Since I will be attending my first Cubs game of the year today, let’s take a look at their roster and how they’ve performed in games I’ve attended up to now.
Starting Pitchers
| Name | Games | Wins | Losses | ERA | Saves | Ks | Walks |
| Andrew Cashner | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3.86 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ryan Dempster | 69 | 13 | 9 | 4.00 | 14 | 136 | 80 |
| Matt Garza | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7.50 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Randy Wells | 10 | 2 | 4 | 3.10 | 0 | 49 | 17 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 60 | 20 | 15 | 4.09 | 0 | 283 | 146 |
Zambrano and Dempster are the deans of the staff. Garza comes over from the AL, where I’ve only seen him once (08 ALDS, I believe). Wells hopes to bounce back from a disappointing sophmore season. Cashner moves to the rotation after mostly coming out of the bullpen last year.
Relief Pitchers
| Name | Games | Wins | Losses | ERA | Saves | Ks | Walks |
| John Grabow | 13 | 1 | 0 | 4.66 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| Carlos Marmol | 69 | 5 | 3 | 2.75 | 3 | 101 | 45 |
| Sean Marshall | 39 | 7 | 11 | 4.40 | 0 | 71 | 33 |
| Marcos Mateo | 0 | 0 | 0 | —— | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Russell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.45 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3.37 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Kerry Wood | 55 | 10 | 12 | 3.80 | 11 | 217 | 109 |
John Grabow is basically a LOOGY. Marmol set a record for highest K/9 last year, but still walks way too many people. Marshall could probably be a 3-5 starter somewhere, but just never got the chance here. Marcos Mateo, welcome to the show. Nothing to say about Russell. Samardzija might have made a poor career choice. Kerry Wood turned down bigger offers to come back to the Northside.
Catchers
| Name | Games | Average | RBI | Walks | Ks | 2B | 3B | HR | SB |
| Koyie Hill | 26 | 0.222 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Geovany Soto | 80 | 0.305 | 40 | 38 | 63 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Soto had a bit of a bounce back year last year, and has been strong when I’ve been there. Hill is a backup who really provides little offense.
Infielders
| Name | Games | Average | RBI | Walks | Ks | 2B | 3B | HR | SB |
| Jeff Baker | 19 | 0.302 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Darwin Barney | 0 | —– | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Starlin Castro | 10 | 0.313 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake DeWitt | 8 | 0.185 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Pena | 9 | 0.379 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 226 | 0.274 | 155 | 76 | 132 | 51 | 4 | 40 | 1 |
Ramirez has become the elder statesman of the infield. Pena is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing season with Tampa Bay. DeWitt played himself out of a starting job in spring training and has shown nothing when I’ve been in attendance. Castro had a strong rookie season at the plate. Jeff Baker injured himself attempting to light his farts on fire last year. Barney came up long after I stopped going to games last year.
Outfielders
| Name | Games | Average | RBI | Walks | Ks | 2B | 3B | HR | SB |
| Marlon Byrd | 22 | 0.259 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Tyler Colvin | 16 | 0.172 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kosuke Fukudome | 74 | 0.258 | 20 | 34 | 49 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Reed Johnson | 39 | 0.280 | 23 | 3 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 116 | 0.279 | 48 | 30 | 107 | 27 | 1 | 17 | 11 |
Byrd started off strong, but faded down the stretch and has faced scutiny for his BALCO connections. Colvin was in the midst of a decent rookie season when he got stabbed in the heart by a bat shard. Fukudome has been a bust and finishes out his contract. Johnson is fine for what he is. Soriano has not come close to what the Cubs thought they were getting and still has 5? years left on his deal.