Great points Aaron. Marquis is a freakin joke. Lilly will be ok I hope. And who knows what dumpster is gonna do for us. I think if he pitches any where near as good as he thinks he is we will be ok.hoff is monster, man is he seein the ball well.AS is our man Sori. sure hope he carries it over, What an at bat he had tonight where he he launched one foul down the left field line, then took the next pitch opo for a bomb to right. That is great to see. Not to big on this Reed fella he doesn't look real solid to me. it seems like jh just rushed into a pickup.like Aaron said we have holes. and we need them filled with the right people not bums. The Murton situation is a shame. I still remember when he first came up and I loved the kid. thought he had great plate presence, I even nicknamed him Vladimurton. Hopefully big Z will getthis year started on the right foot.Set the tone for a great year...I love my Cubs

just to add to what I was saying about the staff....and bench....I would've had Lieber in for Dempster, and Hart or Marshall for Marquis. That was a dumb move by Hendry, because Marquis' value was pretty high during ST, and who cares what we got for Dempster---peanuts and crackerjacks would be just fine. If you make those moves, you have one spot in the pen, and you keep Pignatiello, or better yet, you don't have to give up Lahey.

In addition, it has been said by numerous media outlets from foxsports, to the trib and sun-times to mlbtraderumors, that the Cubs brass is so inept it doesn't know what it has in Murton. One exerpt from mlbtraderumors stated that it is exactly why the Cubs haven't gotten anywhere----because they can't develop and/or even recognize talent when they have it. Furthermore, instead of giving Hoffpauir a chance, we'd rather sign a Reed Johnson. Instead of utilizing Murton, we sign Johnson as well. Granted he can't play CF, but Fukodome can, and Theriot has also played there along with Cedeno. I can't even believe we still have our one-month wonder (Fontenot) still on the roster. Had we not had a complete lack of power in ST, it's doubtful Fontenot would've even made the roster. There's absolutely NO reason Hoffpauir shouldn't be on this team.

I also think Patterson should've been subbed for Fontenot, but that's just me.

They have to find a spot for Hoffpauir.

(shakes head in dismay) this game has proven how many holes we really have on this team. Hardly any power, batters that won't take pitches, and our starting pitching staff has ABSOLUTELY been lit up. Lilly was terrible, Marquis worked himself into trouble constantly.......hmmmmmm, what else? Lee is turning into Richie Sexson right before our eyes, with zero patience at the plate, and a sub .200 avg. Soto has returned to earth after last year, much like Murton and Cedeno did after their brief appearances to start their careers. Why did we keep Fontenot again?

Yes, I know I hit the panic button early, but this doesn't really look good, and it certainly is NOT a confidence booster to start the season. Did you guys see the bewilderment on the faces of our coaching staff? 6 friggin' home runs!?!?!?! So, let's see, we have one damn pitcher (Zambrano) in our rotation that can shut another team down. Hill, Lilly, Marquis, and Dempster have been very unimpressive this spring to say the least. It's funny that our coaching staff didn't realize this before. Marquis and Dempster were doing well until teams started using their starters later in spring training, and it was VERY evident tonight.

So, in summary, what troubles me most is this:

1) not much impressive hitting this spring outside of Hoffpauir, and he isn't even on the damn roster

2) lack of patience at the plate is still killing us

3) starting rotation is a JOKE!!!!

Well, this was the site of Home Run Derby..

Nice 2-out double by Dome-Ay

SO-RI-ANO!! (Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap)

Len and Bob are in midseason form tonight. So is Fonzie. Geesh.

It really upsets me to see Theriot swing at the first pitch like that and do exactly what Silva wanted... that's why I agree with many of the posters on here about Theriot. I love the hustle but he is a filler, not a difference maker... sorry.

Jim...Right On!

Mooo!!! I had visions of Bull Durham running through my head.

I'm glad that it is March 28 not March 31.

Stupid Len. He stole my Moo line just as I was typing it...I SWEAR IT!

Sweet double play the M's turned.

Another rough 1st for Lilly. That's funny Matt.

Theroit is amped up....just dove right over that ball.

Keep your glove on Theodore.

This is it, the dress rehersal sans Zambramo.

With the exception of Ted Lilly....it is Lou's Opening Day lineup:

Theriot - SS

Soriano - LF

Lee - 1B

Ramirez - 3B

Fukudome - RF

DeRosa - 2B

Soto - C

Pie - CF

Lilly - P

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHUUUUUUUUUU!!!

Just wanted to let you all know; especially Shaun and Brian.....THAT I'M EXCITED!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHUUUUUUUUUU!!!

and that talkin' live camp is almost done.

Jim...I really liked Lahey. Good velocity, nice sinker and movement. I wish they would have been able to keep him. I agree with Jim K, he was lost in the numbers game. But it sure would have been nice to have him in Iowa. The old cliche, you can never have enough pitching....especially guys that can keep the ball down at Wrigley.

News on the MLB Transactions Wire. Good for Glendon Rusch(33)--who made the Padres team in ST. A nice line: .073 era, 12 ip, 6 h, 4 bb and 11 so.

It seems OK to let Lahey go. He showed less than Hart, Wuertz, Marmol and Wood, and Howry is known to be a slow starter.

Neil:

What did you think of Lahey?