5 Things to do in preparation of the season
Im sure most of you are like me and can’t wait for the MLB regular season to start and need something to do. In preparation for the season there are many sports and non-sports activities that can get you in the baseball mood. Here are 5 of my favorites:
1. Watch Spring Training and watch the position battles going on between players on your favorite team
2. Fill out your NCAA March Madness brackets (this works perfectly because usually the championship game is within days of Opening Day)
3. Create a countdown of exactly how long it is until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training (people may scoff at you for this, but if you’re a die hard fan, it’s essential)
4. Read “Is This a Great Game or What?” by Tim Kurkjian (I’m reading it right now and many of my friends have given me great reviews on it)
5. Scout your players for fantasy season, drafts will be here before you know it, right as Spring Training games start
Do you have any other weird traditions that you like doing before the season starts? I’d love to hear them so comment, because if you’re anything like me, I’ll do whatever it takes for the season to get here sooner.
Castro is ‘dictator’ of his own fate
Where were you when you were 19 years old? In college? Dead end job? That’s not where Starlin Castro is right now. The Cubs’ shortstop prospect from the Dominican Republic is on the cusp of making the big league team, it’s just a matter of when.
Castro is ranked as the highest prospect in the Cubs organization and 22nd highest in all of baseball. His rocket-fast progression through the Cubs organization has been the biggest surprise of all, moving all the way up to AA Tennessee (along with being the Arizona Fall League’s MVP as its youngest member) last year at age 19.
Some estimates have Castro in the majors by mid-June, while others say that he could be with the Cubs on opening day. Cubs VP of player personnel Oneri Fleita has said multiple times that as soon as Castro says that he’s ready, he’ll be with the major league team.
A lot will depend on how Castro performs in Spring Training, which he was invited to this year. As expected, current shortstop Ryan Theriot said that he would gladly move to second base to make room for Castro, who hopes to be the Cubs’ best shortstop since Shawon Dunston.
Either way, it seems like the speedy soon-to-be 20-year old Castro will be ready to lead off for the Cubs at some point this year and that certainly is a welcome change.
New additions will prove key
After the 2008 season ended prematurely, GM Jim Hendry was focused on getting more left-handed at any cost. As a result he added OF Milton Bradley and 2B/SS Aaron Miles among others to add more balance to the lineup.
Of course, neither move worked out and every player that the Cubs added last year is now no longer with the team.
This offseason Jim Hendry and Manager Lou Piniella wanted to just get the best players available that were still affordable. They made a small move by getting trading Jake Fox and Aaron Miles to the A’s for pitcher Jeff Gray and prospects. Before anything else could happen, they had to trade disgruntled Milton Bradley, which they did to the Mariners for an equally disgruntled pitcher Carlos Silva.
Shortly following the Bradley deal, Hendry went out and signed CF Marlon Byrd, perhaps finally giving the Cubs a full-time centerfielder. Byrd who set a career high in home runs last year will be reunited with his hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo who was the hitting coach in Texas, now in Chicago.
A strange move by Hendry came when he signed injury prone outfielder Xavier Nady as a 4th outfielder. Nady who played in only seven games last year with the Yankees before undergoing his 2nd Tommy John surgery is a career .303 hitter against left-handed pitching.
The last move to date was when the Cubs signed veteran 1B/3B Chad Tracy to a minor league contract. Tracy has very good power numbers in his career, but as he’s gotten older, his strikeout numbers have gone up and his batting average has gone down. If he’s able to show Piniella that he can still play at a high level come Spring Training, he may beat out Micah Hoffpauir for a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Although Hendry would like to add another veteran arm to the bullpen before Spring Training, the Cubs have already become a lot better on paper than they were last year. Of course injuries play a factor and as the 2009 Cubs know, looking good on paper doesn’t get you anywhere.
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