Jason I did not mean that the way it sounded. Rothschild was working with Marshall and seemed very pleased with what he was seeing. When I saw him with Rich Hill there was a lot more involvement...meaning he did not like what he was seeing.

Marshall was hitting his spots in the bullpen and looked like he was doing everything his pitching coach wanted him to do. Rich Hill was not hitting his spots and in fact was missing badly on everything except for the curve ball.

Rothschild was working with Marshall, but it seemed to me, at least on that day, Marshall got what Rothschild was teaching...where Rich Hill did not.

Hey...the predictions are coming tomorrow...slow down...

Comparing Rusch to Shawn Estes...how scary is that and I think you are right. Steve Trout and Sean Marshall...hold on...no I am awake, I thought I was dreaming...wouldn't that be nice!!!

Jason I agree with you on Neifi and I hope he is not at short on Monday....

Neil,

I don't know if you meant it to sound this way, but your comment about Rothschild working a lot with Hill, but not that much with Marshall, just further proves my point that Rothschild doesn't bring any value to the table.

All the pitchers he has been entrusted with have; recurring injuries (Prior/Wood), they get worse (Farnsworth, Wellmeyer, Juan Cruz, Mitre, etc..), they end 17 year streaks (Maddux), and they go from being the strikeout king of the minors to being a dud in the majors (Hill).

Under this theory, Marshall will win his first two starts, and then Larry will start whispering sweet nothings in his ear and he will lose 4 in a row and then blow out his elbow and both knees!

Seriously...don't you wonder what the Cubs rotation would be like if they were managed by the Braves' pitching coach? We would probably have 5 20-game winners.

I am going to just hope that everyone zones out Dusty and Rothschild, and just starts playing as a team and focusing on what they know works.

I wish that Dusty would put Rusch back in the pen, and let Marshall take his spot, while Williams stays in the rotation. Then you simply stick with whichever pitcher has the best outings when/if Wood/Prior/Miller become healthy.

What are the positives?

Zambrano - solid and dependable...he could win 18+ games

Maddux - has had a good Spring...pencil him in for 11-14 wins

Aramis - .300 avg, 35 hrs, 110 rbis

Lee - .290 avg, 35 hrs, 100 rbis

Pierre - .285 avg, 50 steals

Cedeno, Jones, Murton, and Pierre all bring more speed.

Barrett - seems to understand his defense needs work, and is determined to get better

Dusty - is in a contract year...will play to win, and not just play favorites

Marshall - Cubs were due for a positive surprise...hopefully he will give Wade Miller a fight for the fifth spot, because that will mean the Cubs rotation is healthy and stacked!

Howry and Eyre - so far they are not this year's Remlinger and Hawkins, and they may actually be the answer to a solid bullpen

Marquis Grissom was not good enough to make this team...our bench is definitely stronger, with Mabry (not Hollandsworth), Hairston/Walker (not Macias), and Pagan looks good.

Basically we seem to have a deeper team, as the bullpen and bench are shored up. The defense is stronger, and if/when the starters are all healthy, it could be the best rotation in Cubs history:

Prior - has won 18 games already, and has great stuff

Zambrano - an Ace in the making

Wood - no one questions his talent and stuff on the mound

Maddux - 300 victories+, and 200 innings a year...a luxury at the 4th or 5th starter spot

Miller - a solid pitcher with the Astros, who could be this year's Dempster.

Reserve starters:

Williams - a servicable 5th starter (better than Shawn Estes!)

Rusch - possibly better than Shawn Estes..may be too close to call

Hill - the greatest minor league pitcher to suck royally in the majors

Marshall - could he be the best lefty since Steve Trout?!

Guzman - could be ready to step in later in the year if the injury bug bites again

Ryu - think "Mitre" but hopefully better

Except for Rusch...none of those guys could be placed in the "crappy" category. It is not like the 2006 Cubs are trotting out Steve Trachsel, Dick Ruthven, Shawn Estes, Julian Tavarez, Jason Bere, or practically any of the starters from the 1990s. This actually seems like a very talented group of players.

I don't think Lee will repeat the year he had last year, but he is still a very good player, and so is Aramis. Those two will be the keys to the lineup. The RedSox had Manny and Ortiz...the Cubs have Lee and Aramis.

I think the division is ours to win...I just don't want Rusch to get more than 5 starts all year...and please don't ever start (Neifi)!

Opening day line-up?

Pierre CF

Hairston 2b

Lee 1b

Ramirez 3B

Jones RF

Murton LF

Barrett C

Cedeno SS

Zambrano P

Does this work?

Just opened up the new SI, the baseball preview. They have the Cubs finishing 4th in the Central, with the Brewers finishing 2nd. They also have the Wrongsiders repeating, beating the Cards in the WS. Man I love being the underdog. GO GEORGE MASON.

PS. Remember when they had Kerry Wood on the cover. And predicted us to win the WS? We didnt make the playoffs, lets hope they keep that horrible predicting going.

Elliot, Shaun is right about Marshall I saw him in Mesa and he has great mechanics and Rothschild was working less with him than with Rich Hill. Just remember guys someone has to have the Rookie of the Year, why not the Cubs? And no I have not been drinking the Kool-Aid....What I saw live was that good.

Man o man, listen to you guy and maybe girls. The season has yet to begin and we have already lost. Elliot I dont think you will be dissapointed with Marshall on the mound. I did see him in Mesa and he was great to watch. He is 6'7" and a presence on the mound. Sitting that close to the field I am pretty sure you will hear the pop of the mit as I did @ Hohokam. I am so excited about this kid. I hope I am right, becasue he could be a great addition to an confused rotation. All of those pitchers that were named in the previous posts would be starters or long relivers working their way to the rotation with most teams in the league. The season has yet to begin and some of you sound like we are out of the Wild Card Race already. Please feel free to say see I told you so....but give em a couple of weeks or at least a series. Jim you may live on the southside, but you dont have to sound like one :) Have a good one

Everyone:

We have Zambrano and 3 others who are either on the downside of his career (Maddux), or average

(rusch), not very good (Williams) and the unknown

(Marshall)then in mid April we will endure more of the unknown (Guzman, Ryu, Hill) Also, If Rusch was a righthander, would he even be in baseball? Our season will be decided on the health and production

from the brittle twins. I haven't forgot about Wade Miller either, but the guy was so-so with Boston last year. Too many questions in regards to the Starters.

For those of you who actually saw Marshall pitch in person... howz his stuff? Is it electric enough for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN??? Personally, I'm disappointed that Marshall is getting the nod on April 9th and not Zambrano. It's a nationally televised game and I don't know how Marshall will handle the pressure. The one thing that irritates me the most about pitchers (especially young ones) is that after they give up 5 runs in 5 innings in their major league debut, they say in the postgame newsconference, "Yeah, I gave up 5 runs. But I felt great today and I feel my stuff was good and I threw the ball the way I wanted to." No you didn't. You pitched terribly! I am concerned over Marshall starting April 9th. Perhaps a game with less pressure would be better for Marshall. PLUS, I purchased tickets to fly out from California to Chicago so I can sit in the front row, section 25, and cheer for... who? Marshall? It just doesn't make sense to me how Marshall is pitching in the FIFTH game of the season, when the Cubs are going with a FOUR-MAN rotation?!?! If Zambrano is opening the season against the Reds, shouldn't he also be pitching in the fifth game of the season vs the Cards?

Anybody else happy that our schedule the first 2 weeks is great for our staff. Granted we have STL at home for 3, but after that we have PIT & CINC. Hopefully Wood,Prior and maybe Miller when we head to LA & STL. Trevor--right on about Rusch, I'd rather see Williams start then Glendon. Can't hide Rusch's explosive bat though. (Laughs out loud).

Personal opinion: Put Rusch back in the bullpen and leave Williams in the lineup. He's young and will greatly improve with enough starts in the big leagues. This guy didn't exactly light it up last year but the year before with SanFran I remember him being fairly decent. I'm just NOT a fan of Rusch starting.

Jeff, Williams got demoted to the bullpen and not to Iowa...for now.

Now maybe I'm wrong but did Williams get demoted to AAA or to the Pen. If just the Pen, then that's fine, he'll be a solid long reliever. If AAA, that's why I wouldnt be to happy about the decision. I'll give you that Marshall has looked good and is throwing alot of strikes. With our defense this year let them put it in play instead walking 7 or 8 batters a game. I've said for weeks, we should trade for a starting pitcher, not defense or utilyman.

Jeff:

Williams shouldn't have been demoted? Come on!!!

The guy is brutal!!! Baker is starting to show some urgency to win with his decision to put Williams in the bullpen. I'm not saying that Marshall is the answer even though he has looked impressive this spring, I just think that Williams might give you 1 good start out of every 5. I also hope that I am wrong, any cub who can prove me wrong on his deficencies will get my apology.

Hey Jeff - It's not "sad"...I call it "being prepared"

William's has good stuff, he shouldn't have been demoted. Maybe I'll be surprised Saturday night after Marshall throws against the Card's lineup. Anybody know a good excuse to get out of work Monday? Just kidding, kinda sad but my VCR is already programmed ready to go. Take care everyone