Opening Day Roster

[MagicPunt]

Lineup:

CF Soriano
LF Murton
1B Lee
3B Ramirez
C Barret
RF Jones
2B DeRosa
SS Izturis
P

Bench:
IF/OF Ward
C Blanco
IF Cedeno
IF Theriot
OF Pagan

SP Zambrano
SP Lilly
SP Marquis
SP Prior
SP Hill

RP Howry
RP Eyre
RP Miller
RP Cotts
RP Novoa/Ohman
Setup Wood
Closer Dempster

Both Novoa and Ohman might make it if the Cubs decide to go with 13 pitchers and cut Cedeno/Theriot

[cubsrock]

Probly izturis will bat 2nd, and probly marquis will pitch last and prior will be 3rd (if he is in the rotation by then).

[crazyforbaseball]

I like Murton in the two hole much better than I do seeing Izturis.

[cubsrock]

I like Murton in the two hole much better than I do seeing Izturis.

I do to, but on mlb.com Pinella said that as of now he has Izturis batting 2nd.

[dcskater619]

I like Murton in the two hole much better than I do seeing Izturis.

I do to, but on mlb.com Pinella said that as of now he has Izturis batting 2nd.

I've read reports that Lou says DeRosa will be batting 2nd.. I'd rather see Murton 2nd and DeRosa 7th.. Also, Jacque will be batting 5th with Barrett 6th..

[dcskater619]

and mark my words, we will have the best bullpen in the NL..

[LukeW9027]

and mark my words, we will have the best bullpen in the NL..

wouldnt shock me one bit if wood takes over the closer role and stays healthy.

[Pogotheostrich]

and mark my words, we will have the best bullpen in the NL..

Better than the Mets? Not likely.

[EugeneStyles]

Oof, so now we got Floyd. It's probably a given that someone important will be injured for a while during the season, but what can we expect to see when everyone's healty?

Position players will be:
LF - Murton/Floyd
CF - Soriano/Jones/Theriot
RF - Floyd/Jones
1B - Lee
2B - DeRosa/Cedeno/Theriot
3B - Ramirez
SS - Izturis/Cedeno
C - Barrett/Blanco
IF/OF - Ward
OF - Pagan (will he even have a spot?)

You gotta figure that Murton will definitely play against lefties. But who plays right field against lefties? Jones and Floyd both bascially suck against them. Personally, I'd move Soriano to right as often as possible, since his defense is questionable, and he's got a great arm. Jacques Jones, on the other hand has a decent arm that is more suited to playing CF than RF. Of course, we're still trying not to play him against lefties, so give Theriot or Pagan the chance to play center on those days.

So I'd do this against lefties:

1. Murton LF
2. Soriano RF
3. Lee 1B
4. Ramirez 3B
5. Barrett C
6. DeRosa 2B
7. Pagan or Theriot CF
8. Izturis or Cedeno SS


And this against righties:
1. DeRosa or Theriot 2B
2. Soriano RF
3. Lee 1B
4. Ramirez 3B
5. Floyd LF
6. Barrett C
7. Jones CF
8. Izturis SS

Granted, it seems like the Cubs are all but decided that Soriano is going to play CF, but I don't like that idea. I do like Jacques Jones in CF when possible, as he has a good arm, but is not nearly accurate enough to get many outfield assists.

The main problem with this lineup is that Murton doesn't get a whole lot of playing time. On the other hand, I don't think he's that good. I think his primary advantage is a good OBP, which is a good reason to have him leadoff against lefties. Also, my lineup vs. righties starts with 4 straight right-handed hitters. But I just can't bear to think of Izturis hitting anywhere but 8th, and Floyd and Jones have to hit somewhere 5-7.

In truth, I think the actual Cubs lineup will probably look like this:

1. Soriano CF
2. DeRosa 2B vs. lefties, Izturis SS vs. righties.
3. Lee 1B
4. Ramirez 3B
5. Floyd RF
6. Barrett C
7. Murton or Jones LF
8. DeRosa 2B vs. righties, Izturis SS vs. lefties


With Murton getting the majority of the playing time at LF, and Jones occasionally filling in for Floyd in RF.

[ironman]

There's nothing that supports splitting Floyd and Murton between lefties and righties. Murton hit .296 against righties last season. Meanwhile Floyd has hit .277 against them the past 3 seasons, not to mention he's pretty much never healthy.

I see the opening day lineup as:

C - Barrett
1B - Lee
2B - DeRosa
SS - Izturis
3B - Ramirez
LF - Murton
CF - Soriano
RF - Jones

Then you have Blanco, Ward, Cedeno, Theriot, Floyd and Pagan. I would beg to guess that Pagan or Theriot will wind up in AAA to start the season. Cedeno has apparently been hitting well in Winter Ball.