Cubs Off-Season News Reports

Happy 70th Birthday to Ron Santo!

The first week of Camp Lou IV concluded on Wednesday ... and what a week it was for the Chicago Cubs. After the excitement of pitchers and catchers reporting, Ted Lilly and Alfonso Soriano's knees, the weather, the Ricketts family, Starlin Castro and the first full squad workout, the Cubs just focused on baseball on the eighth day of Camp Lou ... well, for the most part.

For the Chicago Cubs, it's not about Twitter or a reality show ... it's about baseball.

The Cubs' brass spent time on the airwaves Wednesday. Jim Hendry on the Inside Pitch (XM Radio) then Dave Kaplan talked with Lou Piniella and Oneri Fleita during Sports Central. Here are the updates and notes from those interviews, plus video from Boys of Spring ...

A day before reporting day for position players, the Cubs are just four players short of a full Spring Training Roster. Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee are the only regulars who have yet to report to Fitch Park...Luis Vizcaino is the only pitcher that has not reported, he is stuck in the Dominican Republic dealing with visa problems.

Lou Piniella told his team not to make any predictions this year after Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster both said the Cubs would win the big prize the last two springs.

The biggest news from Day 4 of Camp Lou III was Lou Piniella stating he is considering moving Alfonso Soriano down in the lineup...if he does, Mike Fontenot, Aaron Miles, Ryan Theriot or Kosuke Fukudome could be used at the top of the lineup.

The Cubs TV Schedule was released on Monday. Opening Day in Houston will be carried on Comcast SportsNet. The Cubs' Home Opener against the Rockies on April 13th will be on WGN. The Cubs will be on WGN 63 times this season and 80 times on Comcast SportsNet....WCIU, FOX and ESPN will broadcast the remaining 19 games.

Well, will he or won't he see his shadow today? As everyone knows, today is Groundhog Day and regardless of what the little fury creature may see or not see, baseball is right around the corner. The Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues will soon be filled with all of the optimism Spring Training brings to fans of every team throughout the league. For more years than they would like anyone to remember, the Cubs have played the same season over and over and over again....sound familiar?

Here is the latest news and notes from the week, a couple of experts gave their ten cents worth in relation to the Cubs, Dusty Baker speaks and Carlos Zambrano's arbitration date was set....

Mark Prior's Latest Injury? Juan Gonzalez a Cub? More Spring Training Pictures

The health of the Cubs pitching staff has been the biggest question on the minds of the Cubs Faithful for several years. The Cubs success over the past three seasons has depended heavily on the health and success of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. While we know what is going on with Kerry Wood, the health of Mark Prior is now in question and is in the forefront of Cubs Fans everywhere. Will Carroll from Baseball Prospectus released some very troublesome news on Monday. Also, could Juan Gonzalez be on his way to Mesa and there are more Spring Training pictures from Yahoo Sports.

Updated - 6:08am

Spring is in the air....am I talking about a change in the weather, well not yet....but I am talking about baseball and our beloved Cubbies. The newspapers were full on Sunday or what could and what might never be. There was even a report out of New York about the Cubs new outfield consisting of Juan Pierre, Jacque Jones and Jerry Hariston, Jr. I could not believe it....they even mentioned Todd Walker still being on the market, but with them apparently knowing little about the Cubs....how much of that can we believe? Most of the Chicago newspapers were filled with questions and expectations for the 2006 Cubs. How will the Cubs perform in 2006? What will the lineup be? Could Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno be this year's model of Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith? Or will they turn out more like Brant Brown and Kevin Orie? There were the questions surrounding the signings of Scott Eyre and Bobby Howry, would this be the 2006 version of Mike Remlinger and LaTroy Hawkins? Can Ryan Dempster provide the Cubs with a consistent closer 2 years in a row; something that has not been accomplished on the Northside since....well Randy Meyers (1993-1995) and that is questionable. Dempster is ranked 15th All-Time in Cubs' history in saves after only one season. Who will hit behind Juan Pierre? Todd Walker? Neifi Perez? Jerry Hariston, Jr.? Or will Jim Hendry add another bat before the season starts? These are the questions posed on Sunday, will there be any answers before Opening Day in Cincinnati?

There are two more magazine projections I would like to review and lineup projections on Cubs.com. Plus, the Cubs did come to terms on Saturday with Carlos Zambrano (scroll down) and the Street & Smith's projections from Saturday morning.... This will more than likely be the last Off-Season Report considering Pitchers and Catchers report on Wednesday....so let's all get ready for the ride that will be the 2006 Chicago Cubs season.

2006 Chicago Cubs Team Projections - Street & Smith's

The 2006 season is right around the corner and pitchers and catchers report in 4 short days, I cannot believe it is almost here....where did all the time go? The CCO has printed 2006 Cubs Pocket Schedules and for those of you that would like a .pdf version, email me and I will send you the file. Also, for those of you that will be attending Opening weekend in Mesa, I have extra tickets for the March 2nd and March 5th games, email me as well and we can have a 'party on the lawn'. What will the 2006 season bring? Could this be the year? Street & Smith's has released their 2006 predictions and here is what they had to say....

Sammy Sosa Contemplating Retirement

Slammin' Sammy....The Dominican Daddy or just plain Sammy was some of the many names the Cubs Faithful called Sammy Sosa for the 13 seasons he patrolled right field at the Friendly Confines. While he departed Chicago on the worst of terms, he owned the town and much of Major League Baseball since 1998. After his departure from the Cubs before last season, his numbers declined and the once great Sammy Sosa is having trouble finding a job for the upcoming season and is contemplating retirement according to a report from ESPN.com.

Sosa is one year removed from a 35 home run season and is only 12 away from 600 career home runs. The Washington Nationals are the only team showing interest in Sosa and they are only offering a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training and according to an article in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday night, Sosa signing with the Nationals could benefit the Cubs. But how did this happen to Sammy Sosa?

2006 Chicago Cubs Team Projections - XM Radio

As I woke Monday morning I had a good feeling about the Cubbies, I will admit Jason's column got me fired up....I had faith, I was believing in the Cubs. The 2006 Projections are starting to roll in and Mark and Buck were talking about them on the XM Morning Show. I thought Mark Patrick summed it up well, with the Internet the old mags have turned into LP's (those are records for the younger generation, before CD's), you can get the info off of the Internet....but it is something about holding those magazines and looking at them with anticipation of what they have to say about your favorite team. I made the purchases over the weekend and I will be talking about those in the coming days. While no one is picking the Cubs to do much of anything, I was still feeling positive....the word 'Believe' kept running through my head.

Those of you that listen to XM know they repeat the Morning Show in its entirety after the live show is over, then at 11:00 am C.S.T., it turns to Fantasy Focus with Jeff Erickson of Rotowire.com. For the past couple of weeks they have been doing off-season recaps for each team, and has luck would have it....Monday was time for the Cubs. My positive outlook shifted very quickly and here is what Jeff Erickson and Will Carroll had to say about the Cubbies.

Cubs Arbitration Updates....Tony Graffanino?....Bengie Molina?....and Interesting Cubs Reports from the Wire

Welcome to Groundhog Day, 2006....I cannot believe it is February. Only 13 more days until those magical words....Pitchers and Catchers Report to Spring Training. I know the Super Bowl is Sunday, but March 2nd is the day I'm looking forward to. There have been a few Cubs related reports on the Internet and two names to discuss in the Cubs Rumor Mill, plus the three Cubs that are still left in arbitration limbo.

Derrek Lee on Baseball 365 - ESPN 1000 - 01/28/06

Derrek Lee was on at the end of Baseball 365 with Bruce Levine on Saturday, January 28th. Lee and Levine spoke about a number of Cub related subjects, mainly his desire to win, Juan Pierre, the pressures of being a Cub and playing at Wrigley Field.

Derrek Lee is quickly becoming the face of the Cubs. The injuries and inconsistent play from Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have demoted them from that status. With the departure of Nomar and Sammy, combined with the turnover on the Northside another successful season could push Derrek Lee into the forefront of the Cubs Organization. To me, Derrek Lee represents what is good about the game: a hard worker, a team player and what seems to be an all around good guy. Here is some of what he had to say....