Cubs camp report
TAMPA, Fla. -- Five things to know about the Cubs:
1. The Cubs are bound and determined that the Doomsday Twins, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, aren't going to keep them paralyzed this season. Yes, the Cubs will be better if both Wood and Prior can regain their footing and contribute. But GM Jim Hendry has slotted Wood in the bullpen (the thinking is he has a better chance of staying healthy there) and Hendry has collected several starters so Prior isn't a point of emphasis. Wood, though, already has missed a couple of days when he bruised himself slipping after emerging from a hot tub and now is sidelined again with a sore triceps. "If it's a few days, it's not a problem," pitching coach Larry Rothschild says. "If it's a week to 10 days, it becomes an issue getting him ready for the season."
2. Though Matt Murton, Alfonso Soriano and Jacque Jones make up the outfield, expect to see Cliff Floyd's bat in the lineup plenty. The oft-injured Floyd, a longtime favorite of Hendry's, will be something of an ongoing pet project for the Cubs. "What we have to do with Cliff is get him some at-bats, keep him healthy and not overuse him," manager Lou Piniella says. "Because we want to keep him healthy all summer."
3. The Cubs paid $40 million over four years for left-handed starter Ted Lilly not because he's a big winner -- he's only 59-58 over his six-year career -- but because he's an innings-eater. Even at that, though, Lilly's career-high is 197 1/3 innings-pitched, accomplished in Toronto in 2004. "To be honest, I feel like I haven't done nearly what I expect out of myself," Lilly says. "I've yet to pitch 200 innings in a season in my career. I think about that. It's something that's important to me. I'd like to be able to do that and take some of the load off of our bullpen."
4. Lefty Rich Hill, expected to be the No. 4 starter, went 7-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 15 starts for Triple-A Iowa last summer but 6-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 17 appearances -- 16 starts -- for the Cubs. Meanwhile, while Wade Miller leads the race for the fifth starter job, Piniella says right-hander Angel Guzman is "throwing as well as anybody in camp." Is that partly designed as positive reinforcement for the kid? Guzman was 0-6 with a 7.39 ERA in 15 appearances -- 10 starts -- for the Cubs last year.
5. While the Cubs have some serious pieces in their lineup -- Soriano, a healthy Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez -- they remain mostly a collection of free swingers. Translated: Opposing pitchers can find holes to pitch to. The Cubs last season ranked last in the NL in on-base percentage (.319), last in walks (395) and 15th in runs scored (716). While Soriano's bat is a welcome addition (46 homers, 95 RBI in Washington last year), the Cubs also will welcome his on-base percentage from last season (.351) as opposed to his on-base percentage in Texas in '05 (.309).
