Hot Stove:  A rundown of each team in the offseason and what they are looking to improve in 2012. 

Chicago Cubs:            Staying in the NL, we move to the first team in the NL Central (alphabetically), the Chicago Cubs.

Projected Starting Lineup:

1B            Anthony Rizzo

2B            Darwin Barney

SS            Starlin Castro

3B            Ian Stewart

LF            Alfonso Soriano

CF            Marlon Byrd

RF            David Dejesus

C              Geovany Soto

Projected Starting Rotation:

Ryan Dempster

Matt Garza

Randy Wells

Paul Maholm

Chris Volstad

Projected Batting Order:

SS            Starlin Castro

RF            David DeJesus

CF            Marlon Byrd

C              Geovany Soto

LF            Alfonso Soriano

1B            Anthony Rizzo

3B            Ian Stewart

2B            Darwin Barney

The Cubs had a season they want to forget in 2011, finishing at 71-91, 5^th place in the NL Central and 25 games out of first.  Their roster this season looks a lot different than it did last year.  They had lots of subtractions, but one big addition:  new GM Theo Epstein.  Epstein’s tremendous success in Boston has brought big expectations to Wrigley.  But Epstein is rebuilding and doing so slowly.  The Cubs held back on the urge to go after Prince Fielder, and instead pulled the trigger on Padres youngster Anthony Rizzo.  They are waiting out big contracts and trying to put this team back together from the inside.  They aren’t going to bring back Carlos Pena.  They sent away clubhouse drama queen Carlos Zambrano and got back the younger Chris Volstad.  They addressed outfield depth and brought in cheap veteran David DeJesus who always plays better than his market value contracts.  They have lots of young pieces, and many options in each lineup daily.  In fact, this was the hardest team for me to project starting lineups and batting orders so far.  DeJesus could be in center and Byrd in right.  Jeff Baker could start at second over Darwin Barney.  Blake DeWitt could push Ian Stewart for playing time at third.  Or even push Barney for playing time at second.  And some people aren’t sure that Rizzo opens the season as the starter at first.  And after Castro leading off, I have literally no idea the order these guys are going to bat.  Soriano could bat 8^th or 3^rd.  Soto could be on the bench.  Byrd could hit 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th.  It’s tough for me to speculate.  But the point is the Cubs have a lot of youngsters and a lot of options on the table as they build to contend in the future.

Starlin Castro was a revelation at short last season for this team.  He came out of nowhere to lead the team with a 307 AVG.  He hit 10 HR, stole 22 bases and scored 91 R.  He’s the future of this franchise and he began to change the culture there last season.  However the rest of the team’s offensive leaders have since moved on.  Pena led the team with 28 HR, and Aramis Ramirez led the team with 93 RBI.  The rest of the team didn’t meet those lofty marks.  Alfonso Soriano stepped out of his power slumber and started to resemble a little bit of the player who they paid Luxembourg’s GDP to all those years ago.  He only hit 244, but played in 137 games (a ton for him) and slugged 26 HRs and drove in 88.  He can’t steal bases anymore, isn’t any good in left and still gets paid way too much.  But if he can start hitting some homers, Cubs fans won’t think he is a total waste.  Geovany Soto was 4^th on the team in HRs with 17, but that came with a 226 AVG.  This former All Star is hoping for a turnaround almost as much as the Cubs are hoping he turns it around.  Injuries limited Marlon Byrd to 119 games and he’s incredibly important to this team.  When he did play he played well, getting 123 hits in 119 games.  That was good enough for a 276 AVG, 9 HR and 35 RBI.  If he stays healthy, and Soto and Soriano improve they will be able to help lead this team, which is what they need with all those youngsters expected to play big roles.  Darwin Barney played well least season hitting 276 and scoring 66 R.  He didn’t show tremendous power or speed, but got some hits.  Ian Stewart was hurt essentially all of 2011 playing only 48 games and hitting 156.  They are hoping Stewart’s power numbers of 2009 and 2010 aren’t products of Coors.  They’ve got to be banking on those HR totals (25 and 18 respectively) since his AVG has never been better than 256 and he has 16 career stolen bases.  The other hopeful power outlet for the Cubs will be Anthony Rizzo who played in 49 games in his rookie season in San Diego.  This is an investment in the future, as last season saw a 141 AVG and 1 HR in 128 ABs.  He’s been a highly touted prospect hitting 25 HR and 100 RBI in 2010 between Single and Double A stops in the Red Sox organization.  Last season for San Diego’s Triple A team he hit 16 HR and 63 RBI in 52 games before being called up to the major league club.  The other big addition this offseason was David DeJesus, another veteran who can help guide these young Cubs players.  Dejesus had a bit of a down season last year after injuries limited him to 131 games.  He hit 240 with 10 HR, 46 RBI and 66 R.  But in his last healthy season in 09, he hit 281 with 13 HR and 71 RBI.  He’s a solid hitter with a little pop who plays good defense and is a positive presence in the clubhouse.  The Cubs have a lot of youth and while that may not translate to immediate success, it should have them looking good for the future.

The Cubs pitchers didn’t play great last season ranking 25^th in team ERA.  Matt Garza was probably the best pitcher on the team, tying with Ryan Dempster for the team lead in wins with 10.  However Garza also led the team in ERA (3.32) and Ks (197).  That’s a pretty solid season for the new Cub.  Dempster, the longtime Cub, led the team in IP with 202, but didn’t have as great of a season as he’s used to with a 4.80 ERA and a WHIP of 1.45.  He still strikes out a lot of guys (191) but he’d like to see that ERA come down and improve on that record (10-14).  Carlos Zambrano was next on the stat list, but he has since taken his talents to South Beach.  That leaves Randy Wells, who went 7-6 in 23 starts.  He’s gotta lower that ERA (4.99) and his K ratio leaves a lot to be desired.  The last two guys in the rotation are new to the Chicago area.  Paul Maholm has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh before traveling to their Central rivals in Chicago.  He’s been the best pitcher on a bad team for his whole career.  Last season he started 26 games, going a cringe-worthy 6-14.  But his ERA was only 3.66 and he got no run support.  Still, they need him to find his 08 self, when he went 9-9 with a 3.71 ERA in over 200 IP.  If he can keep his ERA low and not digress to the pitcher of 2009 and 2010 (4.44 and 5.10 ERA) then he can have a good season for the Cubs.  And the 5^th starter will be Chris Volstad, who they received in a trade with the Marlins for Carlos Zambrano.  Volstad struggled last season, going 5-13 with a 4.59 ERA.  But they like his stuff, and memories of his 12-9 season in 2010 are still fresh.  His BAA has never been great (career best 277) and that is shown in his ERAs even in his best season in 2010 (4.58).  But if he can eat some innings and keep the Cubs in games, he will be a serviceable 5^th starter for them.

2012 Prediction…The Cubs are building to compete in the future.  Unfortunately that makes them look like unlikely winners in the present.  There are too many question marks and not enough proven commodities.  Starlin Castro is great, but everything else is hazy.  Garza had a strong season, and Dempster is a solid veteran.  But the other 3 pieces of their rotation are questionable.  A veteran outfield is hoping to lead a young infield through the dangers of major league pitching.  There are pieces there, but I don’t think the puzzle will be put together fully in 2012. 

Up next…Cincinnati Reds.