The Bulls are, once again, unable to run 5 on 5 drills because they do not have enough healthy players. This is not good news as they are headed into the snot knocker portion of their schedule. The Hawks are worried that their kids might be fatigued after an Olympic tournament that saw the U.S. team go far deeper into the medal rounds than predicted and the Canadian team suffer through more drama than predicted. For the record, the U.S. were predicted to be knocked out in the first round and the Canadians were supposed to run away with this thing. The Fire are worried about all those new players coming in under a new coach. They need those guys to gel and gel quickly if they are going to get where they want to go. Keep in mind that they missed the championship round by one goal and fired their coach. This team is not about losing. The Sky are worried about rebounding after a dreadful season that saw them poised to go deep into the playoffs and instead they imploded at the end of the year and missed the whole party. The Red Stars are worried about competing at the pro level. In this, their second, season they feel that they have a lot to prove and that they have the players to prove it. The Bears aren’t worried at all, everything is sunshine and roses at Halas Hall, which is why Bears’ fans are slamming Prozac. And washing it down with bourbon.
And the Cubs and Sox? What are they worried about? A lot or a little, depending on your point of view. If you are a devotee of Baseball Prospectus, then both teams’ seasons are over before they begin with neither team even being given a 30% chance of making the playoffs. Of course, last year, BP had the Cubs winning almost 100 games and the Sox 10 games under .500. So much for the experts then.
From the teams’ points of view, they are limiting their worries to one position at a time. For the Cubs, it seems that they may not have to worry about the one position that has vexed them for years. Center field. GORDON WITTENMYER at the Sun Times takes some time out of his break-dancing lessons to fill us in.
Anyone who wonders how much agility stocky Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd has should have seen him after practice Monday, when he pulled off a break-dance spin move and leaped to his feet in one motion.
Wait till he adds a fly ball to the act.
‘’The reason people say I can’t play defense is because they haven’t watched me play and they see my size,’’ the 6-foot, 245-pound Byrd said.
But Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who had Byrd for three years with the Texas Rangers, believes Byrd was one of the top three defensive center fielders in the American League last season.
‘’Ask [Los Angeles Angels manager] Mike Scioscia, ask [Seattle Mariners manager Don] Wakamatsu, ask [Oakland Athletics manager Bob] Geren, ask [Rangers manager Ron Washington] if I can play center field,’’ Byrd said. ‘’Ask those guys that watched me play 19 times a year, or 162 times, and they’ll let you know.’’
Regardless of whether Byrd inspires visions of Gold Gloves, two things seem certain:
First, his addition improves the outfield—potentially dramatically—considering that Cubs center fielders ranked among the worst in the majors last season, according to various defensive formulas, and that Kosuke Fukudome will play his more natural position in right.
Second, Byrd’s style of play suggests he might be one of the more exciting Cubs center fielders in recent memory.
And not just because he plans to bring his break-dance moves to Wrigley Field.
More important, he’s moving from the American League West, which is full of large outfields, to the National League Central, which generally has smaller outfields, including Wrigley.
‘’Which means I get to play shallow,’’ he said, ‘’which is my forte.’’
I have never got why people say Byrd is a lousy fielder. He is around a .990 average as a fielder over his career and has had 2 errorless seasons. Cubs’ fans, despite what I read on their message boards, should be thrilled with this guy. He is a good bat, a great guy and a solid team player. Plus he can catch the ball. I am not sure what more you want out of that position.
On the South Side, they seem to be worried about John Danks not being at the same level as CC Sabathia. Well, I guess everyone needs something to worry about. JOE COWLEY, also at the Sun Times, dials up the 411.
It’s the one topic that gets pitching coach Don Cooper to go from chewing his gum to attacking it.
‘’Performance and consistency over years dictate for people in the media, people in fantasy leagues, fans, what number a pitcher is,’’ Cooper said Monday. ‘’Is this guy a No. 1? Is he a No. 3?’ I don’t put numbers on guys. I don’t. Doesn’t interest me; it’s not important to me.’’
The measuring stick for Cooper?
‘’I word it like upper-echelon pitchers,’’ Cooper said. ‘’What do upper-echelon pitchers do? What’s the common denominator? Innings, wins, hits to innings, walks to innings, going to the post every five days, going seven or eight innings deep every time.’’
That leaves left-hander John Danks on the outside looking in.
But, frankly, at 24, that’s a good thing.
‘’There’s plenty of room for me to improve. ... I surely hope there’s room for me to improve,’’ Danks said. ‘’I know I’m going to go out there and do what I can to improve.
‘’Who knows? But deep down, I think there’s plenty of room for improvement, and there will be improvement.’’
That’s what the White Sox are counting on. They like that Danks understands what it takes to be in the same conversation as a CC Sabathia or a Josh Beckett. Heck, for one night on Sept. 30, 2008, he even held upper echelon in his hand, throwing eight scoreless innings in the ‘’Blackout’’ play-in game against the Minnesota Twins.
As Danks enters his fourth season with the Sox, the hope is that taste will keep him hungry.
‘’He’s still trying to achieve that,’’ Cooper said. ‘’But this is only three years for [Danks]. I mean, to label a guy upper echelon ... unless you’re a special guy like a [Tim] Lincecum, I think that’s an earned thing over time. [Danks is] still in the process of earning that status.’’
Well, 2010 might be as good a year as any to make that jump.
Danks is one of those guys who seems to shine in big games and do okay the rest of the time. If he can get it in his head that they are all big games he could be a force to be reckoned with. Even so, I’d rather have him on my team than not.
There is one thing I do not have to worry about. I cancelled my Baseball Prospectus subscription years ago.