While Carlos Zambrano maybe the opening day starter for the Cubs when they play the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on April 5th, Randy Wells is the pitcher to get the nod to open cactus league play when the Cubs host the Oakland Athletics this thursday.
Sean Marshall will follow Wells in the game, but that does not mean that Marshall won’t be starting during cactus league play. It is likely that Sean Marshall or Tom Gorzelanny will fill one of the two open spots in the Cubs rotation, as Lou Piniella would like to have a lefty in the rotation [...]

Time for the next installment of 2010 projections for the Chicago Cubs, this week the focus is on the starting rotation.
Carlos Zambrano
Carlos Zambrano appears to be a lot more determined this year, after coming off what could be considered his worst season in his career. He has lost about 20 pounds this off-season, and says that he is lot more mature then he was last year. The Cubs are depending on Zambrano to finally pitch like the “ace” of the staff, and if he does, he should be in line for a good season.
Cubbies Crib 2010 Projection: 17-10 with a [...]

The Cubs are getting ready for their first cactus league game this week, as they host the Oakland Athletics on Thursday. So with that being said, here is the latest from camp.
Ted Lilly is likely going to be placed on the DL by opening day, and it is expected that he is going to miss the first month of games. It’s more so a precautionary measure over anything, as the the Cubs do not want to rush him back. This now opens up the two spots in the Cubs rotation, and the competition for those spots will be between Jeff [...]

The focus of camp today, was all on Emailin Caridad, as he is basically locked in as one of the bullpen relievers for the Cubs this year.
It all started last year when Esmailin Caridad, AKA Smiley, finished out the last couple of months of the season with the Cubs.  As in 19.2 innings pitched Caridad posted an ERA of 1.42, leaving many to wonder if he is the right handed set up guy the Cubs are looking for.
So far, Caridad has followed that up by being nothing but impressive in all of his workouts in Arizona. The thing that [...]

One of the main reasons the Cubs were a disappointment last year was because they were riddled with injuries throughout the whole season. And it appears that at least one player is already struggling with injuries this year, and were still a little bit over a month away from opening day. That player is Angel Guzman, who ironically was finally healthy for a full season for the Cubs last year.
The Cubs have decided to shut down Angel Guzman for the time being as he feeling discomfort in his right shoulder. Guzman, will be re-evaluated in a couple of days.
If it [...]

Today was a “Crazy Eights” type of day for the Cubs who wrapped up day 8 today in Arizona. Among the things most discussed today at camp, Lou Piniella talked about twitter, and more on the shortstop situation.
Earlier this morning, we learned that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has a twitter account, and that lead to Lou Piniella’s morning conference call being about his social network status, and here is what he had to say.
“What is Twitter?” Piniella said Wednesday.
Informed that it was a social media outlet that gives users an opportunity to convey their thoughts in a sentence or two, the Cubs manager [...]

The Cubs wrapped up Day 7 of spring training today, and Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, and Starlin Castro all reported to camp today. While on the field all the attention was on Starlin Castro, off the field the attention was on Aramis Ramirez, and Derrek Lee as both could be free agents after this year. However, Ramirez holds a player option, which in all likelihood he will pick up. Nonetheless, here are some quotes from the two as they get ready for the 2010 season.
Aramis Ramirez
“Maybe this is the year then,” Aramis Ramirez said. “I don’t think that makes any [...]

Happy Days are here again, as the “Fonz” reported to Camp today. No, not Henry Winkler, Alfonso Soriano reported to camp today looking to test his knee after coming off knee surgery.
“I don’t feel 100 percent because I’m not running 100 percent,” Soriano said on Monday. “I’m just running 75 to 80 percent, and I don’t feel nothing that hurts. When I start running 100 percent I want to know how it feels.” ESPN CHICAGO
However, it was difficult for reporters to differentiate on what Soriano meant by those comments, meaning has he not gone beyond running at 80% or is [...]

Last week, I revealed  my projections for the cubs outfield, this week I will now focus on the infield. We will focus on the starters this week, and then in a following report focus on the bench players.
C. Geovany Soto
Geovany is one of the players that the Cubs are hoping to have a rebound season. A year after winning the Rookie of the Year, Soto struggled offensively. As he hit .218 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI’s. Soto also appeared to be out of shape for most of the season as well. However, since last year he has lost [...]

Just about all the Cubs players have reported to camp, with the exceptions being Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Starlin Castro. They all have till Tuesday to report before being considered late. Ryan Theriot was in camp yesterday as  he learned how much he would be getting paid this year.
Ryan Theriot found out yesterday that he lost his arbitration case to the Cubs. He now will get paid $2.6MM instead of the $3.4 he was seeking. However, Theriot was not upset about the decision, and he is looking towards the 2010 season.
With the Cubs saving $800,000 by [...]