Good news on Ted Lilly today ... check the CCO's twitter feed

This post is for Aaron and others that love to go over the Cubs minor league

system...it's from Arizona Phil at The Cub Reporter...he's very meticulous...as he lists the entire minor league system in camp....It's a few days old...but still pretty intesresting.

Re Dolis...AA is the right place for him until he learns better control.

http://network.yardbarker.com/author/article_external/2248452?widget=true

The link doesn't take you directly to

the post I was referring to...Click

home on the top left/Cub Reporter site...

and scroll down a few posts to "Minor League Roster Update 3/14."...it's a cool report.

Rafael Dolis was optioned to Double-A Tennessee

Aaron,that was one of your best posts of the year...The Lou and JH show was great.

Unlike jc3-6-3...I'd like to see more of it on a semi-regular basis...maybe once every couple of weeks...you could turn it into a (Steve Dahl/Gary Meiers)/Grace and Allen type thing...the comic relief value alone might take the edge off of what's looming as a tough season.

I agree with all that we should be trying various combos (Castro/Theriot) together etc.

Lou has been making outlandish statements throughout spring training...

maybe it's an attempt to keep the focus on himself and not the glaring problems

this team is facing (pitching/pitching and pitching.)

If ST is truly about winning jobs...Baker should be concerned about making the team.

That's not to say I don't expect to see him break camp with the team...(based on past performance)...just saying it's not always the best ST performance that wins.

no, no...i just don't want to go to the imaginary place where Millar has his way with Hendry...that's all.

jc3-6-3 Not that part...it's not a pretty picture. UGHHHH.

I am sincerely hoping, much like Bryan is, that Lou puts the 9 best ball players on the field at the same time. I would be inclined to believe that he would. Lou is in his contract year as well and will be judged a great deal by the success he has THIS year.

I cannot see him having the patients to put up with a severely slumping Soriano if there is a rookie type that is better both offensively and defensively. All things being equal he will play Soriano, but if it is costing him wins he will have to go with the hot hand if he wants to manage another year. Mind you, this is only spring training, but Soriano has dawn zero walks, has zero stolen bases, has zero homeruns, and one RBI. He does lead the team in one category though, Strikeouts… His level of production has been discouraging to say the least. All things are not equal right now but there is time for Soriano to turn it around and I hope he does.

As far as Castro is concerned I would like to see that DP combo of Castro and Theriot but not until there is a reason to. Right now Fontenot has performed admirably. In a lot of cases, he has handled the bat better than Castro this spring and that is saying something. As long as Fontenot and Theriot can continue to perform at a high level, then the Cubs should keep Castro down in AAA. This is better for the club long-term when considering his contract status in the future. However, if both Fontenot and Baker begin struggle, the same rule will apply and Lou will have to go down and get Castro earlier than he might have wanted.



I am encouraged that we have more than one prospect to get excited about for once. These debates are good things to have. Bottom line, it is still very early to know how the roster and line-up will shake out.

"It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.*

Take your pick.

Ricketts, and the minor league's development represent the best.

I'll leave it up to each of you to pick

the worst.....

Lou's proclamations on the line-up mean very little right now...non-stories...

newspaper and internet filler designed

to give us stuff to talk about.

When has Lou EVER had a set line-up during the season???

We will see both Fukodome AND Theriot in the lead-off spot this season. I'd bet my life on it.

As far as Lou goes...well, we only have THIS season to (enjoy/lol) him. Bank on it.

Could not have said it better myself. We seem to have a few up and coming prospects that will never get a full shot with pinella at the helm. I fear our run with this cast is over and this season it will be painfully obvious.

Sorry for the early morning rant, but Lou's lineup declaration (at this stage of spring training) is just maddening.

So Fukodome, our platoon $14m man, is already slotted in the 2-spot. And additionally, our $18m man (can't hit, can't field, but he's a good clubhouse guy), has his secured home in the lineup as well. Really nice, and so typical of Cubs management.

Then we have Fontenot "in the lead" to start at 2B. Regardless of the media inquisition this would have caused, I think any sane manager (and organization) would have found it prudent to atleast explore what the combination of Castro/Theriot would have looked like for a few games. But no, not in the world of Lou Pinella.

So we know what will happen, don't we. Colvin will make the 25 man roster...he'll sit on the pine for days/weeks at a time, and then Lou will doghouse him (and then send him to AAA) when he doesn't produce.

In the meantime, our team comedian, at age 38, will now get playing time in the OF (likely in an attempt to coach Soriano on proper defensive skills) so Lou has more veteran presence (and of course another "good guy") in the clubhouse.

While I'm always a dreamer for good results with this team, I almost hope we fall out of the race early on, and then let the bleeding begin and new leadership team accelerated.

This lineup is old and aging...just the same 'ol/same 'ol from an old and aging manager, and incompetent GM.

Bryan,

This is one of the few times you'll see me be an apologist for Cubs management (so mark it down somewhere...LOL)...

I can't even take credit for this, because I didn't think of it (so maybe I'm not an apologist at all)...but I believe Neil or someone else mentioned on here last week or something, that the reason Castro is being held behind is NOT because he can't handle it, but because the Cubs want to put the pause button on his service time to prevent him from being a Super Two, which could end up costing them mega bucks (though, at that point, they'd have a LOT of expiring contracts coming off the books, so I don't think it'd hurt all that much).

I agree with you, however, that announcing a lineup when we're not even halfway done with Spring Training is absolutely ludicrous. Proclaiming that Fukudome and Fontenot have made the starting lineup just stinks of last year. If memory serves me correctly, Fukudome and Fontenot were named starters around the same time last year as well, so you know when it comes to illogical decisions, Piniella isn't bluffing, but when it comes to logical ones (like benching Bradley, Soriano, Fontenot, Fukudome, and bringing up AND playing Fox last year), he bluffs with idle threats. Nothing has changed with Fukudome. In fact, his stats this spring are eerily similar to his first year spring stats, and how'd that one turn out for us?:

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=493120

Is Spring Training always a good indicator for player's stats during the regular season? No, not always, but it appears there's a trend with Fukudome, and Fontenot...and even Theriot (if you guys want to compare for yourself, go to the Cubs stats page, then click on the hyperlink to each player, then when it pulls up regular season stats, in the upper right corner, click on "player bio" hyperlink, and it'll show you spring stats)

I also loathe this idea that Millar has to make the team. If he makes the team over someone like Colvin...or, hell, even Snyder, then I've lost all respect for Cubs management (even though I hardly had any to begin with).

The bench should be: Hill, Baker, Nady, Tracy, Colvin/Snyder, and that should be END OF DISCUSSION...as much as I hate the idea of Fontenot having to spot start at SS on occasion, this probably gives us our best chance to win, and the reason is simple...would you rather have Millar, clogging up the bench, and only having value as a pinch hitter, or spot starter at 1B, the only position he can play above average defense at? Or...

Would you rather have Tracy, who right now leads the league in pinch hitting stats, can play 3B above average, 1B above average, and even has spent time at corner OF spots in his career, PLUS, is a lefty bat off the bench that we desperately need?

I can actually visualize internal discussions right now between Hendry and Piniella regarding Millar:

Hendry: "Lou, I don't think it's any secret that I've had a boner for Millar for quite awhile...dating back to his days with the Marlins."

Piniella: "Jimmy, I'm well aware of your boners for several other veteran players of the same ilk, like Bradley, Floyd, Miles, and now Byrd, but none of them have turned out roses for us."

H: "you gotta trust me on this...he brought Boston a championship"

P: "I think you're confusing him with the outstanding play of Varitek, Manny, Ortiz, Pedro, Damon, and others. Sure, he had good stats, but when Manny and Ortiz are hitting 40 bombs with over 120 RBI, it makes it damn near impossible NOT to win it all."

H: "yeah, yeah...but he was part of the dirt bag crew, and they'd drink shots before playoff games, so he'd keep our clubhouse loose"

P: "Jimmy, I don't know if you realize this, but our entire clubhouse was taking shots after games because of that disaster (Bradley) that you brought into our clubhouse."

H: "hey, it's tough to turn a guy down when he wines and dines you, and gives you a reach around to get him signed...it's really tough. I was lonely, Milton was around...it just seemed like a good fit."

P: "Jimmy, I don't even wanna go there...just understand your own ineptitude, and I think we'll be fine"

H: "I'm not quite sure I understand."

P: "well, you know, like, understand that when you make big decisions, it all turns to crap, so just leave it up to me, and I'll make you look good"

H: "Lou, I saw you falling asleep in the dugout last year...I'm no dummy...I also heard your interviews where you claimed to not have any answers"

P: "touche little buddy...touche...you got me there"

First Suzy, yes - that IS what ST is for. Theriot should absolutely be taking grounders at 2B while Fontenot is taking them at SS...because, well, why the hell not!

Aaron: envisioning Millar giving Jimmy a "wrap around" is too much for me this morning. Hilarious, but please, I'm with fictional Lou - do not go there again!

Aaron....I enjoyed your "table talk" between JH and LP. Funny...and sadly accurate at the same time.

Hey, I have no issue with the Cubs decision on Castro regarding service time/Super Two status. I just think Lou could have used the opportunity (that's still available to him) to explore the Castro/Theriot combination just to get a glimpse of how that might shape up...regardless of Castro's time ascent to the big league squad.

Isn't that what spring training is for...to explore various options and opportunities for both the near and extended term.

Yes, I think he could've experimented with that a little bit.

I've heard speculation...(not sure if it's true), but the Cubs might be entertaining the idea of having Hak Ju Lee at SS and Castro at 2B in AA to start the season (or vice versa). The reason I think this might be bogus, is I looked at depth charts, and Lee is in Daytona's camp I guess right now, so that doesn't appear to be correct...but it's fun to think about, isn't it?

The Cubs long search for an athletic middle infield combo AND lead-off hitter might be solved internally. That's pretty exciting, isn't it? Though, with Hendry, he's more likely to go after someone like Tejada next year, or something...someone well past their prime, but sure to block our own prospects. But, as I've mentioned before, next year, if I saw a lineup like this, I'd be the happiest person in the world:

Lee-SS

Castro-2B

LaHair-1B

ARAM-3B

B Jackson-CF

Soto-C

Colvin-LF

Snyder-RF

bench: Chirinos, Flaherty, Soriano, Spencer, Tony Thomas

*all 3 starting OF can play all positions. Flaherty can play all IF positions. Tony Thomas provides speed and 2B back-up off the bench, and of course, we can't get rid of Soriano's contract, so he's on the bench.

We trade/release: Fontenot, Theriot, Fukudome, and Baker.

In my opinion, that'd be the single greatest lineup we've had in a long time, because it's so versatile and athletic. If Colvin gets significant playing time this year, then you don't have to worry about what he'll produce. ARAM is solid, and hopefully Soto bounces back this year. As I've mentioned before, on offense, you're not missing much at all with Soriano, Byrd, and Fukudome gone, as well as Theriot and Fontenot, so I believe it's VERY reasonable to think that Lee, Castro, Snyder, Jackson, and Colvin could duplicate (or best) what those players would give you.

As I've mentioned before, the ideal lineup would include Vitters and Burke (but I think they're 2 years away), and in that case, Burke would replace Snyder (or whomever wasn't producing), and Vitters would slide into 1B or 3B, depending on what we do with ARAM.

I know I take an unpopular position here, but I believe the only way to clean house is if we completely bomb this year, and I think there's a VERY reasonable chance that it happens.

Consider this...

-no true Ace in the rotation

-significant question marks surrounding 4th/5th spots, but ALSO Wells' sophomore season (which historically is a slump for most players)

-BIG holes in the pen, especially set-up man

-BIG question marks at 2B and RF

-BIG health question marks with Z, Lilly, Lee, ARAM, and Soriano

-BIG question marks with depth on the bench (depending on who they go with)

I think it's very likely that the Cubs could implode right before our eyes, but instead of being a worst case scenario, it might just end up being a best case scenario, because Hendry would then be forced to offload Lee, Fontenot, Theriot, Byrd, Fukudome, and whoever else he can to jump-start the rebuilding process.

Also, if LaHair can't handle 1B, there's always Dunn (yikes...defensively), Berkman, or Pena to fill in until 2012 when we can make a run at Ryan Howard.

The future is definitely bright. Hak Ju Lee, Castro, Jackson, Snyder, and Colvin, are all capable of stealing 20+bases (though Colvin remains in doubt after adding 25 lbs). I think it's time to see what our system can do, and set-up the team for the long haul. No more overpaid veterans!!!!!!!!!