Backtobanks

He might end up being a starting corner OF in the majors, but first he would need to prove it before trading our starters to give him the job.

Nobody is going to give you anything for Colvin because he had a great spring.

Why would he go back to football when he's making good money and has a NTC.

I wonder if Ricketts kept his receipt. =D>

While I agree that Colvin should get as much playing time as possible while he seems to be on a roll, you don't bench anybody cause a prospect had a hot spring.

More evidence about the ignorance of the "experts".

More evidence about "experts" knowing squat. Phil Rogers' Power Rankings in today's Tribune put the Cubs at #19. The Padres are #20. :-k

I disagree. He's a receiver, not a QB. He could easily go back to playing football at a high school level. Fixed

Especially if he takes his contract with him.

I can't stand this type of crap. They can't prove themselves as long as they can't play. You can't prove yourself to be viable at the MLB level when you only play 1 out of 5 games. I don't prefer to see either prospect starting right now but at some point you have to put them in and see if they sink or swim. I think next year is that year. That's the problem when you are a "contending" team. Next year could very well be that year assuming Colvin and Castro get a decent taste of ML pitching and look like they can handle it. It could be an interesting year with 2010 results, possible FAs leaving, and the advancement of young prospects (Caridad, Berg, Wallace, Castro, Colvin, Cashner, etc.).

As I stated above, the "experts" don't know squat. Ken Rosenthal (Foxsports) has the White Sox winning the World Series. What's so outrageous about that? If he picked them to win the AL Central, that's not outrageous. If he picked them to win the WS, it is outrageous. Restating it doesn't really answer why it's outrageous. Outrageous is picking a team that is counting on an everyday lineup that includes Juan Pierre, Mark Kotsay, Andruw Jones, Alex Rios, Mark Teahen, and Alexi Ramirez. Is that a better answer?

With Holliday and Bay unavailable, I would think Fuld would be the next best option. =D>

This discussion reminds me of the "Trade Theriot" discussion earlier. It's fun to speculate, but a team that has hopes of contending isn't going to trade their starting RF (or SS) to make room for an unproven rookie. Once Colvin and Castro prove themselves at the ML level, then Fukudome and Theriot become trade bait.

Maybe it really will happen: From MLBTR: Yanks Could Be Shopping For Outfielder Soon By Zach Links [April 3 at 2:58pm CST] Some in the industry are already wondering if the Yankees could be in the market for outfield help soon, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Both Randy Winn and Marcus Thames have struggled this spring, though Thames officially made the club's Opening Day roster today. The club may find themselves uneasy with the two veterans as starting left fielder Brett Gardner is not yet an established major league hitter. They would be especially thin in the outfield if Curtis Granderson or Nick Swisher are bitten by the injury bug. Rosenthal writes that the Yankees figure to be more patient with Winn as he is more than four years removed from playing in the AL. The Yankees combined investment in Winn and Thames amounts to just $2MM combined. Rosenthal writes that if one or both struggle, and Gardner also stumbles out of the gate, then the team could be seeking an outfielder quickly.

If Silva pitches well, he either becomes trade bait at the deadline or gives us the opportunity to trade some young pitching at the deadline. If you're a Cub fan, nothing bad can come from Silva pitching good.

I don't see why. The postseason is pretty much a crapshoot, and the White Sox have the makings of an outstanding rotation that could carry them through a few postseason rounds (or what appears to be a weak offense could get hot for a few weeks). And I like their chances of winning the AL Central, though a case can be made for the Twins and Tigers. That said, if I bothered to predict pennant and WS winners, I admit that I'd pick at least a couple of teams (the Yankees, the Red Sox, maybe the Angels) over the White Sox. I put these two quoted posts together to point out how hard we are on the Cubs and not other teams. Erik posted that we need a whole bunch of stuff to go right to get to 85 wins, yet the White Sox are counting on Andruw Jones, Mark Kotsay, Mark Teahen, Juan Pierre, Alexi Ramirez, and Alex Rios to produce as everyday regulars and Carlos Quentin to stay healthy and have a rebound year. The Sox have the starting rotation, but their lineup stinks.

As I stated above, the "experts" don't know squat. Ken Rosenthal (Foxsports) has the White Sox winning the World Series. What's so outrageous about that? If he picked them to win the AL Central, that's not outrageous. If he picked them to win the WS, it is outrageous.

As I stated above, the "experts" don't know squat. Ken Rosenthal (Foxsports) has the White Sox winning the World Series. Maybe you should have read the whole article. He basically made fun of the whole process and said exactly what you said that they don't know squat and it's silly to do this exercise every year. But since he has to do it he chooses the White Sox. I did read the whole article and if someone wanted to be silly he should have picked the Padres or Pirates.

My thought on Silva is enjoy it while it lasts. Anything positive from him is a plus.

As I stated above, the "experts" don't know squat. Ken Rosenthal (Foxsports) has the White Sox winning the World Series.

Good point. If someone gets tired, send them down. Only problem is that there isn't really another position player that this team just has to have on the roster. I would lean toward another IF, but just traded the only backup SS. That is true, but you have to know you have this many quality candidates going in, so you plan the roster around a 6 man pen and maybe add a FA bench bat. Or take on a Rule 5 hitter. I agree that now there's not a terrible difference in Russell v. Hoffpauir(or whoever would've gotten the spot). I'm actually fine with this approach. It's basically just as much of a crap shoot bringing up raw talent (inexperienced at the major league level) from the minors to secure bullpen roster spots as it is to sign veteran middle inning relievers to a 2 or 3 year deal, except it's way cheaper. There is no guarantee that Marmol, Marshall and Grabow will be more effective than the kids. I'm not sure I like the idea of sitting Colvin on the bench daily, considering he still has some weaknesses at the plate that need to be addressed with regular playing time. I probably would have gone with Fuld in that spot, and am assuming that it will only be a matter of time before Lou switches them up. I'm guessing it's only a temporary thing to reward his hot spring. Fuld is organizational depth. Colvin is someone they are counting on to contribute in a big way. He's going to get some playing time for the first month of the season. He'll probably play 3 times per week. But what happens if he plays 3 times/week for that first month and stays hot? we dont send him down because its not his time. It would be a great problem to have. I guarantee that if he stays hot, he will get more playing time.

As I've posted before, the "experts" don't know any more than we do. When they make predictions, it's either the favorites so they can be right or it's something outlandish so they can have some controversy. Anybody that picks the Cubs 5th is just stirring up controversy. I'm a diehard Cubs fan, but it's obvious that at this point (on paper) the Cards are the best team with the Cubs 2nd.

I was hoping the spoiler was that the PTNL was Sabathia.

I think our bullpen is about league average, if not a little better. Just the absence of Heilman and Gregg is a big boost. Looks alright to me. It's hard to predict how our bullpen is going to be due to the large number of unproven players as well as the general variability of bullpens in general from year to year We do have a lot of young arms in the bullpen, but I think there wil be a short leash on some of them and the Iowa shuttle will be used often. Also, if you don't have some young cheap arms out there, then people complain about paying too much for veterans in the pen. That's my biggest problem with going with a lot of young, internal, options. Lou has shown over his time here is much more strict with young players when they aren't performing and gives the vets more of a leash, so if a guy like Russell, Berg, or Caridad struggle early in only a few appearances they might be sent to Iowa for good or never be used in big situations again, while guys like Grabow (however bad he gets) will be given a lot more wiggle room. Now obviously the vets have more of a track record and if they struggle you can hope they get back to their averages and the young guys don't have established track records and it's not known if when they struggle if it's their true talent or just a string of bad luck or bad outings that isn't indicative of their true talent level. Regardless I have a feeling we will see a revolving door with 1-2 spots in the bullpen all year, often times dependent on Lou's free will and gut feelings over anything else. I would think Russell will be at Iowa most of the time simply because we don't need 3 lefties in the bullpen.

I think Santo would get one first.