ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Chicago Cubs preview

MLB

  Scores
  Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  Minor Leagues
  MLB en español

Sport Sections

  MLB
    Scores | GameCast
  NFL
    Scores
  Col. Football
    Scores
  NBA
    Scores
  Golf
    Scores
  Golf
    Scores
  Motorsports
  Soccer
  Boxing
  NHL
  M Col. BB
  W Col. BB
  WNBA
  Horse Racing
  Recruiting
  Sports Business
  College Sports
  Olympic Sports
  Action Sports
  ESPNdeportes
  ProRodeo

Thursday, April 5
Chicago Cubs preview

ESPN.com

POWER RANKINGS


	The Cubs need an entire season from Kerry Wood, who struck out 132 in 137 IP last season.

Strength of schedule
.499, 7th in NL
Lineup ranking
14th in NL
Pitching ranking
14th in NL
Prediction
5th in NL Central

The lowdown
2000 record: 65-97 (6th in NL Central)
Runs scored: 764, 11th in NL
Runs allowed: 904, 15th in NL

Three key issues for 2001
1. Kerry Wood's right arm. Will it hold up over 30+ plus outings and can Don Baylor refrain from abusing it?

2. Is Tom Gordon healthy as the closer and who backs him up in the bullpen?

3. If they're 20 games out in July, do top prospects Corey Patterson and Hee Seop Choi get recalled from the minors?

Three key facts
1. The Cubs finished last for the third time in four seasons and lost 95-plus games in consecutive seasons for the first time in team history.

2. Sammy Sosa has 179 homers the last three seasons, and last season had a career-high .320 batting average and walked a career-best 91 times.

3. Ricky Gutierrez provided unexpected stability at shortstop, achieving career bests in homers (11) and RBI (56) and leading the majors with 16 sacrifice bunts.

RETURNING 2000 STATISTICAL LEADERS

AVG	S. Sosa	.320
HR	S. Sosa	50
RBI	S. Sosa	138
RUN	S. Sosa	106
SB	E. Young	54
WIN	J. Lieber	12
SV	R. Aguilera	29
ERA	J. Lieber	4.41
Complete 2000 Statistics: Batting \| Pitching

Dave Campbell's scenarios
Best case: Central's Ultimate Big Surprise.
Good farm system should be ready to produce, and Kerry Wood could be dynamite.

Worst case: Completely Useless By September.
Even with promising prospects, Cubs could still have a long way to go.

ESPN.com's lineup analysis
Player	Comment	Pos. rank*
E. Young, 2B	Underrated leadoff man still has great speed	9
B. Mueller, 3B	Great glove, draws walks, lacks 3B power	11
R. White, LF	He'll never be the big star many expected	12
S. Sosa, RF	Has averaged 399 total bases past three years	2
T. Hundley, C	Unfortunately, Joe Girardi also gets playing time here	7
M.Stairs, 1B	Looks like he belongs in the bleachers, not first base	15
T. Dunwoody, CF	Ouch. How long before Corey Patterson is ready?	16
R.Gutierrez, SS	Good hands, poor range, hit over his head in '00	8
ESPN.com's pitching staff analysis
K. Wood, RHP	Hoping the "K" carries a double meaning	21
J. Lieber, RHP	Led majors with 251 IP and 1047 batters faced	19
K. Tapani, RHP	ERA under 4.43 just once since 1993	53
J. Bere, RHP	Hasn't been good, durable or able to throw strikes	64
Middle relief	Kyle Farnsworth, please step up	15
T. Gordon, CL	They call him "Flash"; more like Flash in the pan	15

	Position average (NL rank):	9.88 (14th)
	Pitching index (NL rank):	14.00 (15th)

* Position rank, compiled by ESPN.com's baseball staff, compares each NL team's strength at that position, including platoons, based on players' total projected value (offense, defense, durability) for the 2001 season.

NL position players and bullpens ranked on a 1-16 basis, with 1 being best.
NL starting pitchers ranked on 1-64 basis, with 1 being best. Cumulative rankings of starting pitchers are combined with bullpen and closer for overall pitching index, with more weight given to starters.
In both rankings, 1.00 is the best possible score, 16.00 the worst.

Click here for position-by-position NL rankings.

Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories