Opening Day 2008 is nearly a week away, and the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's will start the regular season in their two-game series on Monday in Japan. It's an exciting time around Major League Baseball as a new season is knocking on the door with promises of a new beginning for 30 teams. In this nano-Preview, we will examine the Chicago Cubs and their very interesting lineup configurations that could be available to them by the first week of the season. All Jim Hendry has to do is pull the trigger and let the good times roll. The following is what the Cubs lineup may look like if Opening Day were tomorrow:
Theriot, SS
Soriano, LF
D. Lee, 1B
A. Ram, 3B
Fukudome, RF
DeRosa, 2B
Soto, C
Pie, CF
Now, this lineup definitely has the chance to produce. With Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, and Fukudome all bunched up like that it could be very dangerous if everyone lives up to their potential. However, for fun here, let's show what this lineup could be like come opening day that would instill fear into opposing pitchers, and all but assure the Cubs a place among the National League elite. First, we need to make some moves. In the issue of the outfield, everyone knows the K-Fuk will patrol right field at the Friendly Confines for at least four years (and $48 million). Now in center field, everyone seems to see a problem. Felix Pie is the current center fielder, and I believe that he should remain just that. He has shown some progress this spring at the plate, succeeding against righties with some nice doubles down the line. Last year, however, he did struggle mightily against lefties. What we need Felix for is to play stellar defense in center, and occasionally get on base out of the #8 spot and wreak havoc with his speed. If it is necessary to do something about Pie vs. lefties, then I'm sure the Cubs front office will have no problem either making a trade or signing a FA that can just provide some CF help from the right side. This can be a simple trade for a guy like Coco Crisp, who with injury concerns and little use on the Sawx could probably be had for very little. In left field now, we currently have Alfonso Soriano; the $136 million man. He has been pretty good in the outfield, however there is a solution that could help his legs, and the entire team: move him back to second base. He played second for many years before 2006, exceeding there and even posting three 30-30 seasons (one of which was one homer away from a 40-40). Also, if Sori moves back to second, that would leave an open spot for that real big bat from the left that we want in order to play left field (Fukudome would be better served out of the #2 spot where his speed and OBP can help more). The big bat that's still available that the Cubs could definitely afford that I'm talking about in this really exciting run-on sentence with no punctuation is of course: Barry Lamar Bonds. According to Tim Dierkes of mlbtraderumors.com, Barry insists that he is not retired and might be able to be had for around $5 million, which is definitely in the Cub's price range. Bonds would give the Cubs that big bat they covet, right in the middle of the lineup. He would do wonders for those around him, and even at his age still commands a lot of attention from opposing pitchers (he had a .480 OBP last year with 132 BB).
Now let us turn our attention to the infield; this is where stuff gets fun! Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are firmly entrenched at the corners. Up the middle, however, are two players who are very versatile and scrappy. Does that sound like starters, or reserves, 'cause they sound like very valuable bench players to me! Imagine this: Soriano plays 2B, and we get someone for short (coming shortly), and then you have Theriot and DeRosa available on your bench for a clutch pinch-hit, great pinch-running, or availablility in giving guys days off. In this scenario, DeRosa could spell Bonds in LF whenever needed and perform admirably. He or Riot could also give Sori days off at second, Fuku days off in right, etc. So who, you ask, will play shortstop. Well, the Cubs have been heavily involved in trade talks for Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts. He may be able to be had for pitchers Sean Gallagher and Sean Marshall, as well as Cedeño or Eric Patterson. What most people don't know is that according to his Wikipedia page, Brian played shortstop for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks during the 1999 NCAA season; a year in which he batted .353 with 12 HR/36 RBI and an SEC record 67 SB. Oh, and by the way, he was named the best defensive college player by Baseball America. So, check out this lineup that we could have just by 1)signing Barry Bonds to a deal around $5-$8 million, 2)move Soriano to 2B, 3)acquire Brian Roberts and move DeRosa and Theriot to the bench, and 3)allow Pie to keep playing (and use his speed to help out Bonds with his defense), and maybe get a guy who can get some AB vs. lefties during the year. So the lineup could look like this:
Roberts, SS
Fukudome, RF
D. Lee, 1B
Bonds, LF
A. Ram, 3B
Soriano, 2B
Soto, C
Pie, CF
And some final notes about the scenario above: as mentioned above Pie could provide great defense to help out Bonds and his knees. Micah Hoffpauier, who has been raking in the Cactus League, could also be a part of the bench at some point during the year and give some outfield help while adding his bat to the lineup. Guys like Coco Crisp, Jay Payton, and Marlon Byrd have all been mentioned as possible CF targets, but I seriously do see some improvement in Pie and think that he could do a pretty good job...he has all of the tools and it hopefully is just a matter of time before he starts putting them together more quickly.
Final thoughts on some random names you might want to know this upcoming season: Cueto, Ellsbury, Kurt Suzuki, Upton brothers, Longoria, Yunel Escobar...just a couple, but there's a bunch of young players who have been having great springs and could make huge impacts with their teams this year and in years to come.
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