Leading 3-2 in the 7th inning, Lou Piniella committed a Cardinal sin.   With left-handed reliever Sean Marshall warming up, Piniella stuck with Dempster.  The rest was history, and the left-handed hitting Voto deposited Dempster’s first pitch into the right-field bleachers for a two out three run homer and the Reds came from behind to beat the Cubs 5-3. 

The move was one of the many head scratching decisions made by the Cubs fourth year manager.  While it would be completely unfair to blame Piniella for all of the teams problems this season, the truth of the matter is he is part of the problem. 

If and when the Cubs release Piniella of his duties, they will likely turn to hire AAA manager and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg as interim manager. 

The results won’t change with Sandberg at the helm.  This team lacks talent up and down the roster, but by hiring Sandberg Cubs brace will have time to evaluate Sandberg and decide if he’s worth extending past this season. 

One things for sure, Lou will not return after 2010 season.  There’s no reason to waste the rest of the season, it’s time for the Cubs to look at the rest of the season as an evaluation period for Sandberg.

What a difference a few days make, in their previous series the Brewers outscored the Pirates 40-1.  This weekend belong to the Cubs.  Behind great starting pitching, the Cubs never trailed.  They easily swept the Brewers outscoring them 25-4.

On Friday, Ryan Dempster handcuffed the Brewers giving up just one run over 7-innings.  On Saturday, Ted Lilly threw six shut out innings, and  Randy Wells improved to 2-0 giving up just two runs over 7-innings. 

Offensively,  Ryan Theriot was the catalyst picking up nine hits in the three game set.   Rookie outfielder Tyler Colvin got the start in two of the three games and made the best of it.  Colvin went 5-8 with 2 HR and 4 RBI in the three game setup.. 

Next up the Cubs will welcome in the Nationals for a three game set beginning Monday night.

The Good

Other than Zambrano’s opening day debacle, the Cubs starters gave up just six runs in 31 and 2/3 innings.  The starters threw strikes and kept both Braves and Reds hitters off balanced all week. 

Closer Carlos Marmol was two for two in save opportunities, and Sean Marshall pitched five scoreless innings out of the Cubs bullpen. 

The Bad

While Marshall and Marmol thrived this week, the same can no be said for the rest of the Cubs bullpen.   Arguably the worst bullpen in baseball, the Cubs pen went 0-2 while giving up 17 runs.  

The Cubs offense resembled the 2009 Cubs.  Similar to a year ago, the Cubs could not manufacture runs.  Chicago scored 19 runs and 12 runs came via the home run. 

The Ugly

Alfonso Soriano continues to struggle in left field.  Soriano mis played flyball after flyball.  On Sunday Soriano dropped a routine flyball  The error put the Reds in position to tie the game in the 7th inning.  Soriano also continued to struggle at the plate leaving numerous runners on base. 

Next Up

The Cubs will return home on Monday for the home opener.  Ryan Dempster will get the ball against Doug Davis.   Next weekend the Cubs will welcome the Astros to town for a three game set beginning Friday afternoon.

Lilly was supposed to start  Friday at  Iowa but his start was pushed back due to tightness in his back.  Piniella said it was not a set back and Lilly would start on Sunday. 

During his post game interview after Friday nights loss Piniella said it was possible that Lilly could return to the Cubs rotation after Sunday’s rehab start. 

The Cubs have now backed off that statement and Lilly has been scratched from his scheduled start.  Lilly will instead throw a side session at Wrigley on Monday and is schedule to make a rehab start on Wednesday.

So when will Lilly return to the Cubs rotation?  Your guess is as good as mind.   The Cubs  initially penciled him in for April 19.  Considering he won’t make a rehab start until April 14, I can’t see him returning before April 24th.

Fresh off a solid spring, Randy Wells worked in and out of trouble scattering five hits over six scoreless inning. 

The Cubs bullpen added three scoreless innings and Tyler Colvin, Marlon Byrd hit solo home runs. 

The Cubs will travel to Cincinnati tonight and begin a three game series tomorrow night.

Leading 2-1 in the 8th, Cubs manager Lou Piniella handed the ball to one of baseballs worst bullpen.  With one out Martin Prado doubled, and Chipper Jones followed with a two run homer.

Billy Wagner who the Cubs passed on this off-season came on in the ninth and struck out the side.

The Cubs are 0-2 for the first time since 2008.

NL East

1) Philadelphia Phillies 97-65 ( Halladay give the Phillies bullpen a day off every fifth day.  Halladay will anchor a very good rotation.)

2) Atlanta Brave 90-72 ( Solid rotation, Chipper Jones Must stay healthy.)

3) Florida Marlins 84–78( I love the Marlins rotation but I don’t trust Leo Nunez as a closer)

4) New York Mets 82-80(Johan Santana must stay healthy.  Two-Hundread  innings is a must if the Mets are to contend in the NL East.)

5) Washington Nationals 74-88( Much improved and Jim Riggleman will get the best out of a very young team.)

NL Central

1) St Louis Cardinals 92-70 ( Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright is as good as it gets at the top of the rotation.  Matt Holliday offers Albert Pujols the protection he’s needed.  Bullpen is still filled with question marks, and it remains to be seen if 2009 was a fluke season for Ryan Franklin.

2)Cincinnati Reds 84-78 ( The Reds are going in the right direction and if Joey Voto and Scott Rolen stay healthy the could contend in the central.)

3) Chicago Cubs 79-83 (The Cubs still have a very good starting rotation.  Their everyday lineup has power, but lacks speed and balance.  They’re bullpen is filled with inexperienced  kids.  It will likely explode on them sooner rather than later.)

4) Milwaukee Brewers 78-84( The Brewers lineup can compete with any lineup in baseball.  The same can not be said about their rotation.  Sure they’ve added to their rotation, but they’ve turned bad into not so good.)

5) Houston Astros 75-87 (Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez are a very good one and two punch at the top of the rotation.  The rest of the rotation is filled with questions.  Look for the Astros to be sellers come July.)

6) Pittsburgh Pirates 70-92( Looks to be another long season for the Pirates.  Filled with questions from the top of the roster to the bottom.  The Pirates will have a tough season.)

NL West

1) SF Giants 90-72( It won’t take many games to win the NL West.  I like the Giants top of their rotation. With Tim Lincecom and Matt Cain, you can bet the Giants won’t have to many losing streaks.  The Giants will need to do a better job of  catching the ball this year.  Defensively the Giants have a lot of question marks.  They still have enough to win the West.)

2) Colorado Rockies 88-74( The NL west will likely come down to the last weekend of the season as it almost always does. The Rockies will battle it out with the Giants, but I am not sure they have enough pitching to win the West.)

3) Los Angeles Dodgers 84-78 ( The Dodgers had a great 2009 season but they are currently unable to add to their payroll with their owners divorce getting uglier by the minute.  The Dodgers will compete but won’t be able to add-on at the trade deadline.

4)  San Diego Padres 72-90 (The Padres are rebuilding.  Look for them to move both Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez at the trade deadline.)

Wild Card:  Atlanta Braves

NL Champs: Philadelphia Phillies

A year ago the Chicago Cubs released Chad Gaudin, and they may look to bring back the 27-year old a year later.  The Cubs are beyond desperate in their search for a veteran reliever. 

 Cubs GM Jim Hendry has failed in the free agent market and also in the trade market in his attempt to add relief help.  Prior to losing Angel Guzman to a season ending injury, the Cubs were looking for a veteran reliever.  They are now short two relievers and signing Chad Gaudin would be a no brainer. 

Gaudin who was traded along with Rich Harden to the Cubs in 2008 has the ability to both start and work out of the bullpen.

Gaudin split his time with the Padres and Yankees in 2009 going 6-10 with an ERA of 4.64.   The Yankees were so impressed with Gaudin that they added him to their playoff roster last year.

Similar to a year ago, Gaudin struggled this spring giving up 10-runs in just 9 innings.. He was recently released by the Yankees.   The risk in signing Gaudin is very minimal since the Cubs would likely pay him the league minimum.  

Gaudin has a career record of 34-35 with a respectable 4.50 ERA.

The trade leaves Mike Fontenot as the Cubs only backup shortstop on the 25-man roster.  Fontenot who is actually a second basemen has spent much of the spring working out at short. 

The Cubs are stilling looking for middle relief help, but it appears to be unlikely that they will aquire a reliever between now and the start of the spring.

Cubs Rotation:  The Cubs are projecting Ted Lilly to be ready by the third week of April.  He will likely miss three starts.  Here’s a look at my projected rotation once Lilly returns. 

1) Carlos Zambrano

2) Ryan Dempster

3) Ted Lilly

4) Randy Wells

5)  Carlos Silva/Tom Gorzelanny( Lilly’s injury will allow both Grozelanny and Silva to battle it out for the final rotation spot during the first three weeks of the season.  Ironically Sean Marshall is the best option, but due to the lack of experience in the Cubs bullpen Marshall will likely work out of the pen.

Grade/Summary:  Despite letting Rich Harden walk this off-season, the Cubs still have a better than average rotation.  I give the Cubs rotation a solid B. 

Bullpen:  The Cubs are following the small market approach with their bullpen.  Despite having the highest payroll in the National League, John Grabow and Sean Marshall are the only relief pitchers with more than two months experience in the role that they’re being asked to fill.  Here’s  a list of the Cubs potential bullpen arms. 

Sean Marshall

John Grabow

Tom Gorzelanny

Jeff Samardzija

Justin Berg

Esmailin Caridad

Carlos Marmol

Grade/ Summary: There are plenty of solid arms in the Cubs bullpen, but to put this type of pressure on a bunch of kids doesn’t make sense.  That said, the Cubs are searching for a veteran right-handed proven reliever.  For now, this bullpen may cost the Cubs 15-20 games.  Due to a lack of experience, I give this bullpen a D. 

Lineup:  The Cubs are going to need their everyday players to stay healthy and bounce back from a poor season.   One major problem with the Cubs everyday lineup is their lack of balance.   They lack speed and left-handed hitting.  They also have plenty of free swinging streaky hitters.  It’s a pretty good fantasy lineup but not a championship lineup.  Here’s a look at the projected lineup.

1) Ryan Theriot

2) Kosuke Fukudome

3) Derek Lee

4) Aramis Ramirez

5) Marlon Byrd

6) Alfonso Soriano

7) Mike Fontenot

8) Geovany Soto

9) Pitcher

Grade/Summary: This is a pretty good fantasy league lineup but not a championship lineup. Defensively they’re average at best.  I give the Cubs everyday lineup a B-

Bench:  The Cubs are still trying to put together their bench.  Still in question is the health of Xavier Nady.  He can hit, but currently can’t play the field.  Here’s the Cubs bench assuming Nady will start the season on the DL. 

Tyler Colvin

Sam Fould

Jeff Baker

Koyie Hill

Chad Tracy

Grade/ Summary:  Once Nady is healthy, he will give the Cubs bench a huge boost. The Cubs bench gets a C.

Projected Record:  In order for the Cubs to contend in 2010, they’re going to need their very young bullpen to grow up very quickly.  That’s easier said then done.  They will also need to stay healthy, and are depending on bounce back seasons from Soto and Soriano. 

The one good thing the Cubs have going for them is their farm system.  If the Cubs can stay close, they certainly have the resources to make a block buster mid-season trade.  Staying close in the NL Central is possible but unlikely.  I have the Cubs finishing 3rd in the NL Central with a 78-84 record.