Before the season began, before Spring Training, way back at the end of January, the CCO asked the question, "If You Were Lou....", who would be on your Opening Day roster in April. Well, 162 games later, Sweet Lou has shaped his 40-man roster into a crew of his liking. Now the question is, who plays in the NLDS? Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella have until 10:00am on Wednesday to turn in their playoff roster for the first round. Today is Monday, who do you think should be the 25 players to represent the Cubs in October?
Here are the locks, the players without any question marks....
Infield
- Derrek Lee
- Mark DeRosa
- Ryan Theriot
- Aramis Ramirez
Catchers
- Jason Kendall
- Geovany Soto
Outfield
- Alfonso Soriano
- Jacque Jones
- Cliff Floyd
Starting Pitchers
- Carlos Zambrano
- Ted Lilly
- Rich Hill
Relievers
- Carlos Marmol
- Kerry Wood
- Bobby Howry
- Scott Eyre....Stevie Ire
- Michael Wuertz
- Ryan Dempster
That is 18 players, 7 positions to fill.
The Cubs mentioned over the weekend Henry Blanco will likely be kept off the playoff roster because of the injuries he had this season. The fact he played 1st base for two games against the Reds while Soto was behind the plate backs up those reports.
The hand injury to Daryle Ward will figure heavily in the bench. Without Ward, the Cubs do not have a legitimate pinch hitter. Ward did make an appearance on Sunday but there was not any news on how he felt afterwards. If Ward can go, he is definitely on the roster.
Matt Murton figures to be on the list with the way he has hit of late as well as Craig Monroe. Monroe gives Piniella a good defensive backup for the late innings and he has been starting against lefties. Felix Pie figures to get the nod based on his defense and speed....so that is 21 without Ward, 22 with.
Piniella figures to have 11 pitchers on his roster. Jason Marquis appeared to be a lock before his outing on Sunday. Without Marquis on the roster, Piniella would have to bring Zambrano back on 3 days rest for Game Three and Lilly the same for Game Four. Sean Marshall pitched very well in the desert against the Diamondbacks on August 24th and got the win (1 run on 2 hits in 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and a walks). Back on July 22nd at Wrigley, Marshall was a hard-luck loser with an impressive line (1 run on 5 hits in 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks)....in the two combined starts, 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP and those are his career numbers as well.
Jason Marquis on the other hand has the same record against the Diamondbacks this season. He beat them at Wrigley on July 20th with Brandon Webb on the mound, 2 runs on 4 hits in 7 2/3 innings. But his lost to them in Arizona on August 26th, 5 runs on 5 hits in 5 1/3 innings. His line for the season, 1-1 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.
Both pitchers do not figure to make it and Piniella has said he will go with the players that match up better against the opponent.
With one spot left, do you take Will Ohman or Kevin Hart? Ohman has pitched better of late but Hart gives the option of more than one inning and has been very effective down the stretch....8 games, 11 innings, a 0.82 ERA with 4 walks and 13 strikeouts. Hart appears to be able to get out lefties just as well as righties.
Ronny Cedeno or Mike Fontenot? Fontenot became a fan favorite, but has struggled of late. Fontenot plays a solid 2nd base and that would free up Piniella to use Mark DeRosa in different positions. Ronny Cedeno gives Piniella an utility infielder with the possibility of pop off the bench. Cedeno though, appears to be all or nothing at the plate this year, .203 average, .231 OBP with 4 home runs and 13 RBI's. Cedeno has 15 hits in 74 at bats, 4 home runs and 2 doubles with 18 strikeouts. But since being recalled on September 1st, .391 average, .417 OBP with 2 home runs and 7 RBI's....9 hits in 23 at bats.
So again, what would you do? Let's have a little fun with this, after all the Cubs are playing ball in October.
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For what it's worth this is my 25 man playoff roster
Outfielders (6)
Soriano
Jones
Floyd
Murton
Pie
Ward
Infielders (6)
Ramirez
Theriot
DeRosa
Lee
Fontenot
Cedeno
Catchers (2)
Soto
Kendall
Pitchers (11)
Zambrano
Lilly
Hill
Marshall
Hart
Wuertz
Wood
Eyre
Howry
Marmol
Dempster
If Ward isn't healthy then I would give Monroe the spot. Cedeno gets the nod because he brings more to the table than a 12th pitcher like Marquis (Who has really tailed off) and Trachsel who I have heard has gotten underneath the skin of his teammates and has also sucked ass. If nec, Derosa could always go to Rightfield.
PLAYOFFS BABY!!! What a fun weekend! Even the Bears losing to the the Lions couldn't bring me down. It all starts on Wednesday where Big Z is going to be the ace we all know he can be. Anyway, this is what my World Champion roster would look like.
Infield (6)
D. Lee - 1B
M. DeRosa - 2B
R. Theriot - SS
A. Ramirez - 3B
D. Ward - 1B/RF
R. Cedeno - SS
Outfield (6)
A. Soriano - LF
J. Jones - CF
C. Floyd - RF
F. Pie - CF
M. Murton - RF/LF
C. Monroe - CF/RF
Catchers (2)
J. Kendall
G. Soto
Pitchers (11)
C. Zambrano
T. Lilly
R. Hill
S. Marshall
J. Marquis
M. Wuertz
K. Wood
S. Eyre
C. Marmol
B. Howry
R. Dempster
I went with Cedeno over Fontenot because Theriot can play 2nd if need be, but DeRosa isn't much of a SS. I would only use Marquis as a long reliever and would rather see Marshall be the 4th starter. I've been saying this for a while, but Marquis usually looks good for the first 3 innings and then falls apart in the 4th or 5th which sounds like a long reliever to me. Its tough to leave Hart off of the roster, but he's the odd man out in this case. He has looked fantastic since his call up, but I'd rather go with the experience of Marquis and Marshall. Finally, Trachsel is awful and has no business being on this team.
Go Cubbies!!!!
i dunno bout lists... but a couple of guys we need to be real careful with
1. Marquis -- Has a 5.73 ERA in 15 starts since the all-star break with 98 hits and 35 walks given up in 86 innings. This is eerily similar to the 6.72 ERA he put up in the 2nd half of last season, with the Cardinals. He did a good job early in the season, but he has tapered off and cannot be started in any playoff game.
2. Ryan Dempster -- Has 12 saves and a 6.19 ERA since the all-star break, including a 9.82 ERA in the month of September, giving up 7 HR in 14 innings pitched. Opponents hit .359 against him in September. He seems to be better in save situations(28 for 31), but he has taken 5 losses to go with the 3 blown saves. Be v. careful with him -- v.careful!!
Aside from those 2 guys, Im fine with everybody on the team..
Yeah I'm rather excited about this...when Kerry hit that 3 run homer in game 7 against the Marlins I've never been happier, only to dissapoint me later in the game...that said this IS the team that will end the misery...!
I/F (6)
Lee
DeRosa
Ramirez
Theriot
Cedeno
Fontenot
O/F (6)
Jones
Soriano
Floyd
Murton
Pie
Ward (if Ward can't go, then Monroe)
C (2)
Kendall
Soto
S/P (4)
Big Z
Lilly
Hill
Marquis (like it or not, he is going to be here)
R/P (7)
Wood
Howry (should be the closer)
Dumpster
Marmol
Eyre
Wuertz (he has been better than people think)
Hart (unless they decide that Marquis is going to be a risk it might me Marshall)
Fontenot will be on the team...especially if Ward is not there, that leaves DeRosa as the backup 1B and the extra outfielder. Monroe is a bum and should not be on the team unless Ward is unavailable...and I don't like the idea but I would not be completely surprised if Trachsel is on the roster.
Any one know what time we play yet on Wednesday?
MLB officials say we are playing at 9:30 central time both Wednesday and Thursday.
I'm tempted to say marshall should pitch game 4 since he has pitched so well against Arizona this year. As for my roster:
OUTFIELD
Soriano
Jones
Floyd
Murton
Pie
INFIELD
Lee
DeRosa
Theriot
Ramirez
Fontenot
Cedeno
Ward (hopefully. if not, then Monroe)
CATCHERS
Soto
Kendall
PITCHERS
Zambrano
Lilly
Hill
Marquis
Marshall
Marmol
Howry
Wood
Eyre
Dempster
Wuertz
Ohman is useless. I'd like to have Hart there too but he is the 26th man. And I know Marquis has it in him to pitch a great game. He will be out to prove he belongs on a postseason roster.
Also, for those who haven't seen it, some heroic Cubs fan uploaded the entire Comcast Sportsnet NL Central Champs celebration to Youtube. There are five parts, here is a link to the first one:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GaNlXZMUweA
Hey maybe you guys have seen this but this is the coolest video on youtube! It has some bad words so kids watch out.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=N5zEHF_ajIw&mode=related&search=
Think this guy might still be alive after such a bumpy season?
LOL. Thanks agustin, I'm at work without sound but I was still cracking up trying hard to keep it under control so its not completely obvious I'm sitting watching Youtube.
"The Cardinals are such fools!!"
Very ironic if this was made by a Cardinals as the ending implies.
Plain beautiful video, haha. Too funny.
You know what Neil? Thks for the exercise and Good thing I’m not Lou;
Very tough call.
1-Zambrano
2-Lilly
3-Hill
4-Marquis
5-Marmol
6-Howry
7-Wood
8-Eyre
9-Dempster
10-Wuertz
11-Hart [Earned]
12-Soto
13-Kendall
14-Soriano
15-Jones
16-Floyd
17-Murton
18-Monroe
19-Lee
20-DeRosa
21-Theriot
22-Ramirez
23-Fontenot
24-Cedeno
25-Ward
Pie is the future and even though he brings the best defense, Monroe does the job and has the bat especially in the post season. IMO Marshall deserves it more than Cedeno, but R.C. is hot and if we keep Marquis there is no place for a 5 starter. **Fontenot earned his spot when he carried the team for a couple of days. Hart…has the Heart and could be a big weapon.
Jim, you have to play it with the volume pumped!
A few thoughts....
* I had the pleasure of attending the Rally today.
The nation was out in full force.
* Agustin, ESPN had a special on last night about Roberto Clemente. He is the reason why I always picked the number 21 whenever I played Baseball/Softball. I wanted to be him. I only wish that he was a Chicago Cub.
* We all seem to in agreement that Trachsel dosno't belong on the roster.
* These announcers for the Padre/Rockie game BLOW!
Jim, I saw the special and it was really something. There is a lot of talent being produced in the Roberto Clemente Walker facilities. It is indeed the baseball city of Latin America...which was his dream and a chance for low resource people to get a shot at life![as well as people with money] That is obviously if they make it to the mlb. MLB has been very good to PR also. I never saw him because he died before I was born...but in 2007 you can still feel his prescence and surely aknowledge his legacy. It was a very nice special.
Yeah Trax blows. BTW did I read teammates are angry at him and do not like him???
Agustin:
As for Trax, both Cub beat writers (Trib & Sun-times) mentioned that for some unexplained reason Trax went off in the clubhouse after Wedneday's game in Florida. Trax pitched the next day as we all know and did poorly. I had heard over the weekend on the radio that Trax isn't well received by some of his teammates.
Me too Jim, I read something like that. Can't blame Jim H. for trying though. In theory he was a good addition. Now we can blame him if he does let him in the Post season roster.
Hey great Rockies/Padres game so far! That was an impressive GS by Gonzalez. And ditto for Matt Holliday to tie it up.
Meeeen...is every team going to choke this year. Matt Holliday just missed played a rutine fly ball with two outs and the ball game is tied.
BTW the Padres have been choking for 3 straight days.
Yeah, this game is unbelievable. And you are right Agustin, that video is even funnier with the volume turned up. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I was almost crying.
Holliday misplayed that ball and then struck out in a huge situation. Peavy choked when all the Padres talked about was how good they felt with him on the mound. Ha!
Bottom 9th, I hope the Rockies pull it out. Philly-Colorado would be a great series. The Padres are boring (Sorry Maddux)
Sorry for getting of topic but does anyone know where i can get a video of barrett punching pierzynski
The rap version.... Ryan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg-JVu5-aJ0
Enjoy
Sorry to give you the Sox version...keep in mind theese people have nothing better to do with their lives. [other than alterate the real story to upload it in youtube] Barret punched him in the face, and in the south side, right in front of their fans. PERIOD
Does anybody know that song;;;;;
...it goes on and on and on and ooooonn....and streeeetliiiightsss?????
_Journey on the Rockies game
Ugh. The Padres just took the lead. I guess thats good for me since the games will be later at night (ie. better chance I'll be able to watch them) if they face the Cubs in NLCS.
Wow. Barrett blocked him off the plate...That run should not have scored. Great comeback win for the Rockies, but just wow.
Here is what I have
C
Soto
Kendall
INF
Lee
Theriot
Fontenot(got to go with the guys who got you there)
DeRosa
Cedeno(Only because of the Theriot's back, I leave Pie off here)
Ramirez
OF
Soriano
Jones
Floyd
Murton
Ward
Monroe
SP
Zambrano
Lilly
Hill
Marquis
RP
Dumpster
Howry
Marmol
Wood
Eyre
Wuertz
Hart(Last guy on the roster over Marshall, Ohman, and Pie)
I think the one guy who absolutely must be on the roster that is of any debate is Ronny Cedeno. Don't get it wrong: he sucks and Fontenot and any infielder in the system right now has a better upside than him. But if he excels, I mean TRULY excels, in the postseason, he becomes excellent trade bait in the off-season in case a high talent pitcher *cough*JOHANSANTANA*cough* or big swinging outfielder *cough*VLADGUERRERO*cough* becomes available. I mean, for the first time in a while it's good to know that, win or lose in the postseason, we have a team that is pretty much set, with the exception of possibly right field and a spot in the rotation. That's just an awesome feeling.