Can Epstein and Sveum turn the Lovable Losers into winners again?

A 2011 season that had the Cubbies thinking of post-season play turned into a disaster as the North Siders finished 20 games under .500 despite pulling out all the stops in trading for Matt Garza and sign hard hitting Carlos Pena to man first base. Unfortunately for the Cubs, things just didn’t work out and the team appear to be a long way off being serious contenders with a roster that is average at best. Their efforts, of course, are hindered by being in the NL Central with the likes of defending World Series champs St.Louis and a decent Milwaukee side to contend with.

Carlos Zambrano, predictably, exploded during the season and the Cubs were somewhat fortunate to be able to ship him out of town, with fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen taking him to Miami. With that circus gone, expect the clubhouse to a somewhat more peaceful place. Positives were few and far between last year, but Starlin Castro’s quick rise has the Cubbies faithful rubbing their hands with glee.  Soriano and Pena, despite sharing over 50 HRs were slight disappointments given the money thrown at them and Pena has since departed for greener pastures, as has third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who ended an eight and a half year run with the Cubs. On the pitching side, Matt Garza did impress but was the only starter with a sub 4.50 ERA. The rest of his rotation buddies will have to do a much better job in 2012 if they are to have any chance of making an impact in a tough NL Central.

IN : Alfredo Amezaga (INF – Miami), David DeJesus (OF – Oakland), Jason Jaramillo (C – Pittsburgh), Paul Maholm (SP – Pittsburgh), Joe Mather (OF – Colorado), Trever Miller (RP – Boston), Anthony Rizzo (INF – San Diego), Dave Sappelt (OF – Cincinnati), Andy Sonnanstine (SP – Tampa Bay), Ian Stewart (INF – Colorado), Matt Tolbert (INF – Minnesota), Chris Volstad (SP – Miami), Casey Weathers (RP – Colorado), Travis Wood (SP – Cincinnati)

OUT : Andrew Cashner (RP – San Diego), Tyler Colvin (OF – Colorado), John Grabow (RP – L.A. Dodgers), Koyie Hill (C – St.Louis), DJ LeMahieu (INF – Colorado), Sean Marshall (RP – Cincinnati), Lou Montanez (OF – Philadelphia), Ramon Ortiz (SP), Carlos Pena (INF – Tampa Bay), Aramis Ramirez (INF – Milwaukee), Brad Snyder (OF – Houston), Carlos Zambrano (SP – Miami)

Catchers : In Geovany Soto, the Cubs have an excellent catcher, despite the fact that he hasn’t as yet fulfilled the potential he showed earlier in his career. The 2008 NL Rookie of the Year batted just .228 last year and the Cubs will need him to repeat his ’08 form. Behind him, it’s arguably anybodies game. Jason Jaramillo has the best shot and the most experience, but he is a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, while both Wellington Castillo and Steve Clevenger are on the roster but have precious little experience in the big leagues.

Infielders : With the departures of Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena, the infield will have a different look about it in 2012. Ian Stewart arrived in a trade from Colorado and will take over from Ramirez at third but he struggled mightily last season, hitting just .156. The promising talent of Starlin Castro will man shortstop and he will be hoping to take another step forward in reaching his undoubted potential. Elsewhere in the infield, it really could be a case of whoever has the best Spring Training gets the job. Bryan LeHair and Darwin Barney are currently considered favourites for first and second respectively but both are relatively inexperienced and certainly aren’t immovable objects. Barney, though, did impress in his rookie campaign last year hitting .276. Former Minnesota utility man Matt Tolbert has a decent shot of a roster spot out of Spring Training, while Blake DeWitt adds a veteran presence that will come in handy in a young infield. Jeff Baker is another option. Alfredo Amezaga is a non-roster invitee and he, too, has bags of experience that new coach Dale Sveum may value highly, but he may prefer to go with youngsters such as Anthony Rizzo who hit .331 in Triple A last season while in the San Diego system, while Junior Lake and Josh Vitters are very much the final options on the roster and will be consider valuable game time in the Minors as their priorities this year.

Outfielders : This area seems set in stone with the expensive Alfonso Soriano in left, the athletic Marlon Byrd in centre and the new boy David DeJesus in right. The trio should provide a mixture of pop, speed and consistency as all three players bring something different to the plate. Soriano had his tenth consecutive 20 HR season last time out while Byrd is a defensive specialist that can hit for a decent average. Reed Johnson provides the experience off the bench in the outfield. The 35 year old hit .309 in his debut Wrigley season last year. Diminutive Tony Campana, Matthew Szczur and Dave Sappelt are all options, but Campana has the upper hand in the battle for an Opening Day roster spot, while Joe Mather is an intriguing Spring Training invite and offers the experience that the trio lack.

Starting Pitchers : The starting rotation has a new look to it with Matt Garza and innings eater Ryan Demptser the only returning starters that have guaranteed spots in the rotation. Garza was far and away the best Cubs starter last year, with an ERA fully 1.48 better than any other starter. Behind the duo there are seven experienced pitchers vying for three spots that will make for a tasty Spring Training battle. Returning from last season are Randy Wells who went 7-6 with a 4.99 ERA in his 23 starts, and Casey Coleman who struggled after a decent showing in limited action the previous year. In come experienced pros like Chris Volstad, Andy Sonnanstine and Paul Maholm, yet neither option can be considered greater than a back-end of the rotation pitcher. Volstad entered the league with a great deal of expectation that hasn’t been met, while Maholm is coming off his best season yet, a 3.66 ERA effort in Pittsburgh. Ex-Reds starter Travis Wood is another one to add to the mix. If nothing else, the Cubs have a vast number of experienced starters to call upon. 36 year old Rodrigo Lopez who went 6-6 last year in 16 starts is a non-roster invite and will do well to make the roster.

Relief Pitchers : There is a bit more stability to the bullpen than there is to the starting rotation, with Carlos Marmol expected to retain the closing role despite enduring his worst season since reverting to a full-time relief pitcher. He recorded an ERA north of 4.00 for the first time in his career. Sean Marshall was the most impressive part of the bullpen last year but he departed for pastures new in Cincinnati in the trade for Wood and Sappelt. Prodigal son Kerry Wood returned last year and renewed his contract. The one time phenom has become a solid bullpen option, while Jeff Samardzija made the Opening Day roster for the first time an went 8-4 with a 2.97 ERA. Should Marmol slip up, he appears the best man for the job. Those three will be relied on heavily, because after that, it gets pretty messy. Although the Cubbies version of Chris Carpenter did impress in limited action last year, James Russell and Marcos Mateo combined to go 2-8 with a 4.17 ERA. Both players will be looked on to play key roles and will need to improve. Trever Miller is a new signing that will be looking to bounceback following a rough year in Boston, while John Gaub and Scott Maine are a couple of lefties with limited experience, pitching just 2.2 and 7.0 innings respectively last year. Rafael Dolis is in with a shout of a roster spot. The youngster pitched a hitless 1.1 innings in his sole Major League appearance last season and Casey Weathers arrived in the trade that also saw Ian Stewart arrive at Wrigley Field but has yet to sample the big leagues.

PREDICTION : The Cubs simply aren’t a great team right now. Garza is a decent pitcher but the rest of the rotation is essentially made up of fourth and fifth place starters. The line-up has some potential, but not enough to warrant serious consideration for a play-off spot, especially in a division that includes the Cards and the Brew Crew. Fifth place.