What Was or What Could Have Been - Spring Training

This will be the last check in of the spring for the 'What Was or What Could Have Been' column. With the recent injuries of A.J. Burnett and Rafael Furcal, I thought this might be a good time to take a look at the numbers. For those of you that missed the news on Burnett, the Blue Jays' newest $55 million dollar man will start the season on the DL and miss his first two starts. Rafael Furcal has a back strain and is listed as day-to-day. An MRI revealed an annular strain of the disc fibers. The Dodgers have said the injury to Furcal could have an affect their 25-man roster that must be turned in on Saturday night.

So for those of you that missed the first edition of this column, from time to time during the season the CCO will take a look at the numbers of those players the Cubs signed in the off-season, let go in the off-season or did not sign or trade for in the off-season. So let's take a look....

What Is

Jacque Jones - .294 (15 for 51) in 20 games, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3BB, .327 OBP, .353 SLG
Juan Pierre - .222 (10 for 63) in 21 games, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .246 OBP, .317 SLG
Ronny Cedeno - .229 (11 for 48) in 22 games, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .275 OBP, .354 SLG
Todd Walker - .267 (12 for 45) in 20 games, 1 HR, 11 RBI, .340 OBP, .467 SLG

Scott Eyre - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 games, 10.2 IP, 5 Hits, 11 SO, 1 Save
Bobby Howry - 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 11 games, 12 IP, 15 Hits, 7 SO
Glendon Rusch - 2-2, 6.23 ERA, 6 games, 21.2 IP, 31 Hits, 10 SO, 4 HR
Jerome Williams - 1-3, 8.00 ERA, 5 games, 18 IP, 24 Hits, 2 SO, 1 HR

What Was

Nomar Garciaparra - .250 (13 for 52) in 18 games, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .304 OBP, .288 SLG
Jeromy Burnitz - .250 (8 for 32) in 13 games, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .250 OBP, .531 SLG
Corey Patterson - .246 (16 for 65) in 23 games, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .275 OBP, .338 SLG, 9 SO

LaTroy Hawkins - 0-0, 2.00 ERA, 8 games, 9 IP, 6 Hits, 6 SO, 1 Save
Sergio Mitre - 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 4 games, 16 IP, 12 Hits, 9 SO, 0 HR
Ricky Nolasco - 1-0, 0.77 ERA, 5 games, 11.2 IP, 6 Hits, 5 SO, 0 HR
Renyel Pinto - 1-0, 3.60 ERA, 3 games, 5.0 IP, 5 Hits, 7 SO, 0 HR
- Pinto was optioned to AAA on March 15th
- Nolasco is expected to make the Marlins roster as a reliever
- Sergio Mitre is expected to be one of the top 4 starting pitchers for the Marlins, taking the hill on the second game of the season

What Could Have Been

Rafael Furcal - .440 (11 for 25) in 9 games, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .481 OBP, .560 SLG
Alfonso Soriano - .333 (7 for 21) in 8 games, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .391 OBP, .667 SLG
Miguel Tejada - .212 (7 for 33) in 10 games, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .212 OBP, .242 SLG
Julio Lugo - .296 (16 for 54) in 17 games, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .367 OBP, .407 SLG

Kevin Millwood - 0-1, 6.00 ERA, 2 games, 9 IP, 10 hits, 8 SO, 1 HR
Jeff Weaver - 2-1, 7.52 ERA, 5 games, 20.1 IP, 32 hits, 9 SO, 5 HR
Barry Zito - 1-2, 5.76 ERA, 6 games, 25 IP, 30 hits, 22 SO, 6 HR
A.J. Burnett - 0-2, 9.00 ERA, 3 games, 8 IP, 10 hits, 10 SO, 1 HR
B.J. Ryan - 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 9 games, 9 IP, 8 hits, 11 SO, 0 HR
- A.J. Burnett will start the season on the 15-day DL and the Blue Jays are hoping he will be ready to make his first start on April 16th

If there is a player you would like me to keep track of during the season, let me know....either leave a comment or drop me an email - neil@chicagocubsonline.com. Hindsight is always better than foresight....at least that's what I've been told, so it should be interesting to see how those decisions, made so long ago, transpire throughout the season.