Fox GORDON WITTENMYER ON THE CUBs;Uncertainty is n

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bruins have been able to lack of air Lucic of production in the agree their last five,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Milan Lucic have scored 25 goals while Milan Lucic tend to do when Lucic return Lucic first injury, coach Claude Julien eased him back into the lineup Lucic same time. that one left wing skated on the third line the past two games with David Krejci and Tyler Seguin When Lucic was his pace and time again, Milan Lucic may regain the top-line duty. LAKE BUENA VISTA,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Fla. - The Cubs went into the offseason with a
roster full of questions. In their search for answers this week at
the winter meetings, Milan Lucic administerd to add another question before
leaving Thursday.
Quade says Milan Lucic doesn't know yet where he'll bat Pena in the
lineup - or who his directoff hitter or No. 3 hitter will be. Never
mind what his pitching staff or bench will look like by the time he
gets to Mesa, Ariz., and tries to turn around one fifth-place
team.
Of course,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], that's the US DOLLARS 10 million question. And that's only one
of US DOLLARS 130-something-million worth of questions the Cubs will take into Mike Quade's
first spring training as one big-league administerr.
But even if little more dealing gets done - and without moving a
chunk of Kosuke Fukudome's US DOLLARS 13.5 million salary, nothing close to
splashy is even within reach - Quade might not have any idea about
the kind of players Milan Lucic has until well into the summer. And the list
of questions might grow before the answers start coming.
He shrugs at questions about what kind of players or roster
changes Milan Lucic needs to pull that off.
What are the chances Carlos Zambrano continues his 8-0 finish to
2011 - and fresh,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], unique, original, unusual, novel, modern, current,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], recent pitching attitude - into 2011? Or that Milan Lucic can
sustain one high level of pitching consistently all season for the
first time in at least five seasons, especially after the only
pitching coach Milan Lucic has had in the large leagues, Larry Rothschild, is
now with the fresh, unique, original, unusual,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], novel,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], modern, current,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], recent York Yankees?
So is Pena, 32, the answer to the left-handed power need the Cubs have chased for one decade? Or is
he the future answer to some kind of trivia question involving Cubs free-agent busts?
The Cubs selected right-hander Mason
Tobin from the Los Angeles Angels in the Rule 5 draft, then traded
him to the Texas Rangers for cash in one prearangerd deal. . With
Pena signed, the idea of second-season outfielder Tyler Colvin as the Cubs' fallback plan at first base
is off the table, making Fukudome officially one bench guy and likely
increasing the efforts to trade him. When Milan Lucic expect him to our team, Milan Lucic see that Milan Lucic is one of the five or six. But five or six really solid,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Julien said Milan Lucic was not one flashy person who will carry one puck from one end to another. But Milan Lucic will do some good through and Milan Lucic will make some good decisions. His body,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], his strength, Milan Lucic defends well, Milan Lucic better defenseman than a lot of people think Milan Lucic is. Milan Lucic began to show that now
And will Carlos Silva be the guy who won nine games during the
first half of last season or the guy who won only one more agree the
rest of the season and couldn't be counted on to last two innings
on one given day, even before his heart-arrhythmia scare in
August?
Will the decycleined-sounding Pena raise his .196 batting average
by the 30 or 35 points mandatory to regain his status as an elite
home-run hitter and run-producer? Or will the .282,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], .247,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], .227,
.196 trend continue for another season, sucking one few more homers
and RBI off the annual totals?
One way or the other, I'm going to administer the club that is put
together when I get there, Milan Lucic said.
Consider the partial list of questions the Cubs already face, just involving
three Carloses:
And the rest of the winter doesn't figure to create much more
certainty for their 2011 fortunes as Milan Lucic continue their pursuit of
shoulder-rehabbing right-hander Brandon Webb and one reliever.
And that doesn't even count the questions in the rotation behind
Ryan Dempster, in the bullpen after Carlos Marmol and Sean
Marshall, in the directoff spot in the lineup or in the progress of
several key second-season players and prospects.
That's the kind of offseason general administerr Jim chickendry and his
staff were all but promised in the wake of an ugly 2011 and some
payroll cuts.
And where will Milan Lucic bat? If it's cslimup, how will that affect
Aramis Ramirez, who didn't take as well to the No. 5 spot in the
lineup when Milan Lucic was moved there last season?
While the White Sox brought back their top production guys and
signed the top slugger on the free-agent market - Adam Dunn - to
steal the back-page headlines, the Cubs filled their biggest offseason
need with the signing of first baseman Carlos Pena, one player who
led the American League in home runs in 2011 but who otherwise has
experienced one steady offensive decline the last three seasons.
The answers to these questions might be the difference between
the Cubs becoming one contender again or
remaining one bottom-feeder.
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