John Danks 6-13, 5.50 ERA, 109 K, 1.54 WHIP
Kyle Lohse 9-13, 4.63 ERA, 122 K, 1.37 WHIP
Jorge Sosa 9-8, 4.47 ERA, 69 K, 1.33 WHIP
Jason Marquis 12-9, 4.60 ERA, 109 K, 1.39 WHIP
Joe Saunders 8-5, 4.44 ERA, 69 K, 1.52 WHIP
BULLPEN
Brad Lidge 5-3, 19 Saves, 3.36 ERA
Zach Miner 3-4, 3.02 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
Luis Vizcaino 8-2, 4.30 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
Chris Britton 0-1, 3.55 ERA, 1.03 WHIP
Randy Messenger 2-4, 1 Save, 4.20 ERA
Darren Oliver 3-1, 3.78 ERA, 1.26 WHIP
The good news is, out of the entire staff, only two are older than 30 years old. The bad news is the rotation will hardly be competitive. However, there are young guys with plenty of potential waiting to step into the rotation - Colin Ballester, Jair Jurrjens, Ricky Nolasco, and Felipe Paulino.
LINEUP
1) David Dejesus CF
2) Kelly Johnson 2B
3) Dan Johnson 1B
4) JJ Hardy SS
5) Josh Fields 3B
6) Wily Mo Pena RF
7) Shannon Stewart LF
Ramon Hernandez CBENCH
Johnny Estrada C
Kevin Frandsen 2B/SS/3B/OF
Jim Edmonds OF
Sammy Sosa OF
Donnie Murphy IF
Ronnie Belliard 2B/SS
I actually really like the lineup. I'm expecting big years out of Wily Mo and Ramon H. I think they both will rebuild their stocks after disappointing seasons. Also, we've got plenty of depth, especially in the infield.
WHAT'S NEXT
Ideally, we'd like to move some of the surplus pitching we have along with some of the offensive depth for upgrades in the OF and at 1B. We're going to attempt to build around Hardy, KJ, Fields, Dejesus and Pena.
The team has been almost completely changed, but we're excited about the direction its heading. I don't think a lot of people realized the flurry of deals that I've made the offseason. The Cubbies are a whole different squad, and could be a real beast in another season or two.
