It’s hard to find a Cub who won’t be under the microscope this spring, the first small steps of the post-Sosa era.
The Cubs remained in the headlines all off-season, from the end of the line for Steve Stone to the revelation that Sammy Sosa’s boom box had been destroyed to the stealth courtship of Carlos Beltran to the wrongful-termination suit filed by a former trainer to the unloading of Sosa and to last call for Kyle Farnsworth.
But now, with spring training approaching, here are five people on the spot:
Dusty Baker: The manager vowed to be less controversial in 2005, promising to tone down his comments to the media.
“I have my own opinions on things,” Baker said. “But it seems like whenever I state them, I get in trouble. So this year, I’m on the down low.”
A seemingly innocuous remark last summer that Sosa was “sensitive” inadvertently set off a slow-burning fuse that exploded on Baker the final day of the 2004 season. Its effects have lingered all off-season.
“I don’t feel like Dusty has blamed him for our failures,” general manager Jim Hendry said in October. “I don’t feel Dusty was finger-pointing anybody. We all feel responsible . . . “
Baker left Chicago feeling blindsided by the Sosa and Stone controversies, and he returns with no Sosa, no Stone and a new “no worries” mantra. How Baker will maintain a worry-free attitude in a worrywart town like Chicago should make for interesting viewing.
Kerry Wood: Dueling injuries limited Wood and Mark Prior to a combined 43 starts last season, yet the Cubs still wound up leading the National League in strikeouts and fewest hits allowed while ranking third in ERA. If Wood and Prior revert to 2003 form, the Cubs could have the most effective pitching staff in the league.
Prior finished strong in 2004, but Wood was a combined 3-5 over the final two months, with a 4.46 ERA. It was a typical case of “good Wood, bad Wood,” as he allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 22 starts.
Whether he likes it or not, with Sosa gone, this is now his clubhouse. Hailing from the Mark Grace school of leadership, he’s likely to bring a more professional, less adversarial atmosphere to the clubhouse.
More important to Wood will be staying healthy and chalking up victories. Winning 20 games should be an annual goal with his talent.
Jeromy Burnitz: Asked if he felt he would have a difficult time replacing Sosa in the hearts and minds of Cubs fans, Burnitz replied: “Of course the fans are going to love me. They don’t even care if you strike out if the team’s winning.”
Spoken like a man who didn’t follow the 2004 Cubs.
Even when they were winning ugly, several players spent time on the “booing optional” list at Wrigley Field last year. On the final day, recall, the biggest fan ovation went to Stone.
Burnitz is an unknown quantity because he played at the performance-enhancing Coors Field last year. The Rockies declined a $3 million mutual option on Burnitz, even though he hit 37 home runs, drove in 110 runs and finished with a .559 slugging percentage. Burnitz then waited the entire off-season to sign a one-year, $4 million deal with the Cubs.
Something doesn’t add up.
Still, the Cubs haven’t had a left-handed hitter lead the team in homers since Leon Durham’s 22 in 1982, and Burnitz could give them the power lift they sorely lack from the left side.
Nomar Garciaparra: The hard-hitting shortstop spent the last two months of the 2004 season trying to acclimate himself to Chicago, shake off a slow-healing Achilles’ tendon injury and re-establish his reputation after a stormy year in Boston.
Now that he’s apparently healthy and feels comfortable in blue pinstripes and new surroundings, Garciaparra is being asked to lead the Cubs to the World Series.
He proved it wasn’t just lip service at the end of 2004 when he said he wanted to remain a Cub. He signed a one-year deal with an $8 million base and incentives. He will get $400,000 for every five-game increment from 130 to 150 games played, $500,000 if he reaches 535 plate appearances and another $500,000 for 550 plate appearances.
The question is not whether Garciaparra still can hit, but whether he still can hit for power. Last year he hit nine home runs in 321 at-bats, an average of one for every 36 at-bats. In his six healthy seasons (1997-2000, 2002-03), he averaged one homer every 22 at-bats.
Ryan Dempster: Dempster often refers to himself as “goofy,” “crazy” and “mentally unstable,” which would seem to be three necessary ingredients for a modern-day closer. He will enter spring as the closer du jour, but could move back to a setup role if the Cubs acquire an experienced closer like Ugueth Urbina or Octavio Dotel.
“If he’s closing on Opening Day, he didn’t get it by default,” Hendry said last month.
Dempster was throwing in the middle to upper 90s after his return from Tommy John surgery last year. He also has a sharp slider. Because he never has been a closer on a regular basis, however, no one knows how he will fare. LaTroy Hawkins was very successful as a setup man last year but was also inconsistent as a closer, blowing eight of his 12 one-run save chances.
As much as Dempster or Hawkins, Hendry is on the spot on this one.
