Cubs aim for playoffs in '96

Chicago, IL -

Hey Cub Fans, you still feeling down on last year? Well, put all that behind you, 1996 is a new season and one you should definitely feel excited about. I know we say that every year but this one is different!! I know we also say we say that this year is different but we really really mean it this time.

Lets meet your 1996 Cubbies. You'll see mostly familiar faces but some new ones as well.

Our starting rotation will consist of two newcomers:

Greg Maddux (7 ER in 20 innings of work this spring and only 3 walks)
Frank Castillo (A horrid spring training)
Sean Bergman (If you take out his first start, he gave up 1 run in 16 innings of work this spring)
Steve Trachsel (Need him to match last years numbers)
Allen Watson (Another newcomer who is looking to unseat Moyer as our #5 in the rotation, was 3-0 this spring)

After a quick glance, our pitching staff could be very good or very bad. We've got two newcomers with Bergman and Watson who both pitched quite horribly last season but for teams that were borderline average teams. Being on a winning team might change their mindset and look to prove people wrong. Bergman had a fantastic spring as mentioned earlier and if we can get that same production out of him all season he will easily unseat Castillo has the #2 in our rotation. Watson will have to work hard to keep his spot in the rotation with veteran Jamie Moyer working his butt off to get back into the rotation instead of being used as a long reliever.

The top bullpen of last year comes back in full force. The addition of Moyer should strengthen the middle innings and Bottalico will get a shot to revitilize his career in Chicago. He had a solid spring only giving up a few runs in the last ten outings (13 innings). Rookie, Brooks Kieschnik will provide some cleanup work as well. Then the setup men and closer will likely remain the same with the possibility of switching Terry Adams and Slocumb around. They both had phenominal seasons last year and will each have a shot at being a closer this year. Adams has worked a better spring than Slocumb so the nod may go to him early on but the decision has yet to be made!

Our lineup consists of two new starters and hopefully two HEALTHY players from last year who were injured for nearly the last two months of the season.

CF Dave Martinez will be the leadoff hitter based on not being caught stealing so many times. The not-so-good fake priate, Quilvio Veras will bat second. 2B Veras was one of the players last season who was hurt towards the end. His phenominal OBP will be a big help for the middle of the order. If he can reproduce last season's numbers and maybe improve on his base stealing, DMart and Veras will be a nightmare for opposing pitchers when they get on base. 1B Mark Grace will be hitting in the 3 spot to start the year. He had a fantastic spring training hitting 8 dongs.

The other guy who was hurt for the last part of the season, RF Dante Bichette, has been tearing the cover off the ball this spring as well. He hit 9 homers and will be batting cleanup for the Chicago Cubs this season. It would not surprise me at all if he ended up hitting 40 homers this year and propelling this Cubs team into a 100-win team.

But in order for that to happen, we'll have to get some good production out of the 5 spot and that will be filled by left fielders Mark Sweeney and Jerome Walton. These two will platoon for the first month or two and let the two battle it out. My not-so-greatly-valued opinion will be that Sweeney wins the job and gets to face lefties on regular occassions as well. Following them will be the Cubs #2 prospect (behind Aaron Rowand), 3rd Baseman, Mike Lowell. Lowell had a decent spring but still room for some more power numbers once he gets more comfortable at the plate. He plays fantastic defense at third and that will give us one of the best defenses on the left side of the infield.

Newly signed free agent, catcher Dan Wilson will bat 7th in front of under-appreciated Rey Sanchez. Sanchez provides one of the best gloves in baseball on short stop. His .289 batting average is nothing to laugh at but his slugging (.364) is. He gets so little respect among the media that he's not even listed in the "Positional Strength Overview By Positions" report. Trip Crommer, Manny Alexander, Noberto Martin, Jeff Blauser to name a few are all listed ahead of the Cubs... I'll take Rey Sanchez, who committed only 11 errors last year. The Cubs don't have to actively seek a replacement but if one fell into their laps, I'm sure they'd consider upgrading.

My prediction for the Cubs this year? Playoffs. 94 wins. If Bichette can regain his power numbers that everyone knows he's capable of then that might generate a few more wins for the Cubbies. World Series? We'll see.