Cubs 2011 Roster Discussion

Cubs Fan Dan · December 22, 2010

If Guzman can come back anywhere near 09 form, we might have one of the best bullpens in baseball.

I'm not sure exactly how big that "if" is, but I don't think it's small. Love to be wrong, though...

Its not like Woods a sure thing either.

True. Sad, but true.

But we have John Grabow and Jeff Suckmardjiza too!!! All kidding aside the bullpen should be just fine if Wood can stay healthy, anything Angel gives us is a bonus, still would not surprise me if Jim moves Gorz and trys to pick up one more solid BP arm.

CubsWin · December 28, 2010

With starters like:

C - Soto

1B - Pena

2B - DeWitt

SS - Castro

3B - Ramirez

LF - Soriano

CF - Byrd

RF - Fukudome/Colvin

A rotation like:

Zambrano

Dempster

Wells

And two of Cashner, Coleman, Gorzelanny, Silva, Archer, Samardzija or Diamond.

A bullpen like:

Marmol

Wood

Marshall

Grabow

And a bunch of other possibilities.

Do the Cubs even have an outside chance of winning the Central? Would they if they added Garza? What about Garza and another reliever like Darren O'Day? Any chance?

Or should they just pack it in and build for 2012?

JockJones · December 28, 2010

With starters like:

C - Soto
1B - Pena
2B - DeWitt
SS - Castro
3B - Ramirez
LF - Soriano
CF - Byrd
RF - Fukudome/Colvin

A rotation like:

Zambrano
Dempster
Wells

And two of Cashner, Coleman, Gorzelanny, Silva, Archer, Samardzija or Diamond.

A bullpen like:

Marmol
Wood
Marshall
Grabow

And a bunch of other possibilities.

Do the Cubs even have an outside chance of winning the Central? Would they if they added Garza? What about Garza and another reliever like Darren O'Day? Any chance?

Or should they just pack it in and build for 2012?

I think that the pitching will be fine, possibly even pretty good. What it depends on if Soto, Starlin, Kosuke/Colvin, Byrd, and Soriano can stay up around where they were offensively last year, and hope that Ramirez and Pena have bounce back years. If that happens, we could definitely contend for the Central.

Cubs Fan Dan · December 28, 2010

The cubs can definitely contend, you could argue that they are better in every category other than starting rotation when it comes to the Cardinals. The argument could be made that position by position the Cubs are deeper and stronger than the Reds, and the Brewers have a questionable bullpen and a horrible bottom of the order. The Cubs however have a decent rotation, should have a much better lineup providing Ramirez and Pena hit their career averages, and a very strong bullpen. There are a ton of questions for every team in the Central. With all of the money coming off of the payroll after this season you give it one more try by taking some risks on players like Pena, keep your top young players and see what happens.

TruffleShuffle · December 29, 2010

The Cubs however have a ... very strong bullpen.

they do????

XZero771679666304 · December 29, 2010

The Cubs however have a ... very strong bullpen.

they do????

Potentially, I suppose. If Wood stays healthy and pitches like he did for the Yankees, it will be strong. If Guzman can pitch, it could be great. Having Grabow pitch decently would go a long way as well.

That's a lot of if, though.

Little Slide Rooter · December 29, 2010

The Cubs however have a ... very strong bullpen.

they do????

Potentially, I suppose. If Wood stays healthy and pitches like he did for the Yankees, it will be strong. If Guzman can pitch, it could be great. Having Grabow pitch decently would go a long way as well.

That's a lot of if, though.

It all depends on the ifs

Marmol and Marshall can have repeats of 2010

Guz and Wood both stay healthy

even Grabow and Caridad should be some solid arms for the front of the pen

toonsterwu · December 30, 2010

An interesting dark horse to make the pen out of spring training is Chris Carpenter.

The Cubs seem to have a lot of borderline pitching prospects that, since we don't really have room for them in the rotation, could turn out to be good bullpen arms. I don't really see Carpenter, Jackson, Rusin, Raley, etc. ever being regular SP for us but I can easily see getting a couple very good relievers out of the bunch. And I know this is really really premature, but I'm already excited for when Kurcz is ready to take over as our closer. He just toyed with those idiot batters he faced in Boise.

I'm excited about Kurcz, but a lot of those idiot batters he faced won't get past A ball. Let's wait and see before setting him as the closer of the future.

I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of those arms developed into solid rotation arms. Carpenter has the pitches - a bit of improvement on the command could make him a 3/4 type arm. Rusin/Raley are lefties with enough ability that I could see them crack the end of a rotation. Raley has a bit more upside as well.

CubsWin · December 30, 2010

An interesting dark horse to make the pen out of spring training is Chris Carpenter.

The Cubs seem to have a lot of borderline pitching prospects that, since we don't really have room for them in the rotation, could turn out to be good bullpen arms. I don't really see Carpenter, Jackson, Rusin, Raley, etc. ever being regular SP for us but I can easily see getting a couple very good relievers out of the bunch. And I know this is really really premature, but I'm already excited for when Kurcz is ready to take over as our closer. He just toyed with those idiot batters he faced in Boise.

I'm excited about Kurcz, but a lot of those idiot batters he faced won't get past A ball. Let's wait and see before setting him as the closer of the future.

I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of those arms developed into solid rotation arms. Carpenter has the pitches - a bit of improvement on the command could make him a 3/4 type arm. Rusin/Raley are lefties with enough ability that I could see them crack the end of a rotation. Raley has a bit more upside as well.

I agree with you on Kurcz. We have to wait and see. Carpenter's health issues and ability to stay on the mound have me see him as a reliever. I would love for him to be able to be in the rotation and think that it is still possible, just not likely in the long run. He does have the pitches, but he pitched exclusively from the pen during the AFL this year and looked great, consistently sitting in the upper 90s and hitting 100 more than once. If not Kurcz, then maybe Carpenter will be the closer of the future. And hopefully the shut down set up man of the present. :D

questionmarkgrace · January 2, 2011

With starters like:

C - Soto
1B - Pena
2B - DeWitt
SS - Castro
3B - Ramirez
LF - Soriano
CF - Byrd
RF - Fukudome/Colvin

A rotation like:

Zambrano
Dempster
Wells

And two of Cashner, Coleman, Gorzelanny, Silva, Archer, Samardzija or Diamond.

A bullpen like:

Marmol
Wood
Marshall
Grabow

And a bunch of other possibilities.

Do the Cubs even have an outside chance of winning the Central? Would they if they added Garza? What about Garza and another reliever like Darren O'Day? Any chance?

Or should they just pack it in and build for 2012?

A good starting pitcher would go along way.

CubsWin · January 8, 2011

With starters like:

C - Soto
1B - Pena
2B - DeWitt
SS - Castro
3B - Ramirez
LF - Soriano
CF - Byrd
RF - Fukudome/Colvin

A rotation like:

Zambrano
Dempster
Wells

And two of Cashner, Coleman, Gorzelanny, Silva, Archer, Samardzija or Diamond.

A bullpen like:

Marmol
Wood
Marshall
Grabow

And a bunch of other possibilities.

Do the Cubs even have an outside chance of winning the Central? Would they if they added Garza? What about Garza and another reliever like Darren O'Day? Any chance?

Or should they just pack it in and build for 2012?

A good starting pitcher would go along way.

Well, they just got one. What now? Can the Cubs win the division with this roster?

C - Soto

1B - Pena

2B - DeWitt

SS - Castro

3B - Ramirez

LF - Soriano

CF - Byrd

RF - Fukudome/Colvin

Garza

Zambrano

Dempster

Wells

Cashner

Marmol

Wood

Marshall

Grabow

and a bunch of other possibilities to round out the pen.

rawaction · January 9, 2011

This is suddenly a really solid division. The Cards aren't much better than last year's 86 win team. The Brewers added to very solid arms to a pretty good offense. The Reds are the reigning division champs and have an elite offense, but their pitching can always get Dustyfied.

The Cubs are really going to need Ramirez and Pena to have the big bounce back seasons they are capable of having. I'm fairly confident in the pitching right now. If nothing else, the rotation of Dempster, Zambrano, Garza, and Wells don't miss many starts (assuming they don't get demoted to the pen or suspended for a month for fighting a teammate). Could get 750-800 innings out of those 4 at an above average level.

Cubs Fan Dan · January 9, 2011

This is suddenly a really solid division. The Cards aren't much better than last year's 86 win team. The Brewers added to very solid arms to a pretty good offense. The Reds are the reigning division champs and have an elite offense, but their pitching can always get Dustyfied.

The Cubs are really going to need Ramirez and Pena to have the big bounce back seasons they are capable of having. I'm fairly confident in the pitching right now. If nothing else, the rotation of Dempster, Zambrano, Garza, and Wells don't miss many starts (assuming they don't get demoted to the pen or suspended for a month for fighting a teammate). Could get 750-800 innings out of those 4 at an above average level.

Maybe its my Cubs biased but I do not see the Cards as better than the Cubs... Cubs have more "if's" but the teams are equally talented. I do not see Garcia pitching like last year and I still believe Carpenter is a health question. Not to mention the defense they will be throwing out there 120 games next year. I love the Cubs pitching staff, as I have stated before, Z and Garza can out pitch any pitcher at any time. This will give the Cubs a better shot versus the Crew and Cards. I still do not really like the Reds pitching and think Leake and Wood will take steps back, as well as Arroyo.

Illini Iceman · January 9, 2011

With starters like:

C - Soto
1B - Pena
2B - DeWitt
SS - Castro
3B - Ramirez
LF - Soriano
CF - Byrd
RF - Fukudome/Colvin

A rotation like:

Zambrano
Dempster
Wells

And two of Cashner, Coleman, Gorzelanny, Silva, Archer, Samardzija or Diamond.

A bullpen like:

Marmol
Wood
Marshall
Grabow

And a bunch of other possibilities.

Do the Cubs even have an outside chance of winning the Central? Would they if they added Garza? What about Garza and another reliever like Darren O'Day? Any chance?

Or should they just pack it in and build for 2012?

A good starting pitcher would go along way.
Well, they just got one. What now? Can the Cubs win the division with this roster?

C - Soto
1B - Pena
2B - DeWitt
SS - Castro
3B - Ramirez
LF - Soriano
CF - Byrd
RF - Fukudome/Colvin

Garza
Zambrano
Dempster
Wells
Cashner

Marmol
Wood
Marshall
Grabow

and a bunch of other possibilities to round out the pen.

I think Samardzija is pretty much a lock to make the bullpen since I believe he is out of options.

TruffleShuffle · January 9, 2011

Marmol and Marshall can have repeats of 2010
Guz and Wood both stay healthy
even Grabow and Caridad should be some solid arms for the front of the pen

let me give you a spoiler on point #2 - guzman will not stay healthy.

grabow is mediocre and caridad is no better.

Little Slide Rooter · January 9, 2011

With starters like:

C - Soto
1B - Pena
2B - DeWitt
SS - Castro
3B - Ramirez
LF - Soriano
CF - Byrd
RF - Fukudome/Colvin

A rotation like:

Zambrano
Dempster
Wells

And two of Cashner, Coleman, Gorzelanny, Silva, Archer, Samardzija or Diamond.

A bullpen like:

Marmol
Wood
Marshall
Grabow

And a bunch of other possibilities.

Do the Cubs even have an outside chance of winning the Central? Would they if they added Garza? What about Garza and another reliever like Darren O'Day? Any chance?

Or should they just pack it in and build for 2012?

A good starting pitcher would go along way.
Well, they just got one. What now? Can the Cubs win the division with this roster?
C - Soto
1B - Pena
2B - DeWitt
SS - Castro
3B - Ramirez
LF - Soriano
CF - Byrd
RF - Fukudome/Colvin

Garza
Zambrano
Dempster
Wells
Cashner

Marmol
Wood
Marshall
Grabow

and a bunch of other possibilities to round out the pen.

Again, its all about the ifs. Every one of our starting positon players has a question mark. The Cubs may very well have more question marks than any other team in baseball. Even Blake Dewitt is still fairly young and could hit his ceiling as a lower-middle class mans Mark DeRosa could be huge at the bottom of the lineup. If everyone of them gives us what their realy capable of, we could be looking at a 2008 like offense. Unlike our rivals, aside from the 9 spot, the Cubs dont appear to have any automatic outs, and with Garza, our pitching staff, if nothing else becomes on par with last years, especially if they go with 2 of Wells, Gorz, and Cash instead of Silva. Another guy who could be in that mix is young Casey Coleman who we all seem to forget exists despite doing pretty well for himself despite a rough start.

XZero771679666304 · January 9, 2011

Marmol and Marshall can have repeats of 2010
Guz and Wood both stay healthy
even Grabow and Caridad should be some solid arms for the front of the pen

let me give you a spoiler on point #2 - guzman will not stay healthy.

grabow is mediocre and caridad is no better.

Grabow can be decent. Not worth his salary, but decent.

Cubs Fan Dan · January 9, 2011

Marmol and Marshall can have repeats of 2010
Guz and Wood both stay healthy
even Grabow and Caridad should be some solid arms for the front of the pen

let me give you a spoiler on point #2 - guzman will not stay healthy.

grabow is mediocre and caridad is no better.

Grabow can be decent. Not worth his salary, but decent.

Especially considering he will be in a middle relief role and not late relief.

rawaction · January 9, 2011

This is suddenly a really solid division. The Cards aren't much better than last year's 86 win team. The Brewers added to very solid arms to a pretty good offense. The Reds are the reigning division champs and have an elite offense, but their pitching can always get Dustyfied.

The Cubs are really going to need Ramirez and Pena to have the big bounce back seasons they are capable of having. I'm fairly confident in the pitching right now. If nothing else, the rotation of Dempster, Zambrano, Garza, and Wells don't miss many starts (assuming they don't get demoted to the pen or suspended for a month for fighting a teammate). Could get 750-800 innings out of those 4 at an above average level.

Maybe its my Cubs biased but I do not see the Cards as better than the Cubs... Cubs have more "if's" but the teams are equally talented. I do not see Garcia pitching like last year and I still believe Carpenter is a health question. Not to mention the defense they will be throwing out there 120 games next year. I love the Cubs pitching staff, as I have stated before, Z and Garza can out pitch any pitcher at any time. This will give the Cubs a better shot versus the Crew and Cards. I still do not really like the Reds pitching and think Leake and Wood will take steps back, as well as Arroyo.

Yeah, those are the things I'm counting on to give the Cubs a chance. I don't see anyway those 3 Reds pitchers are close to what they did last year. The Cards still have their issues, and now get to have fun with Theriot in there for 162. The Brewers look good on paper, but they got no production out of SS, C, and CF last year....and it will be interesting to see how they handle McGehee and Hart coming back down to Earth.

Brian · January 10, 2011

Has there even been any news on Gooz? I thought this last thing was probably going to end his career.

EDIT - found this from cubs.com on Friday

Riggins also has talked to Angel Guzman, who is rehabbing in Mesa following shoulder surgery. Guzman is getting close to throwing off a mound and doing well, Riggins said.

Cubs Fan Dan · January 10, 2011

Has there even been any news on Gooz? I thought this last thing was probably going to end his career.

EDIT - found this from cubs.com on Friday

Riggins also has talked to Angel Guzman, who is rehabbing in Mesa following shoulder surgery. Guzman is getting close to throwing off a mound and doing well, Riggins said.

Gooz will begin throwing off mound soon, could be ready early regular season but everything I heard says he will not open season with the Cubs, but that could be incorrect.

Northside Blues · January 10, 2011

ballpark estimates.

Lineup

1. Kosuke Fukudome, RF (.270/.375/.450/.825)

2. Starlin Castro, SS (.290/.340/.400/.740)

3. Aramis Ramirez, 3B (.290/.350/.525/.875)

4. Carlos Pena, 1B (.240/.350/.500/.850)

5. Geovany Soto, C (.275/.375/.475/.850)

6. Alfonso Soriano, LF (.260/.320/.500/.820)

7. Marlon Byrd, CF (.290/.340/.440/.780)

8. Blake DeWitt, 2B (.270/.330/.400/.730)

9. Koyie Hill, C (Crap/Crap/Crap/Crap+Crap)

10. Tyler Colvin, 1B/OF (.260/.310/.480/.790)

11. Jeff Baker, 2B/3B (.270/.330/.420/.750)

12. Darwin Barney, MI (Crap/Crap/Crap/Crap+Crap)

13a. Fernando Perez, OF?? (Crap/Crap/Crap/Crap+Crap)

Bullish on Soriano, Ramirez and DeWitt. The lineup doesn't seem to have a lot of stars, but it's very deep lineup 1-8. Don't know if we're going to have a 12 or 13 man pitching staff. Judging from the fact that right now we only have fourteen position players on the forty man, with two open slots, we could sign a guy. Perez and Castillo were the only choices. So for now I'll have 13a and 13b.

Bullpen

13b. Jeff Samardzija

14. Carlos Silva

15. James Russell

16. Andrew Cashner

17. John Grabow

18. Sean Marshall

19. Kerry Wood

20. Carlos Marmol

Rotation

21. Carlos Zambrano

22. Ryan Dempster

23. Matt Garza

24. Randy Wells

25. Tom Gorzelanny

SouthSideRyan · January 10, 2011

I'd be pretty disappointed with those #s from Castro

Northside Blues · January 10, 2011

He was three singles away from having those numbers last season.

SouthSideRyan · January 10, 2011

He was three singles away from having those numbers last season.

Ok?

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