Overheard

Overheard during today's TBS Mets-Braves broadcast, following a trivia question about how far back the Mets were in mid-August 1969 and tongue-in-cheek apologies to fans watching in Chicago:

"You ever worked in Chicago, Chip?"
"I worked in Chicago for a long time. I'm used to taking the blame."

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad

How do you put a positive spin on 13-0 sixth-inning deficit?

Well, it counts the same as any other loss in the only statistic that matters in the end, and you're not wasting a gutsy performance from your starter to get it. You can treat the second half of the game like putting in the B squad in a spring training game, which you can't when any pitch could be a game-changer. Shake the rust off of the new guys on your bench. Let Michael Reskovich and Freddy Bynum come in and get two hits and an RBI apiece. Give Aardsma and Ohman and Novoa a couple innings and see if they can work their way out of a jam (they couldn't). Give your big three relievers a day off in a stretch where you don't have a day off for the next two weeks. Give Michael Barrett his first at-bat after jamming his fingers where a big hit isn't crucial.

And you can get out-scored 18-8 over two games and still have a chance to take two of three in the series.

Five for Five

I swear, I should just re-post the same thing every five days.

Five of the Cubs’ eight losses have now been followed up by Greg Maddux wins. He allowed two runs over six innings, and saved himself further damage by inducing two inning-ending double plays. Bobby Howry, Scott Eyre and Scott Williamson threw a hitless, scoreless inning apiece to back him up.

Maddux continues to lead the majors in both wins (5) and ERA (1.35). He looks to be shaping up as one of those great pitchers like Ryan, Clemens, Johnson and Niekro who finds another gear late in his career, and he’s just the rudder the Cubs’ young pitching staff needs.

Meanwhile the first six Cubs in the lineup either scored runs, drove in runs or both. The kids came through again as Matt Murton came through with the go-ahead RBI to put the Cubs on the board and Ronny Cedeno collected three more hits, including a two-run homer in the fifth to answer two Brewer runs in the top half.

Aramis Ramirez and Jacque Jones’ batting averages continue to creep back toward reality. Ramirez reached twice on a walk and a double, and on a 3-for-4 day Jones drove in Murton for the Cubs’ second run and tacked on a solo homer in the eighth to cap the score at 6-2.

So where are the Cubs with an eighth of the season by the boards?

Obviously the loss of Derrek Lee is huge, but a lot of other factors are working out. Like the Who said, the kids are alright. Murton and Cedeno are hitting like real major leaguers, and have both shown skills afield, though sometimes Cedeno needs to rein in his arm a bit trying to make bang-bang plays.

The new guys, Jones and Juan Pierre, are off to slow starts, but Pierre leads the team in steals and runs scored by a wide margin despite a .264 average and an OBP under .300, and Jones’ big day today pushed his slugging average up to .500 now that he finally appears to be safely on the happy side of the Mendoza line at .231.

As for the revamped bullpen, the guys who look to stick around, save for an appearance here and there, are getting the job done. At the tail end of the pen, Eyre, Howry and Ryan Dempster have been all but lights-out all April.

Some of the youngsters on the staff have struggled, but Sean Marshall emerged winning two of his first four major league starts, outpitching Dontrelle Willis his last time out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Glendon Rusch, second in the league in homers allowed, loses his job to Marshall as the rotation’s token lefty once the rotation starts returning to full strength.

As a whole, the Cubs’ staff has allowed the fewest hits in the majors and are one of only three teams without a blown save. Walks are still a concern, fourth-worst in the league, but the low number of hits keep them third in team ERA behind the Mets and Cardinals.

I don’t trust the NL Central will get through 162 games with five teams above .500, but getting off to a 13-8 start with three starters on the shelf and the first week without Lee, there’s a lot of promise here. With 16 of the Cubs’ next 19 games and 22 of 28 coming against teams below .500, the Cubs have a good chance to nail down some wins while waiting for Wood and Prior to come back, hopefully before the longest road trip of the year through the three teams currently ahead of them in early June.

So Now What?

Without Derrek Lee, the Cubs needed a 25th man and a new lineup.

The 25th man is outfielder Michael Restovich from Iowa, whom the Cubs list as a first baseman on their roster page. He carried over a good spring training into the PCL season, batting .333 with 10 RBIs in 13 games.

With Aramis Ramirez off to a slow start, the Cubs don’t have a true power guy who’s there yet. That’s not necessarily as big a problem as it seems, with Michael Barrett taking a new approach this year. There’s no de facto eight-hitter, and the guys filling the back end of the lineup would be farther up on a lot of teams. It evens out the offensive attack.

The Cubs have done well using speed and putting together hits and runs both at the top and bottom of the lineup, and because of that, abandoning the traditional kind of lineup might work. I like the wacky approaches; you never know when one might build a better mousetrap, so to speak.

So as long as you have two sets of guys who can get things started, bat them all together and put up an extended threat. Essentially, push the middle of the lineup back two slots. It will cost them some at-bats over the course of a season, but they could find themselves batting with more runners in scoring position and more RBI opportunities, and that’s what counts.

Start with speed and high averages to get runners into scoring position as soon as possible. Pierre leads off, and Cedeno bats second. Todd Walker, not a traditional home run hitter, bats third. Baker tried this approach Saturday, and while the Cubs lost, the top three got on base six times and Cedeno stole a base.

Instead of placing a longball hitter fourth, extend the early approach and look for guys who can drive the ball to the alleys. Think in terms of big innings: If you’ve got a couple guys on base and you hit a three-run homer, it takes some pressure off the opposing pitcher and he has a clean slate to work with for your five-hitter. And if you come up looking for a three-run homer, you open yourself up to the strikeout and might put a big dent in your rally hopes. Get a guy who can hit doubles to the gap, or hit with the pitch and go the opposite way, and you can score those baserunners while keeping the pressure on. I’m describing Matt Murton.

Once you’ve gotten through the players who get rallies going, then you bring in the guns to cap them off. Michael Barrett fifth, even though he’s performing like a typical three-hitter, and then Aramis Ramirez sixth.

From there, bat Mabry seventh at first base, and Jacque Jones or Jerry Hairston eighth.

This, of course, assumes the current roster. We know Jim Hendry and his cell phone. Only, not a lot of teams start re-tooling in April, and it might cost a lot in young talent to essentially fill a two-month gap. If I were Hendry I’d wait and see. John Mabry is still a major league first-baseman, and depending on the number of returning pitchers and the progress of Felix Pie, Hendry might have a big bucket of bait come trade season.

Boom.

Cub fans know what it’s like to see a whole season flash before their eyes.

I was all set to talk about the fact that while I enjoy watching low-scoring games, they’re kind of dull to describe. With the Dodgers taking a 4-2 lead in the sixth, on the heels of a low-scoring loss, I started checking out team pitching stats.

Besides, the radio signal is several seconds ahead of the cable signal, so there’s ample time to get back to the TV when something happens. Except there’s kind of a fuzzy area as the brain blends the two signals together. But I digress.

The Cubs are the only team in the majors that’s allowed fewer than 100 hits. And that’s without Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Wade Miller.

By the time June rolls around, the Cubs could be looking at a front five of Maddux, who deserves the ace role for every possible reason this year, then Zambrano, Prior, Wood and Miller, or if he doesn’t return to form, Sean Marshall.

And the bullpen has been tight except for a couple of the younger guys. You start to think about what kind of a…

…and Furcal BUNTS!… Eyre dives to his left, stabs it… flips with his glove WAAAY…

And that was the last thing I remembered seeing.

With the radio still on, I heard the call before I could see it, and my brain sort of reset the surge protector until Lee was lying on his side clutching his forearm. It was only a split-second, but I saw a gaping hole open up in the Cubs’ title hopes and a lot of frustration in that split-second.

Then it became apparent Eyre wasn’t getting up so quickly either. It turns out, there are guys who can bellyflop and guys who can’t. It just usually works better when more of your inertia is moving horizontally, like an outfielder. Fortunately he’s not expected to miss much time.

It was reassuring when both players tried to stay in the game, particularly Lee. The thought that ran through my head was, “clink when he walks.” But with two broken bones in his wrist, more guys are going to have to pitch in for the next two to three months. Hopefully the Cubs can fill in for Lee’s injury as well as they’ve managed to plug the injury gaps in the pitching staff so far.

After the dust settled, the Cubs rallied around their injured comrades. Additional awful throws due to the dew-covered grass helped the Cubs more than they hurt them, and while Ronny Cedeno launched one of the departing flights - the runner didn’t score - he also contributed the game-winning RBI.

Broken and bruised, the Cubs take two out of three from the Dodgers just in time to face white-hot Albert Pujols in their first trip to the new Busch Stadium. After a desperately-needed off-day this time, Jerome Williams faces Mark Mulder Friday night in the opener.

Call It Old Style

It didn’t seem so long ago that Greg Maddux was referred to as a fourth starter. Or even a fifth.

Now the oldest right-handed starter in baseball, Maddux is throwing his best ball of either tenure as a Cub. It’s not just in being 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA, it’s nipping losing streaks in the bud. The Cubs are off to a great start at 8-4, but three of those losses preceded Maddux starts. I know I mentioned this after Maddux’ last start, but it bears repeating. When it counts, you want the old crafty veteran who can right the ship. That's how you win a best-of-five or -seven series, but there are a lot more three- and four-game series to win before you get there.

He even drove in the game’s second run with a bloop single to right.

Maddux notched number 321 in L.A. Monday in classic fashion, allowing a run, three hits and no walks over eight innings. Mister Consistency so far, he’s given up one run and thrown 87 pitches (with the strikes climbing) in each start.

Ryan Dempster pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save in three opportunities, and remains unscored upon.

The bats are still hot and cold, and some changes in the lineup might be in order. The Cubs are scoring a lot of runs in the back of the order, and with Matt Murton and team hit leader Ronny Cedeno both getting big hits, they need more AB’s. As for Jacque Jones, he looks a lot more like an eight-hitter than Cedeno, and John Mabry looks like an even better option right now if he can give you enough starts.

The Cubs stand a half-game behind Houston as Carlos Zambrano looks for his first win of 2006 tonight.

Letters, We Send Letters

I e-mailed Pat Hughes and Ron Santo for the first time in the fourth inning of Friday’s game, and they read it on the air in the sixth. It was pretty cool.

They were talking about bad-ball hitters, so I asked Ronnie about Yogi Berra since Yogi came over to the Mets early in Santo's career. I've heard bad balls were Yogi's bread and butter, and Ron was kind enough to comment.

Of course, I also said I vote for both of them on every Ford Frick Award ballot. It’s nice to butter up the talent when you’re e-mailing a live broadcast, but in this case it’s true.

A lot of ex-jocks do color commentary, but not a lot of them come off as regular guys, regular fans. You can tell from his broadcast that Santo wears his heart on his sleeve for the Cubs just like the rest of us, and always has, just like the rest of us. Harry Caray was wonderfully bombastic, and once he was here he was one of us for good, but there’s always that knowledge that Harry came over from the Dark Side. St. Louis. The White Sox.

Die-hards are familiar with the fabled Brant Brown call against the Brewers late in ‘98. It’s probably floating around the web somewhere. I was watching that game, and I can tell you Ronnie’s reaction was exactly what I felt when I saw the ball bounce off Brown’s glove. You can’t fake that. You won’t find that kind of rawness on a network, either.

And then there’s the mellifluous Pat Hughes, the wise-cracking straight man, punster and foil to the wacky sidekick. Makes palindromic guesses in the attendance game. Formerly Bob Uecker’s partner in Milwaukee. 'Nuff said.

Hughes is a pro. He’s a throwback to the smooth-talking radio announcers of my parents’ generation. He doesn’t need flashy catch-phrases, and has a simple, but effective and exciting home run call. “That ball’s got a chaaaaaaaaaance… gone!” The intonation of his voice distinguishes a ball in the basket from one onto Waveland to an audience that doesn’t have the visual element, and his call is on the play instead of after it, so he gets you the recap quicker.

Maybe I’m a little biased because I worked in radio, but I always thought radio guys had to work harder. A TV broadcaster can fall back on that visual element and drop in a little dead air, letting the pictures speak for themselves, but a radio broadcaster has to fill in more gaps when all the listener knows is what you’re telling them.

Close your eyes and let your mind wander at the beginning of a Pat Hughes broadcast sometime (assuming you’re not behind the wheel, of course…). Some folks think it’s a little corny to describe the scene down to the color of the visiting team’s socks, but if you’re there at the ballpark and you look around, you see random little things like that. He brings you the experience along with the game itself, and it’s a nice touch.

Besides, some of the broadcasters I’ve followed are already in the Hall, so fewer of my favorites are still on the ballot.

'Dux in a Row

They say 40 is the new 30, whoever “they” are. Probably people who are uptight about being 40.

But two days shy of the big four-oh himself, Greg Maddux has been as stingy as ever on the hits with WHIP under 1.00 backing up a sub-1.50 ERA after two starts. With two fellow marquee starters on the shelf and a bullpen that’s already made some premature appearances, Maddux has followed both Cub losses with quality starts and impressive wins.

It pushes to the side a flash of something the Cubs have long needed, attacks from the basepaths. Before today I can’t even remember the last time the Cubs pulled off two double steals in a game, and Juan Pierre and Derrick Lee, the only two Cubs who have even attempted steals so far in 2006, did it their first two times up.

Pierre is the obvious name, but in Lee it’s refreshing to see a big name power-hitter who hasn’t taken that tool out of his arsenal, being one of the rare boomers who even had it in the first place. Great news, of course, Lee signing a five-year, $65 million contract extension at age 30. Eleven more extra-base hits than anyone else in MLB last season for the price it took the Dodgers to lock down Rafael Furcal.

Early aches and pains resulted in a new lineup today, with Hairston at second in the two spot and Angel Pagan in right batting fifth (fifth???), followed by Murton, Neifi Perez at third and Cedeno. Like Murton in the latter part of last season, Cedeno has been batting eighth with an average over .400.

Carlos Zambrano starts tomorrow's finale against Eric Milton and the Reds before the Cubs head to Pittsburgh to face the 3-7 Pirates.

Rusch and Roulette

Here's one for the Odd Occurrences file. Bronson Arroyo has homered in two consecutive starts, both against the Cubs and both off of Glendon Rusch. No pitcher has ever hit more than nine in a season.

So once again the off-day didn't seem to help the Cubs much in facing the only guy who's beat them so far. The good news is, Rusch shaved a full point off his ERA. The bad news, the five Cincinnati hits he scattered over five innings included four solo home runs.

While they were able to peck away at the bullpen, nine runs is a pretty steep climb in two innings. But if there's a silver lining about getting hammered, if Will Ohman or anybody else has to give up a grand slam it might as well be on a day when the Cubs are already down a handful of runs and haven't gotten on the board.

Jacque Jones had another 0-fer day, dropping to .111 and straining his hamstring. He's listed as day-to-day. As long as Jones has had a cold start anyway, Felix Pie's looking pretty good at AAA Iowa right about now, with 18 total bases plus two walks in five games. We all know he's coming anyway, and if you're gonna go get him, get him while he's hot.

Great Seats, Eh, Buddy?

If you’re a good Cub fan, you’re wondering about those new bleachers. Yeah, you’ve seen the pictures, but what’s it really like out there? West Side Charlie’s on the case. I spent Sunday night in the new bleacher boxes in right for Sean Marshall’s debut and my first Cub-Cardinal game since the biggest win of the 2003 stretch drive.

I didn’t get a chance to check out the main bleacher sections or the restaurant, but keeping that in mind, here are West Side Charlie’s Cheers and Jeers.

Cheer:
Walking toward the gate at Waveland and Sheffield, the architecture is attractive, definitely more so than the nondescript walls it replaces. Ivy is to be planted on the outside as well, but I foresee fans giving it a run for its money.

Cheer:
The knothole and inside view through the right field wall is an instant classic, and the best single idea of the whole project. Passing through the neighborhood or coming home from work at the end of a day game? Take a peek at real live major league ball at ground level as you walk past. And it’s the ultimate throwback. The knotholes of old saw a lot of budding lifelong fans, including a few Hall of Famers among their ranks, and I hope future ballparks pick up on it.

Cheer:
The much-ballyhooed overhang above the sidewalk is a blessing to anyone who’s ever waited in the rain for the bleachers to open.

Cheer:
More video monitors outside the seating area make it easier to follow the game while going to and from your seat.

Cheer:
There’s a certain smell of “newness” that wafts in and out among the more traditional scent of spilled beer that’s been walked on.

Cheer: They made use of at least some of the batter’s eye area in center field that had undergone many unspectacular changes since the seats were first closed off.

Cheer/Jeer:
Much better PA speakers, but I’m still not a fan of them playing recorded music through them. Like David Byrne says, this ain't no disco. I came to see and get the feel of a ballgame, not to hear songs that have been overplayed for at least 20 years.

Jeer:
Bleacher Box sight lines. From the back row of the Bleacher Boxes, eight seats from the well in right in section 316, the scoreboard was nearly completely obscured. With the crowd at its feet, nothing was visible beyond a line extending from about the gate in left-center to a few seats past the curve in front of me. Jacque Jones’ homer to center and Michael Barrett’s grand slam to left were both in that guesswork area. I’ve sat in both wells before, and visibility issues are tricky when you’re not dealing with a true arc, so it was always a minor problem in a couple of spots, but now it seems more pronounced. I can’t understand why they didn’t smooth out those problems as long as they were re-doing the whole shmeer anyway. Especially considering the premium price, I recommend trading a seatback for a better view.

Jeer:
There’s still only one gate for the entire bleacher area. I’ve been in that opening rush as people race up the ramps for their favorite general admission areas, and it would be easier for fans to enter in right field if they want to sit in right field instead of trying to squeeze past people who are trying to squeeze past you to get to the other two-thirds of a two-block area. And when you’re cutting it close on time and hustling to the farthest corner of the ballpark, that could be the difference between seeing the first pitch and missing the first two hitters.

Jeer:
Open areas are set below the top of the main bleachers, so while there’s more room to mill around, less of it is in view of the field. And from what I saw, smokers were herded off to a concentrated area you have to pass to get to the concession stand or the washroom.

Jeer:
And of course, there’s the sponsorship issue. The Bud Light Bleacher Boxes promote a product that feeds the coffers of the Busch family, owners of the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. West Side Charlie does not drink Anheuser-Busch products, feeling less threatened by the team sponsor on the other side of the cheddar curtain.

Overall, I miss the old bleachers. They’re not the same ones my father sat in, or his father before him. I can no longer look for the spot where they pointed out Bill Veeck to me one day, which led to a great afternoon of stories about vines and scoreboards and Eddie Gaedel.

But it is what it is. This generation of fans will tell their kids about the old days before they re-did the bleachers, just like my generation and light towers, my dad’s generation and the basket, or my grandfather’s and the upper deck, bleachers and scoreboard. Either way, I’ll take a bad seat at Wrigley over a good seat at home.

Heidi II?

Comcast lost its Cubs feed today with one out in the ninth and the tying run on first.

I had Gameday running and was listening to the radio broadcast as well, so I was able to follow along, but it must have been frustrating for those who weren't. The telecast didn't resume until the game was over a couple minutes later, so they went straight to the postgame. The culprit was announced as a power outage at Wrigley Field.

I noticed earlier in the game that the duck-sponsored trivia question about the recently-mentioned Willie Smith was cut off on the left side of the screen. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for widescreen and HD, but they need to keep in mind it's nowhere near universal yet. I don't need reminders that I have a cheap TV.

More to come, just a quick comment...

Fourth Time's No Charm, or Hurry Up and Wait

What is it about that first off-day that lets the air out of the balloon after a big opener? For the fourth year in a row, the Cubs scored a ton of runs on Opening Day. And for the fourth year in a row they failed to carry it over after the off-day, dropping to 1-1.

Picture yourself in the uniform. You’ve waited six months to see real action, and when you finally do, you and your team stomp the other guys into the ground. Wouldn’t you be champing at the bit to get back out there and stomp them again A-SAP?

But then there’s just that lull. It’s not a travel day. It’s not even the end of a series. And of all the times you really need an off-day, Day 2 isn't it. Even if you take BP on the off-day, it’s not like facing somebody’s number two starter in game situations. You don’t try to out-think a batting practice pitcher, you just swing away, which is what the Cubs did after the off-day.

They fell back into the old pattern of scoring all six of their runs on three 2-run homers and not drawing any walks. Glendon Rusch and Jerome Williams gave up eight hits and five walks as the Cubs found themselves down 7-2 after five innings, on their way to an 8-6 loss.

With the loss, the Cubs split the opening series with the Reds and fall a game and a half behind the Cards after only two games. And Thursday was another off-day.

After the first series do you sit back and think wow, we put up 25 hits and 22 runs in two games and still split; or wow, we gave up 15 runs in two games and still split? I try to keep optimistic. The Cubs fought back behind two rusty starters who blew early leads, and as long as they keep scoring early and often, enough guys from that overabundance of starting pitching will eventually get healthy enough and into midseason condition to put some wins together.

I look for silver linings, and there were some notable upsides. Seven Cub hits efficiently led to six runs. They fought back from a five-run deficit to within a run instead of rolling over and dying, like we’ve all seen too many times. The bullpen didn’t give up any earned runs once the Cubs started clawing back, and with three appearances between them, the new setup tandem remains at a combined 0.00 ERA.

Individually, Juan Pierre has leadoff extra-base hits in both games and got the Cubs on the board both times. Ronny Cedeno got a pair of hits and has reached and scored in both games. John Mabry hit a pinch-homer off of former Cub crybaby Kent Mercker, and D-Lee and Aramis Ramirez got their first homers out of the way.

So now the Cubs bring it on home to Wrigley for a too-early series against a Cardinals team that just took three straight from the Phillies. Greg Maddux begins his 21st season against Jeff Suppan this afternoon as Cub fans get their first look at the new bleachers. Check back after Sunday’s debut by Sean Marshall for an up-close and personal report on the right-field bleacher boxes as I check them out for myself.

A Rerun Worthy of Fred Berry

This all seems somehow familiar… the Cubs put up 16 on Opening Day and Carlos Zambrano doesn’t get five innings in.

Wow, sixteen runs. Hits from every spot in the lineup. Eight different Cubs drove in runs. Thirteen runs were manufactured along with Matt Murton’s three-run exclamation point.

So what were the keys? The leadoff man getting into scoring position. Nickel-and diming. Stringing together hits. Drawing seven walks. Taking advantage of extra outs. Dogpiling. And what on another day would be a game-saving catch by Murton.

With all that chaos and all that offense, it’s just one of those neat little quirks about baseball where Will Ohman can throw four pitches in the middle of the game out of 200+ and get the win.

To poke the bear a little, so to speak, the Cubs did leave nine men on base, but when you score 16 times it’s more like having some meat left on the carcass after Thanksgiving dinner.

Zambrano threw a lot of pitches and let a big lead trickle away, though when 45 runners reach base, all you can ask of a guy is to keep you in the game, which he did. Besides, Zambrano pitching seven or eight innings is more important in crunch time, and you know he’s going to be there. I’m more concerned about four pitchers combining for 10 walks in seven innings. When you’re not facing four pitchers who don’t have their best stuff, that’s going to cause trouble.

All in all, while between Opening Day and a presidential visit it was already a media circus, it sure was nice that the “new-look” Cub offense was the main attraction.

Yawn and Stretch and Finally Come to Life

Like real bears, the Cub fan comes out of hibernation every spring. With sleep in his eyes and a rumble in his belly, he's hungry for games. Stats. Pitching matchups. Highlight reels. MLB Gameday. And that first chance of the year to question Dusty Baker's lineup. Because why should Opening Day be any different than the other 161?

Juan Pierre is set in the leadoff position, with Todd Walker, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Jacque Jones filling out the meat of the order and Michael Barrett, Matt Murton, Ronny Cedeno and Carlos Zambrano completing the lineup.

Walker can get the job done at the plate, but Murton would bring more excitement to the top of the order. He has the ability to hit for higher average and OBP than Walker, and stands a better chance of scoring from first on doubles by Derrek Lee, who hit 50 of them last year.

Walker, in turn, might be a better fit for the six-spot with Barrett behind him. Why bat a .300 hitter seventh with no protection - and that goes for either Murton or Walker - when you can use those ABs to get your heavy hitters over and in? Barrett may have more power than Walker, but depending on the longball has gotten the Cubs nowhere, and I'd rather see Barrett try to drive in Walker than the other way around since neither is exactly a speed demon.

And then there's the Ronny Cedeno situation. Cedeno tore up the Winter League, but struggled at the plate through Spring Training. Will he keep his starting role if he can't come around quickly enough, or will Baker jump at the chance to get his guy Neifi Perez in the lineup as soon as possible? It backfired with Jason Dubois last year, and Dubois is already long gone. But until he has more games under his belt, there's no way of knowing if Cedeno is a .320 Major League hitter or a .220 Major League hitter.

We'll see, of course. There are bigger issues to bite one's nails over this year, namely starting pitching. We're all waiting as usual for the appearance of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, wondering if Wade Miller will return to form once he's healthy, and anxious to see if Sean Marshall might be the Next Big Thing.

Optimistic? Anxious? Sure, just like every year.

Okay guys, I think I'm ready. You can start the season now.

Opening Day Heroes

I think back to Opening Days past and wonder if anybody’s going to have one of those career-defining days this year.

It’s a big deal, Opening Day. The spotlight, the energy and excitement in the air; some guys buckle under the pressure and others thrive on it. Put the two together and the heroes of the day might be the guys you least expected.

If you have one great day and it’s in August, you might fade into oblivion. But if you’re Willie Smith or Tuffy Rhodes, and your day happens the day the bell rings, you have a little piece of history.

For the stat junkies, every Opening Day brings impossible projected statistics. Tuffy was on a pace for 486 homers after he rocked Dwight Gooden in 1994. Even the beleaguered Corey Patterson was on pace to hit 324 homers and drive in 1134 just two short years ago.

Day by day the numbers trickle down, and the standard deviations become less deviant. The last undefeated team loses, the last hitter drops below .500, talk of Ted Williams slows to a stop, and things fall back to normal.

But for a couple of weeks every April, it’s fun to think about.

That One Thing

The sun shines a little brighter when Opening Day is right around the corner, even though no matter what the weatherman says, there's always a chance of one more snow.

It marks the end of another long winter. Another long winter of wondering if the chemistry’s going to be there. If the right guys will have career years. Which if any of the “kids” will pan out. If there’s going to be another last-minute deal like Dallas Green pulled off in 1984.

Go through this for a couple, t'ree decades and you get a little frustrated. Have they really done enough in the off-season or will we just wind up banging our heads against the wall by the middle of May again? It's the same question every year, as it should be, but then every year there seems to be just that one thing that snaps a die-hard back into place.

This year it was the no-hitter in spring training.

Okay, it wasn't quite a no-hitter, but getting through nine is the closest the North Siders have come as long as I've been bleeding Cubbie Blue.

And it was the kids, to boot, Sean Marshall and Angel Guzman. You can follow all the trades and signings and have an idea of what to expect out of a lot of guys, but somebody has to be Rookie of the Year. Marshall's even left-handed, which at any given time has been a missing ingredient in the starting rotation since Steve Trout was traded.

Toss in a last-minute trade and a final decision on who's starting where, and with that possible X factor some of those thoughts shift from "will they" to "maybe they can". And then the sun starts to shine a little brighter...