Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2014 17:18:52 GMT -5
As opening day 1955 approaches, the Chicago Cubs find themselves in a familiar spot, facing yet another losing season. Most pre-season pundits have picked the Cubs to finish last in the National League, behind even the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. Cubs GM Matt Andersen took over the reigns prior to the 1954 season and found a team much devoid of talent, outside of uber talented SS Ernie Banks, either on the major league roster, or in the minor league system. Andersen said then that the process would be long and painful, but in the long run it should allow the Cubs to compete on a yearly basis with home grown talent. Since then he's set out to stockpile as much young talent as he can all the while gutting a poor major league team. This offseason was no different.
Gone from the team since the end of last year? 1B-Dee Fondy, the Cubs most consistent bat the last few years, the Cubs two best starting pitchers, Paul Minner and Howie Pollett, as well as minor league OF Danny Morejon. In their place a number of fresh faces and more minor league depth. Here are the additions as we enter the season:
Via trade:
1B-Gordy Coleman
UT IF-Daryl Robertson
UT IF-Billy Gardner
UT IF Rudy Regalado
P-Jake Striker
P-Tom Cheney
P-Paul LaPalme
P-Curt Barclay
LaPalme and Gardner both look to start the season on the major league team, LaPalme as a lefty setup man with Gardner coming off the bench and probably getting a lot of AB's vs. lefties at 1B. Regalado could also see major league time this year but will start the year at AAA. The rest will most likely spend the year in the minor leagues.
"We like what we were able to add" said Andersen. "We project Cheney as a top of the rotation arm. LaPalme showed last year that he's very capable in that lefty setup role and we really needed left handed arms. Coleman has a lot of pop in his bat. Striker is another lefty that we think actually will fare well enough against righties that he may find a role in the rotation at some point. Both Gardner and Regalado can swing a good stick off the bench, and we're looking for the answer at 3B and they both have a chance. Robertson is more of a project. He has good speed, something we're trying to focus on, and has a lot of position flexibility. Barclay is coming off of injury, so we'll take it slow with him, but we think he can certainly be a middle of the rotation starter with some development."
The Cubs also signed a handful of free-agents, but nothing earth shattering. Ken Raffensberger was signed to a one year deal, coming off a season where he won 17 games with a 3.96 era, and the Cubs have already penciled him in as their opening day starter. At 37, he's clearly just a stopgap until the Cubs young arms start to arrive. Earl Harrist was also signed and he will join the bullpen in a middle relief role in an effort to improve what was an absolutely dreadful bullpen last year. He was able to post a 3.55 era for the White Sox last year. The Cubs also signed pitchers Lino Dinoso and Saul Rogovin and both will start the year in AAA. While Dave Hillman won the 4th starter spot based on his strong finish to last year, Rogovin would most likely be the first arm up if Hillman is unable to hang on to the roll. Dinoso gives the Cubs another lefty reliever and may be able to help at some point.
Somebody that will be an addition that was NOT a free agent is starting pitcher Fred Baczewski. Baczewski tore his elbow ligament on April 15 last year in his 4th start and missed the entire season. Baczewski was the Cubs top winner in 1954, winning 13 games, so he'll be a welcome addition.
When asked about whether he sees light at the end of the tunnel, Andersen said "We're definitely getting closer. Losing Fondy hurts, but Preston Ward has shown the ability to hit in AAA and it's time we give him a look. Fondy wasn't our long term answer and we have some great looking young 1B who are close, including this year's 1st round draft choice Norm Cash, who we envision as our cleanup hitter for a very long time. The bigger losses from a pure wins/losses standpoint is probably Minner and Pollett. They both were able to eat innings and give us quality starts. We've got a lot of young arms that are getting close, some we've developed, which I'm very proud of, and some we've acquired. I think over the next couple of years we'll start seeing some of those kids arrive and when we start hanging pennants, these tough years will just be a memory. Raffy is more than capable of picking up the slack, and hopefully getting Baczewski back will help. We've improved the bullpen, but everything would have to break just right for us to compete over the course of the entire season this year. I do think we're getting closer to being a .500 club. Maybe not this year, but next year I certainly think that's an attainable goal. I think by 57 we should have the pieces in place to give it a run, and hopefully by that point, we'll have built this thing to where we'll have continued success."
A few Cubs youngsters made an impression in camp, and most expect to at some point this season see the Cubs top pitching prospect, Joe Stanka make his debut. 25 year old Jim Brosnan was absolutely dominating this spring, and many expected him to make the trip North with the Cubs, but he struggled after being promoted to AAA last year and the Cubs want to see him have success there before promoting him. Most likely Brosnan will be up soon also. 1954 top draft pick George Altman absolutely demolished AA pitching last year and didn't slow down upon arriving in AAA. Cubs fans are clamoring for Big George to start with the big league club, but he also will start in AAA, although he may force the Cubs to promote him if he keeps hitting the way he has. The Cubs converted lefty Charlie Rabe to a reliever last year with very good results and have high hopes for him in the bullpen. Rabe could also see time along with OF Wayne Kirkland, a 21 year old OF with a good power/speed combination who held his own upon promotion to AAA last year.
One rookie who WILL make his debut in 55 is LF Bob "Hurricane" Hazle.
Hazle hit .314 in AAA last year and actually has 730 AAA AB's where he's hit .314 over the last year and a half. Last year he had 33 doubles and 13 HR's and he'll be the lefty part of a platoon this year in LF with Eric Rodin. "We really like the job Hazle has done for us at AAA and he really has nothing left to prove. We do think that eventually he'll be a 20+ HR hitter for us, but the power still has to develop. We're going to bat him 7th and try to keep the pressure off of him and just let him get acclimated to his surroundings. He's shown he can hit lefties all through the minor leagues and we think he'll be an every day starter for us down the road, but we want to give him every chance to succeed that we can, and Eric showed last year that he can really hit lefties, and defensively he gives us a great glove in left when he's in there."
The rest of the Cubs starters on offense look like this:
C- Carl Sawatski
1B-Preston Ward/Bruce Edwards/Billy Gardner
2B-Bob Serena
SS-Ernie Banks
3B-Randy Jackson
LF-Hazle/Rodin
CF-Johnny Groth
RF-Joe Collins/Bob Talbot
Banks will be looking to bounce back from a rough sophomore season, although he really heated up after the break ending up with at least respectable numbers. The Cubs still don't know what they have in Sawatski. After making overtures both of the last two off-seasons about potentially acquiring a catcher, they turn back to Swats once again. Sawatski was highly regarded throughout the minors but has shown little ability to hit major league pitching over the last two years. Jackson is in his walk year and has proven to be maddeningly inconsistent over the years. Both of the last two years he's started dreadfully slow only to lose his job, started hitting and then gotten it back. Groth is the elephant in the room under the Andersen regime. Signed to a 4.65 million 5 year deal after the 54 season, in which he won a gold glove in center, Groth has clearly taken steps backward. Andersen's logic was sound, sign a relatively young CF who plays good defense and won't hurt you with the stick to help the confidence of the young pitchers as they come up. In an offseason when Larry Doby got 25 million, Andersen felt like he got a relative bargain. Now one has to question whether Groth can even keep the job as the youngsters start to appear. Groth's bouncing back is a huge story to keep your eye on this year.
The starters are Raffensberger, McLish, Baczewski and Hillman with Klippstein, who Andersen signed to a very club friendly 4 year deal (1.75) back in the closers role, set up by 2nd year reliever Don Elston. LaPalme, Turk Lown, Cal Howe (L) and Harrist round out the bullpen.
Cub fans patience is wearing thin, but Andersen is confident that soon all of this will be a distant memory. And who knows? Maybe this years team will surprise some people. The present may look bleak, but the future certainly looks bright for Cubs fans.
Gone from the team since the end of last year? 1B-Dee Fondy, the Cubs most consistent bat the last few years, the Cubs two best starting pitchers, Paul Minner and Howie Pollett, as well as minor league OF Danny Morejon. In their place a number of fresh faces and more minor league depth. Here are the additions as we enter the season:
Via trade:
1B-Gordy Coleman
UT IF-Daryl Robertson
UT IF-Billy Gardner
UT IF Rudy Regalado
P-Jake Striker
P-Tom Cheney
P-Paul LaPalme
P-Curt Barclay
LaPalme and Gardner both look to start the season on the major league team, LaPalme as a lefty setup man with Gardner coming off the bench and probably getting a lot of AB's vs. lefties at 1B. Regalado could also see major league time this year but will start the year at AAA. The rest will most likely spend the year in the minor leagues.
"We like what we were able to add" said Andersen. "We project Cheney as a top of the rotation arm. LaPalme showed last year that he's very capable in that lefty setup role and we really needed left handed arms. Coleman has a lot of pop in his bat. Striker is another lefty that we think actually will fare well enough against righties that he may find a role in the rotation at some point. Both Gardner and Regalado can swing a good stick off the bench, and we're looking for the answer at 3B and they both have a chance. Robertson is more of a project. He has good speed, something we're trying to focus on, and has a lot of position flexibility. Barclay is coming off of injury, so we'll take it slow with him, but we think he can certainly be a middle of the rotation starter with some development."
The Cubs also signed a handful of free-agents, but nothing earth shattering. Ken Raffensberger was signed to a one year deal, coming off a season where he won 17 games with a 3.96 era, and the Cubs have already penciled him in as their opening day starter. At 37, he's clearly just a stopgap until the Cubs young arms start to arrive. Earl Harrist was also signed and he will join the bullpen in a middle relief role in an effort to improve what was an absolutely dreadful bullpen last year. He was able to post a 3.55 era for the White Sox last year. The Cubs also signed pitchers Lino Dinoso and Saul Rogovin and both will start the year in AAA. While Dave Hillman won the 4th starter spot based on his strong finish to last year, Rogovin would most likely be the first arm up if Hillman is unable to hang on to the roll. Dinoso gives the Cubs another lefty reliever and may be able to help at some point.
Somebody that will be an addition that was NOT a free agent is starting pitcher Fred Baczewski. Baczewski tore his elbow ligament on April 15 last year in his 4th start and missed the entire season. Baczewski was the Cubs top winner in 1954, winning 13 games, so he'll be a welcome addition.
When asked about whether he sees light at the end of the tunnel, Andersen said "We're definitely getting closer. Losing Fondy hurts, but Preston Ward has shown the ability to hit in AAA and it's time we give him a look. Fondy wasn't our long term answer and we have some great looking young 1B who are close, including this year's 1st round draft choice Norm Cash, who we envision as our cleanup hitter for a very long time. The bigger losses from a pure wins/losses standpoint is probably Minner and Pollett. They both were able to eat innings and give us quality starts. We've got a lot of young arms that are getting close, some we've developed, which I'm very proud of, and some we've acquired. I think over the next couple of years we'll start seeing some of those kids arrive and when we start hanging pennants, these tough years will just be a memory. Raffy is more than capable of picking up the slack, and hopefully getting Baczewski back will help. We've improved the bullpen, but everything would have to break just right for us to compete over the course of the entire season this year. I do think we're getting closer to being a .500 club. Maybe not this year, but next year I certainly think that's an attainable goal. I think by 57 we should have the pieces in place to give it a run, and hopefully by that point, we'll have built this thing to where we'll have continued success."
A few Cubs youngsters made an impression in camp, and most expect to at some point this season see the Cubs top pitching prospect, Joe Stanka make his debut. 25 year old Jim Brosnan was absolutely dominating this spring, and many expected him to make the trip North with the Cubs, but he struggled after being promoted to AAA last year and the Cubs want to see him have success there before promoting him. Most likely Brosnan will be up soon also. 1954 top draft pick George Altman absolutely demolished AA pitching last year and didn't slow down upon arriving in AAA. Cubs fans are clamoring for Big George to start with the big league club, but he also will start in AAA, although he may force the Cubs to promote him if he keeps hitting the way he has. The Cubs converted lefty Charlie Rabe to a reliever last year with very good results and have high hopes for him in the bullpen. Rabe could also see time along with OF Wayne Kirkland, a 21 year old OF with a good power/speed combination who held his own upon promotion to AAA last year.
One rookie who WILL make his debut in 55 is LF Bob "Hurricane" Hazle.
Hazle hit .314 in AAA last year and actually has 730 AAA AB's where he's hit .314 over the last year and a half. Last year he had 33 doubles and 13 HR's and he'll be the lefty part of a platoon this year in LF with Eric Rodin. "We really like the job Hazle has done for us at AAA and he really has nothing left to prove. We do think that eventually he'll be a 20+ HR hitter for us, but the power still has to develop. We're going to bat him 7th and try to keep the pressure off of him and just let him get acclimated to his surroundings. He's shown he can hit lefties all through the minor leagues and we think he'll be an every day starter for us down the road, but we want to give him every chance to succeed that we can, and Eric showed last year that he can really hit lefties, and defensively he gives us a great glove in left when he's in there."
The rest of the Cubs starters on offense look like this:
C- Carl Sawatski
1B-Preston Ward/Bruce Edwards/Billy Gardner
2B-Bob Serena
SS-Ernie Banks
3B-Randy Jackson
LF-Hazle/Rodin
CF-Johnny Groth
RF-Joe Collins/Bob Talbot
Banks will be looking to bounce back from a rough sophomore season, although he really heated up after the break ending up with at least respectable numbers. The Cubs still don't know what they have in Sawatski. After making overtures both of the last two off-seasons about potentially acquiring a catcher, they turn back to Swats once again. Sawatski was highly regarded throughout the minors but has shown little ability to hit major league pitching over the last two years. Jackson is in his walk year and has proven to be maddeningly inconsistent over the years. Both of the last two years he's started dreadfully slow only to lose his job, started hitting and then gotten it back. Groth is the elephant in the room under the Andersen regime. Signed to a 4.65 million 5 year deal after the 54 season, in which he won a gold glove in center, Groth has clearly taken steps backward. Andersen's logic was sound, sign a relatively young CF who plays good defense and won't hurt you with the stick to help the confidence of the young pitchers as they come up. In an offseason when Larry Doby got 25 million, Andersen felt like he got a relative bargain. Now one has to question whether Groth can even keep the job as the youngsters start to appear. Groth's bouncing back is a huge story to keep your eye on this year.
The starters are Raffensberger, McLish, Baczewski and Hillman with Klippstein, who Andersen signed to a very club friendly 4 year deal (1.75) back in the closers role, set up by 2nd year reliever Don Elston. LaPalme, Turk Lown, Cal Howe (L) and Harrist round out the bullpen.
Cub fans patience is wearing thin, but Andersen is confident that soon all of this will be a distant memory. And who knows? Maybe this years team will surprise some people. The present may look bleak, but the future certainly looks bright for Cubs fans.
