Part one is going to be break down the Chicago Cubs’ pitching, after this article I will be taking on the infield, outfield and bullpen.

The Cubs have been known for having solid starting pitching, and this season should be no different. Here is the expected rotation:

1. Carlos Zambrano
2. Ted Lilly
3. Ryan Dempster
4. Randy Wells
5. Tom Gorzelanny
Others who could start games: Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija, Carlos Silva.

Who Needs to Step Up: Carlos Zambrano

Who Could be the Biggest Surprise: Randy Wells

Looking at what each of these pitchers did last season, the Cubs are seemingly set at the top of their rotation. None of the top four pitchers had an ERA above 4.

However, the Cubs supposed ace of the staff, Carlos Zambrano, was, if anything, the fourth best starting pitcher for the Cubs last season.

His ERA was fourth highest among the five expected starters, and he was just one strikeout away from being third in strikeouts, instead he was second with 152. He also finished fourth in WHIP.

But although the Cubs don’t have a legit ace, they also don’t give opposing teams a break, as none of their pitchers are exactly bad either.

After facing Carlos Zambrano, they face Ted Lilly, who had a 3.10 ERA last season, struck out 152 batters, and had a WHIP of just 1.06.

However, Lilly will likely won’t be back until some time in early May. He is trying to be able to be back in April, but the Cubs aren’t going to risk anything, and if he has to miss an extra two starts to make sure he doesn’t miss serious time, nobody will complain.

This opens up an opportunity for a few Cubs pitchers to try to jump in and take his place. Chances are that Carlos Silva, Jeff Samardzija or Sean Marshall will be the fifth starter for the first month or so.

The Cubs don’t have an especially difficult schedule at the beginning of the season, so although Lilly coming back should be a priority, his health should be a bigger one.

Until Lilly comes back, Dempster will be directly following Carlos Zambrano in the rotation.

Last season, Demster’s stats dropped from his magical 2008, but he was still very impressive holding an ERA of 3.65 and a 1.31 WHIP while striking out 172 batters, leading all Cubs and finishing 15th in the NL.

Randy Wells was a big surprise last season, as he came out of nowhere to tie for the most wins on the Cubs with 12. He also lead all starters with an ERA of 3.05.

If Wells is even close to as good as he was last season, the Cubs will be greatly benefited during the absence of Lilly. However, last season was just his first full season pitching in the majors, but in about 10 major league innings before last season he didn’t allow a single hit.

The favorite for the fifth Cubs position when the rotation is healthy will likely be won by Tom Gorzelanny, who came to Chicago from the Pirates last season.

Despite his ERA being 5.55, he was able to find ways to win, going 7-3. If you look at Gorzelanny’s season last year, you will see amazing inconsistency.

However, when he was able to establish himself, he was outstanding. In every game that he was able to pitch more than five innings, he never allowed more than two runs and went 4-0.

If he can channel what he did in those starts where he pitched a high amount of innings, then the Cubs will be very pleased in the former Pirate.

When looking at the other players who could start games for the Cubs, there isn’t much talent to chose from. There is amazingly over-paid Carlos Silva who is consistently beyond horrible.

Silva belongs in Double-A at best, but his highly inflated contract could keep him floating between Triple-A and the majors.

Jeff Samardzija is another option, and the Notre Dame product has shown some good pitching chops, and although I prefer to see him in the bullpen, he could give some short-term relief as the fifth starter.

Sean Marshall has been good in flashes as a starter through a few seasons, but he has never really gone met his potential despite never really being bad. He hasn’t had an ERA over 4.50 in the last three seasons, and like Samardzija, could be a good short-term option.

Overall, the Cubs don’t have anybody that really stands out in their starting rotation, but they also have very few people who fall into the background.

Although they aren’t anything special, the starting rotation shouldn’t lose the Cubs too many games.

I’m Joe W.

They were, however, able to get rid of last season’s big mistake. Milton Bradley will be ruining the Seattle Mariners this season, after his work of art in Chicago.

However, if you ask Bradley, it was Chicago that ruined him, not the other way around, just ask the wordsmith known as Milton.

“Two years ago, I played, and I was good. I go to Chicago, not good.”

So lets see if Bradley returns to “good” this season, it should be interesting.

However, the Cubs didn’t just get rid of Bradley, they also found a couple of players who will come in and be pivotal to helping the Cubs try to get back to the top of the NL Central.

There will likely be only one starter this season who wasn’t on the squad last season, and that is Marlon Byrd.

Although he is 32 years old, he is the player that we were hoping Milton Bradley to be. He hit 20 home runs last season, drove in 89 runs, and hit for average at .283.

Although you shouldn’t expect another 20 home run season, you can expect his average to stay consistent and he will be solid defensively, which is huge as he will be playing center field.

Another solid free agent signing was Xavier Nady, who will come in and compete with Kosuke Fukudome for playing time.

Nady is historically better than Fukudome, and has shown that he can hit more home runs, drive in more runs, strike out less, and get more hits.

The only thing that Fukudome really has on Nady is the fact that he is a more recognizable name and that he is making twice as much as Nady.

I expect Piniella to split time between Fukudome and Nady, but that is for a different article.

After making big moves in each of the previous three free agent markets, Jim Hendry was quite this off-season and decided to keep largely the same roster that got them 83 wins last season.

Expect a similar outcome this season, but don’t expect a huge drop off either. The Cubs will be competitive, but they won’t be turning heads.

I’m Joe W.

The goal will be to give a lot of preview articles now, and once the season gets into full swing, give you guys an article a day.

Why am I being so nice?

Because you the reader deserve it.

It will take me a bit to get back into the swing of things, so postings for now will be somewhat sparce, but once I get going, we will be posting quality Cubs content (hopefully) daily. After all, shouldn’t I live up to the name, The DAILY Cub.

The Cubs are now 1-0 in Spring Training (although that matters just about as much as what I ate for dinner) so hopefully we will get things back in a positive direction this season.

For now, I’m Joe W.

Lou’s need for speed aside, it is true that the Cubs are a slow, plodding bunch. They rank last in the NL in stolen bases. And while the stolen base has not been as popular since ‘roided up players starting popping muscles out of their shirt sleeves, it seems to be on a bit of a comeback.

Meanwhile, rumor has it that the Cubs will try to “steal” Chone Figgins if he enters the free agent market.

Figgins certainly has speed. But he has barely been an effective base stealer this season. The primary value of the stolen base lies in the success rate; stealing at less than a 75 percent success rate is detrimental to an offense. This year, Figgins has stolen 39 bases and has been caught 16 times, for a 70 percent success rate.

So, while his speed may help him get infield hits, and score more runs, his basestealing would seem to hurt the team more than help.

In addition to speed, I’m sure that Lou also believes he needs a true lead-off hitter. Figgins’ near .400 OBP would seem to fit that bill quite nicely.

Now, it seems to this scribe that the Cubs have other problems besides lack of speed—an inability to hit with runners in scoring position; a low OBP and shaky defense, among other criteria has accounted for much of the team’s lack of success this year.

Luckily, though the reasoning may be faulty, Lou’s desire for his team to get faster still could result in offensive improvement if the right player is acquired.

Figgins could be one of those “right” players.

One problem is, of course, that there will be many suitors for his services, including the team on the other side of town. White Sox GM Kenny Williams is said to have wanted Figgins for a long time.

Of course, you certainly can’t discount the probability of the Angels wanting to bring him back.

Buster Olney thinks Chone Figgins will end up in left field with the Yankees.

What about his age? He turns 32 in January, so the obvious question is, how long will that speed Lou talks about hold up?

Enter Dan Szymborski, whose ZIPS system is one of the most highly regarded player projection tools in the sabermetric community. The BaseballThinkFactory had this quote from Mr. Szymborski regarding Figgins:

“In Figgins’ case, he has a broad range of skills,” Szymborski said. “Those types of players tend to age well.”

Barring injury, Szymborski doesn’t believe that Figgins will face a steep decline anytime soon.

“When you’re talking about a guy who’s already 31 and is still a speed player, you’re not going to see a sudden decline,” Szymborski said. “There’s no real danger he’s going to become Sean Casey on the bases in the next few years.”

-Bob Warja

And it’s even less likely for the Cubs, of course. The division is out of reach and the wild card requires climbing over too many teams. Plus, the Cubs aren’t playing like they want it anyway.

So the White Sox supposedly send a memo to the other clubs that Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and Scott Linebrink are available.

And why not? It makes good business and baseball sense to try and build for next season with prospects you can obtain. I mean, if you’re going to lose with or without these players, why hold onto them?

Meanwhile, the Cubs can’t work out a trade for the horrible Aaron Heilman or Rich Harden, who isn’t likely to return anyway. And the reason? Not that the offers weren’t good enough. No. According to Hendry, it’s because the Cubs still have a chance.

Delusional man say what?

Look, it’s over, Jim. Face the music; you’ll notice it’s a dirge that’s playing.

Rich Harden is simply too fragile, and the Cubs are too strapped for cash for them to match any three-year offer that some team is likely to wave under the nose of the impending free agent following the season.

Anyway, even if they wanted to re-sign Harden, they could still do it if they traded him. So why in the world wouldn’t you get something for him?

Now, the Sox may not end up moving any of their players prior to tonight’s deadline for adding players to the playoff roster. But at least they’re trying. It shows they are being realistic. The Cubs? Knee deep in denial.

I’m not condoning a white flag deal here; no, both teams (and especially the Cubs) are too far out of the race to hang onto players they are going lose or not want after the season.

But that’s one of the many differences between the Cubs and Sox. The Sox have a plan while the Cubs seem to fly by the seat of their pants.

It pains me to write this, but I seem to recall one of the local teams winning a World Series a few years back.

That’s another difference, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

Now, I realize I haven’t been his biggest supporter but that is largely due to erroneous reports that his defense was so bad that packing a glove was arbitrary.

The truth is, however, that while Fox will never be more than an average (at best) fielder at any position, his defensive shortcomings have been greatly exaggerated by the organization. His bat may actually more than make up for his glove.

But where could he play in 2010? Even if the Cubs are able to dispose of Milton Bradley, it is unlikely that Soriano would move to right to make room for Fox in left.

That leaves second base. Now, I have previously touched on this subject and have written that my belief is that this position requires too much footwork and accuracy in turning the double play to actually consider Jake Fox doing it on a daily basis. Especially on a Cubs team that is already below average defensively.

If only the National League had the DH…alas, that is not an option, so Fox likely will be a spot starter and pinch hitter for the Cubs in 2010.

But it is difficult to ignore a bat as powerful as Fox in a season when the Cubs are dead last in batting average with runners in scoring position. Yes, it is the offense that has led to this disappointing season, Cubs fans. Sure, the bullpen has struggled at times, and the rotation has had its bumps, but the offense has been offensive in 2009.

How about catcher? Well, it is true that Jake was drafted as a catcher, but he was apparently moved from that position because he was so bad there. And let’s face it, Geo Soto may have had a lousy season, but I doubt the Cubs are ready to completely give up on the 2008 Rookie-of-the-Year so soon.

Meanwhile, it is worth discussing because it has been refreshing to see his offensive prowess in a season where hitting has been such an eyesore.

Just like Ryan Theriot, this makes you wonder why the Cubs waited so long to give Fox his chance. You have to question the Cubs scouting, no?

I don’t know what position he will play next season, but I am getting convinced that Jake can rake, come to think of it.

-Bob Warja

You are a tool, Milton Bradley. Fans aren’t booing you because you are black; they are booing you because you are BAD. And not bad as in “baaaaad,” but bad as in you suck.

Sure, you’re starting to hit now, but it’s too little, too late.

When you combine the lousy first half of the season with his crazy antics and his vitriol toward fans, you can’t help but wish the man would just go directly out of Chicago. Don’t pass Go, don’t collect the money; just get the hell out of town and never come back.

Look, are some Cubs fans racist? Of course, just like some percentage of all Americans are racist. Likewise, I’m sure there is an extremely small percentage of Cubs fans who are Satan worshipers. But don’t paint us all with that same broad brush.

It has been an equal opportunity hate-fest for jerks and lousy players in Chicago. There have been plenty of white and Hispanic players who have been ridden hard over the years at Wrigley Field. Todd Hundley…Ryan Dempster (the closer)…Sammy Sosa after the cork incident…the list goes on.

I really think there is something seriously wrong with Bradley. Waiters? He is paranoid. Meanwhile, keep in mind that even paranoids have real enemies.

Yes, we don’t like him, but it’s not because of the color of his skin. After all, the player known as “Mr. Cub” is a black man.

Whether you release him, trade him, eat his entire salary or part of it—whatever Jim Hendry has to do to admit his mistake and get Bradley the hell away from here…well, that’s just what has to be done.

I can’t envision any scenario where he comes back to the Cubs next season. Hell, he even said he “prays” that games don’t go into extra innings so that he can go home after nine innings.

I wonder if that thought occurred to Bradley when he came to bat with the tying run on base in the ninth inning on Thursday.

You feel hatred? Well, give us specific examples, or HOW ABOUT JUST SHUTTING THE HELL UP FOR A CHANGE?

I don’t know why Hendry couldn’t see what many of us Cubs fans could see with this guy, but it is what it is, and it’s time to cut bait and let this stinky fish off the hook so he can troll in someone else’s waters.

Bradley, your accusations are offensive to Cubs fans. It’s time to dispense with the politically correct talk and just man up and admit the man is a clubhouse cancer who needs to be eradicated.

The sooner the better, come to think of it.

I was asked by Bleacher Report to do an article on Michael Jordan, and I got the first six bottles of Jordan Gatorade produced, check it out if you can here.

I am also going to be part of the new and exciting Fan Huddle. It is launching September 10th of this season. Everything looks outstanding and there are a ton of dedicated writers who can fill you in on any team you want. If you want to check out my writing I will be doing fantasy basketball analysis for the NBA Central Division. To read any of my work there, go to FanHuddle.com any date after September 10th.

Now on to Cubs analysis. I will start by giving my thoughts on the team in two words.

They suck.

Now on to why the suck.

Most recently, they suck because they couldn’t even do what they prided themselves on directly after the All-Star Break. You will recall that they beat up on the lowly Nationals and Reds, then lost two of three to the strong Phillies.

Last night, they got strait up run by the Nats, losing by a final of 15-6. Really? The Nationals beat a team 15-6? In fact, it was the most runs the Nationals have scored all season, and they did so against our “ace” Carlos Zambrano.

Come on Big Z, your ERA rose from 3.35 to 3.80 in one game, just 4.1 innings, and in August. That number should never jump that high this late in the season. But that’s what happens when you allow eight runs in just over four innings.

But it wasn’t just last night, since their magical 14-5 start to the second half that saw them even take the lead in the division, they have been just plain awful, going 5-13 and dropping to nine games out of the lead in the division and 8.5 games out of the Wild Card.

They lost two of three to the horrible Padres, and three of four to the struggling Dodgers. So there has to be a reason for all of this horrible play right? Lets take a look at the people who are to blame for this.

Kevin Gregg is the biggest reason for the recent downfall in my opinion. Unlike a starting pitcher, a loss means that he did something wrong and screwed up the game. He has three losses this month compared to just two saves. No closer should ever, ever, ever have more losses than saves for an entire month.

Even his one win this month came after he blew a save, which, in my opinion, should not be counted for a win, so excluding that win, lets take a look at his stats for the month of August. 0-3, 9.00 ERA, 2 saves, 3 blown saves, 9 K, 5 home runs against. That’s our closer, but at least he is only ruining us for $4,200,000.

But our closing pitcher isn’t the only one to blame here, let’s start playing the blame game with some other players who, well, deserve it.

Let’s pick on Milton Bradley A.K.A The Lefty Bat to Put the Cubs Over the Top. Sure, he went 4-4 last night with a home run, but that home run made the game 12-5, hardly an important knock. We also can’t overlook the goose-egg he laid in the hit column against the Dodgers. Four games not a single hit.

Last night was also his last multi-hit game since August 11th when he went 2-6 against the Phillies. One multi-hit game every two weeks doesn’t cut it in the majors, especially when we are paying you $7,000,000 (I type out the zeroes so you can see just how much this man is draining from the Cubs).

However, just because Bradley is new doesn’t mean that he is the biggest drain on the Cub’s wallet. Just look at Alfonso Soriano, the $17,000,000 mistake (see the recurring theme).

Soriano hasn’t had a multi-hit game since August 7th, and he is still on that streak. But the more important streak for Soriano is his hitless streak. He hasn’t gotten a hit since August 20th, although he has been injured for two of those games, he is still on a three game hitless streak.

Now he is officially day-to-day and it seems like he has tendinitis. However, his absence may help the team more than it hurts it. He is batting .157 this month without a single home run (a streak that goes back to July 29th) and just four RBI’s.

John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny, you have been great since you came to the Cubs. Grabow, you still haven’t allowed a run since putting on a Cubs uniform. Gorzelanny, you have had two bad starts, but add in your three good ones, and you’re doing better than most wearing Cubbie blue.

Sorry you couldn’t get to play for a contender like you thought you would.

Randy Wells, Micah Hoffpauir, Jake Fox, Jeff Baker, Aramis Ramirez, Koyie Hill, Derek Lee and Ted Lilly, you did all you could to keep this broken ship from sinking. Sorry you had to be here for such a disappointing season.

-Joe Willett

However, I will be going through my first full week of school before I start posting regularly again. I am very sorry but I need to make sure that I do everything I can to get the most out of my college experience.

I would like to say that the slow down will stop soon and there will be plenty of Cubs updates coming your way soon, but the truth is that I don’t know when I will be able to get back to my usual amount of posts.

The reason, Wednesday is my move-in day for college, and I have been very busy seeing people for possibly the last time and getting all of my stuff ready to move.

It may take a few days to get used to living at Illinois State University, where I will be living for the next four years, but once I get acclimated to the area and get my schedule down, I will be able to get right back to posting.

Luckily for all of you, this will likely mean an increase in quality work from me, as I will be studying journalism at ISU. So be ready for a short hiatus, followed by a return to your Cubs coverage.

-Joe Willett