a trade for Soriano right now.
No, we don't. Soriano is expensive and over-rated. His flashy batting average may have impressed Dr. Phil, but if you look at his other numbers (like his OBP, for instance)...well, it's not all that good. And by some accounts (and stats) he's a brutal second baseman.
We've already got a second baseman who can't field (Todd Walker) and a second baseman who can't hit (Neifi Perez). Do we need to put both of them together in one player? And pay $10 million for the privilege?
If Hendry does pull the trigger on a deal (which seems unlikelier than ever now that Soriano has trudged out to left field), he'll know exactly what he's getting into. And he'll have no one to blame for himself when it ends in flames...
In this case, one out of three is bad, since the only one who we were planning on going north with to start the year was Mark Prior. His shoulder strain, as hard as it is to imagine for some medical experts, was an unexpected spanner in the works.
The other two guys are no surprise at all. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth over Kerry Wood's future. Last month, the media experts were saying that his best-case scenario would be a return sometime in May. Some were predicting he'd come down with leprosy or bird flu or Romulan fever or some other fatal illness and would never pitch again.
That was last month's script, so it's long been forgotten. Now that the news out of Cubs camp is that Wood's rehab is progressing quite nicely, the worrying is what will happen if Wood can't come back by 1 May.
And just to prove that the medial script readers are insane, the other guy they're shocked won't be ready by Opening Day is Wade Miller. Yes, that Wade Miller.
Look no further for proof of the media's phoniness. Nobody in their right minds thought Miller would be ready this April. Hell, I wasn't expecting him to do anything until August. But now he's an integral cog in the Cubs' pennant express.
Jeebus help us.
As GM Jim Hendry gently reminded the press gaggle, "Two of the three, we knew exactly what we were getting into." Yes, we all knew -- but some of us prefer to pretend otherwise...
But we can't feel sorry for ourselves, because the rest of the league isn't going to. To start the year, it looks like the rotation will be Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, Glendon Rusch, and Jerome Williams. Not a quartet that will strike fear into the hearts of batters. But not the worst in the division (thank you, Reds).
With several off days in the first few weeks of the year, we might not need to use a fifth starter very much in April. It looks like the competition will fall to some young pitchers -- Rich Hill, Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall, and Jae Kuk Ryu are in the running.
Of course, the same media that cracks on Baker for not giving young players a chance are now carping on Hendry to swing a deal for a Proven Veteran™ to shore up the rotation. Bravo for life's little ironies...
** In other non-news out of Cubs camp, there was a small flurry of Alfonso Soriano talk. Dr. Phil Rogers, among others, said Hendry needs to make a trade for Soriano right now.
No, we don't. Soriano is expensive and over-rated. His flashy batting average may have impressed Dr. Phil, but if you look at his other numbers (like his OBP, for instance)...well, it's not all that good. And by some accounts (and stats) he's a brutal second baseman.
We've already got a second baseman who can't field (Todd Walker) and a second baseman who can't hit (Neifi Perez). Do we need to put both of them together in one player? And pay $10 million for the privilege?
If Hendry does pull the trigger on a deal (which seems unlikelier than ever now that Soriano has trudged out to left field), he'll know exactly what he's getting into. And he'll have no one to blame for himself when it ends in flames...
posted by Bob at
7:41 PM
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