(CBS) — The World Series victory of last November is now history. If you want to relive the thrill of victory, walk over to the new office building next to the Wrigley Field and look for the championship trophy case.
The 2017 Chicago Cubs begin anew with many old faces that celebrated their first championship in 108 years on Nov. 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. But also some new ones.
Let’s take a good look at Manager Joe Maddon’s group for this season.
STARTING PITCHING
The Cubs return with four of their five outstanding rotation pitchers from last season.
Jon Lester is the ace. He had probably his best season ever in 2016. Picking up where he left off, a 19-5 season would be welcomed by one and all. Lester had the second lowest ERA in baseball (2.44). Lester is ready to move on from the era of now-retired catcher David Ross. The 33-year-old pitcher worked well with catcher Willson Contreras all spring training long.
Jake Arrieta is competing for his team, pride and a huge free-agent payday. The 31-year-old veteran won 18 games and has won more than any pitcher in baseball over the last two seasons (40). The pitcher wants to cut down on his bases on balls (76) that marred an otherwise awesome year.
John Lackey will assume the number-three slot in the rotation. The 38-year-old hurler had a much better 2016 than the numbers suggest. He led the National League in innings pitched before injuring his shoulder warming up for an aborted relief appearance. Lackey brings that soldier-of-fortune mentality to each outing.
Newcomer Brett Anderson should be a great addition when he takes the ball in Game No. 4. A ground ball pitching machine, the only question is whether he can he stay healthy. Anderson has a self-deprecating way about him. “I have been here six weeks and I don’t hate anyone yet,” he said last week in Arizona.
The major-league ERA leader, Kyle Hendricks, is your No. 5 starter. Yes, that is correct. Sixteen wins and an ERA title gets you the last post in the five-spoke pitching wheel. This positioning should change as the season progresses. Don’t expect the Cubs to skip their number-five man.
BULLPEN
Let us begin with Wade Davis, starting his Chicago Cub career as the new closer. Replacing Aroldis Chapman is no easy assignment. Don’t underestimate Davis, though. He has four quality pitches and left spring training throwing 95 mph-plus at times. He had some command issues that should be watched. He appears injury-free after two forearm injuries in 2016. Davis can be unhittable at his peak of performance. Maddon says he will not pitch him more than two or three games straight.
Among several setup men are Pedro Strop, Kenji Uehara, Hector Rondon, Carl Edwards, Justin Grimm and Mike Mongomery.
Maddon will have only seven bullpen guys to start the season. One lefty seems light. Uehara is a reverse-split guy. Left- handed hitters only bat .180 against the 42-year-old pitcher. Look for Edwards to be closing games at some later point of the season.
CATCHERS
There are 2 ½ receivers here. Contreras and Miguel Montero are 1 and 2. Left-fielder Kyle Schwarber is the third man when he sporadically starts or comes in after a double switch.
Contreras could be an All-Star in a short period of time. He has improved greatly in his catching metrics. Contreras has an arm is as good as any in the game. He is a scary hitter. He was driving the ball 420 feet in spring training the opposite way on pitches away.
People may be surprised to see a healthy Montero playing much better in 2017. He was able to work out without back trouble in the offseason. Schwarber will be prepared to catch when called upon.
INFIELD
The Cubs return with the All-Star infield from 2016. Anthony Rizzo, the longest-tenured Chicago Cub, is prepared for a monster season. The fun-loving first baseman looks to be in his best condition ever. This man is a workout machine. His numbers improved, due to more off days.
MVP third baseman Kris Bryant and Javier Baez will back up Rizzo. The two-headed monster of Baez and seasoned veteran Ben Zobrist will both play second base. Baez will move around the infield a lot. He is such a weapon at second that Maddon will want him in games late to protect leads. His offense is almost star-caliber now. Zobrist, with a little less playing time, will be even more effective. The man rarely swings at a bad pitch.
Shortstop Addison Russell could be the team’s next MVP candidate. Do not laugh. He is very capable of 30 long balls and 100-plus RBI. His defense is the best in the league. At 23, Russell is a budding superstar.
Bryant has warned he wants to be “better” this season – better than the 39 HR’s and 101 RBI and 121 runs scored in 2016. He told me he wants to hit the ball hard to the opposite field in 2017. Lost in the MVP talk was the fact Bryant was above-average at three different defensive positions. Where do we find more of this type of man?
OUTFIELD
Two new starting outfielders join gold glove right-fielder Jason Heyward. Schwarber returns after missing 158 regular season games. He has made great strides in his route-running this spring. He has a strong, accurate arm. That said, his release of the ball in different parts of the field needs work. He will learn to use leverage and fewer steps as the season progresses.
The center field spot will be a platoon, with vet Jon Jay and Albert Almora. Almora is one of the better pure outfielders in the system. He has surprising power. Maddon would love to see the former No. 1 pick win the job outright by October.
Jay is a capable defender at all three positions and a professional hitter. Heyward is the best right-fielder in the game on defense. His offense has a great chance to be better. He was driving balls hard to all fields this spring. Repeating his mechanics has been a problem for this affable and hard-working player. If he hits .275, the power numbers will improve dramatically. He should slug for a much higher number.
BENCH
Tommy La Stella, on certain days, will be Maddon’s only left-handed bat off of the bench (when right-handers start and Montero and Jay are in the lineup). Versatile outfielder Matt Szczur made the club. He proved to be a nice pinch-hitting weapon in the first half of 2016. Having either Baez or Zobrist on the bench makes the Cubs the deepest team in baseball.
There it is. Enjoy watching a World Series championship team try and repeat.
from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2olhawF
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