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Cubs

As I briefly mentioned below, Wood threw for 5 innings yesterday. He was not super-duper sharp, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks (all bad numbers, btw) while throwing 92 pitches. However, it is hardly surprising that he was less than sharp given the time off he has had since last facing live hitters (of course, the Rockies are barely live hitters). I think this was a productive outing for Wood, simply because of the number of pitches he threw. His next start should be in the minors (I think on Sunday) and he will pitch a limited number of innings, and then he will be ready for the home opener. Whatever one may think of Wood (I'm looking at you, Scott), he is better than either Dempster or Rusch, and his presence keeps the Cubs from having to start both of that dynamic duo.

cubs

Lots of movement in the Cubs camp yesterday. Cliff Bartosh reported to camp and when asked if there was something he could tell people about himself, he replied: "No, not really." Ataboy, Cliff, way to be a ballplayer! Like the ebb and flow of the tides, in comes Bartosh, and out goes Randolph. You may remember Randolph was acquired this offseason from Arizona for a PTBNL and I was less than enthusiastic about his chances. A pitcher that walks more batters than he strikes out has little value to any team, as evidenced by his release. I'm guessing that the PTBNL will be a less than stellar prospect...or at least I hope so.

Will Ohman, the other lefty, was optioned to AAA and Calvin Murray and Angel Echevarria (two nobodies that were brought into camp with no chance of making the team) were assigned to minor league camp. And finally Cody Ransom, a NRI, was traded to Texas for a PTBNL. With this, the Cubs lose another player with a great name. (wait, I can do better. um, "it's going to be hard for the PTBNL to match up names with Cody...unless he is actually named "Later." Still not very good, eh?)

Hmmm...I pretty much just rehashed this article...not my most valuable post ever.

Predictions

The Northside Lounge is having a contest that is open to both readers and bloggers. It is the 2nd Annual CBA Predictions Contest. Well, I have finally finalized all of my predictions (although I will reserve the right to update them up to opening day) and here they are. All are encouraged to head on over and submit predicitons also (oo, awkward sentence).

So, without further ado:

1- How many games will the Cubs win?
93
2- What place will the Cubs finish in the Central?
First
3- How many runs will the Cubs score?
804
4- How many runs will the Cubs allow?
654
5- How many Cubs will make the All-Star game?
3
Offensive Leaders (5 points for correct answer)
6- Who will lead the Cubs in batting average?
Nomar Garciaparra
7- Who will lead the Cubs in OBP?
Nomar Garciaparra
8- Who will lead the Cubs in SLG?
Aramis Ramirez
9- Who will lead the Cubs in HR?
Aramis Ramirez
10- Who will lead the Cubs in runs?
Aramis Ramirez
11- Who will lead the Cubs in RBI?
Aramis Ramirez
12- Who will lead the Cubs in stolen bases?
Who else? Corey Patterson
13- Who will lead the Cubs in caught stealings?
Jerry Hairston
14- Who will lead the Cubs in stolen base percentage (min 5 attempts)?
Derrick Lee
Pitching Leaders (5 points for correct answer)
15- Who will lead the Cubs in IP?
Carlos Zambrano
16- Who will lead the Cubs in wins?
Carlos Zambrano
17- Who will lead the Cubs in losses?
Greg Maddux (but he will still have a solid season)
18- Who will lead the Cubs in saves?
JoBo
19- Who will lead the Cubs in holds?
Hawkins
20- Who will lead the Cubs in ERA (min 100 IP)?
Mark Prior
21- Who will lead the Cubs in K?
Kerry Wood
22- Who will lead the Cubs in BB?
Kerry Wood
23- Who will lead the Cubs in CG?
Carlos Zambrano
Fielding Questions (5 points for correct answer)
24- Who will lead the Cubs in outfield assists?
Patterson
25- Who will lead the Cubs in fielding percentage among 2B, 3B, and SS?
Walker
Bonus Questions (10 points for correct answer)
26- Name a Cub that will make the All-Star team.
Carlos Zambrano
27- Name a Cub (majors or minors) that will be traded out of the
organization.
Bobby Brownlie
28- Name a non-Cub (majors or minors) that will be traded into the
organization.
Danny Baez
29- Name the rookie that will get the most plate appearances for the Cubs.
Jason DuBois
30- Name the rookie that will throw the most innings for the Cubs.
Angel Guzman

Headlines

Mom gives birth in car, police pull her over at gunpoint

Wow, tough town. But I'm of the opinion that if giving birth in a car is worthy of being pulled over at gunpoint, then talking on a cell phone and eating in the car should probably be a fine or something. You know, just for the sake of consistency.

50 cent happy in Suburbia

Man, everyone is moving out to the suburbs. 50 Cent, or Fiddy as he is know to friends, is a former drug dealer who has somewhat recently seen his posse engaged in a shootout with another rapper's (this actually happens pretty often with country music stars too, they just refer to it as a "shewt out"). And now, he has a mansion in Farmington, CT. Awesome. He is occasionally seen tooling down Main Street in his pimped out Chrysler Town & Country (the cadillac of mini-vans) on the way to the local high school's soccer game. Fiddy would like all his loyal fans to know that this changes nothing and he is just as "street" as ever.