Hopefully this is diary worthy.  I saw it yesterday so let me know if there is already a discussion on this somewhere.

Link

Pitch counts: Piniella said he expects to break camp with 12 pitchers.

"We're playing a lot of games early in the year, we go to the [West] Coast where you're not going to get rained out," Piniella said of the Cubs' April schedule. "Also, I don't like the idea of whoever our fifth starter is to pitch all spring and then sit. We'll stay in rotation as much as possible when the season starts so everybody gets their innings in."

Still to be determined is who will be the long man in the 'pen. Left-hander Neal Cotts will be stretched out this spring. Someone asked if Mark Prior was a candidate for a relief role.

"I didn't say that," Piniella said. "We are going to have to find somebody who can go long. We need somebody out there who can pitch some innings out of the long spot. I don't know who that's going to be."

The article also has some tidbits on Marshall's progress, the possibility of DeRosa batting 2nd, some Floyd stuff, etc.  Murton, Colvin, Patterson, and Pagan were early arrivals to ST.

Link.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Government investigators are entitled to the names and urine samples of about 100 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for illegal drug use in 2003, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Just saw this on ESPNews, very interesting to say the least.  I know this isn't specifically about the Cubs but it might be a huge story if some names are leaked.

Link.

At the same time during a Friday press conference, the Astros also announced the signing of veteran right-hander Woody Williams, formerly of the Padres, to a two-year contract worth $12.5 million.

Not a bad signing.  Williams will fit in nicely at the back of the rotation and for just over six mil per season, he'll give you about league average production.

Link.

Hendry will try to bring in one or two front-line starters through free agency or via the Japanese market, but sources indicate the Cubs also may get involved in trade talks with the New York Mets in hopes of acquiring right-hander Aaron Heilman.

If the Cubs nab Heilman, he would be given a chance to earn the fifth starter's spot in spring training, along with veteran Wade Miller, whom the Cubs hope to re-sign. Mark Prior's uncertain status will force the Cubs to go to spring training with a surplus of starting pitching candidates.

I wouldn't give up too much for a guy like Heilman, but he could be a decent choice for a fifth starter.  He recently had surgery on his elbow, though.

According to Bruce Levine on ESPN 1000, Ramirez has opted out of his contract and filed for free agency.

I need some filler, so here is a quote by Dusty Baker to put a smile on your face.

Cubs manager Dusty Baker has some advice for young players who are encouraged by coaches and parents to wait out pitches and try to draw a walk: Swing away.

''It's like when I see kids in Little League, the small kid, and they make them go up there and try to get a walk,'' Baker said. ''It's not any fun. It's called hitting; it's not called walking. Have you ever seen like a Top 10 walking? The name of the game is to hit.''

''Walks help, but you aren't going to walk across the plate,'' Baker said. ''You've got to hit across the plate. Who has been champions quite a bit the last seven, eight years?''

Told the New York Yankees, Baker used them to prove his point.
''Now, have you ever heard the Yankees talk about on-base percentage and walks?'' he said.

Unfortunately, he wont be going to play there permanently.  He and other major leaguers will play in a five-game series againt Japan next month.

Link

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Chicago Cubs outfielder Jacque Jones became the 27th--and hopefully last--member of the major league squad named to play in a five-game series in Japan next month, organizers announced Saturday.

Jones, who previously came to Japan for a tour in 2002 while with the Minnesota Twins, replaces New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran. The left-handed hitting Jones batted .285 this season with 27 homers and 81 RBIs.

Since both the major league and Japan squads were first announced, there have been numerous withdrawals and changes, most notably at manager, with Bruce Bochy the third choice for the big leagues.

The major league team features 10 players selected for this year's All-Star Game, including AL batting champion Joe Mauer of the Twins.

Link

Now, before you gloss over it, please read their disclaimer.

Disclaimer:  ZiPS projections are computer-based projections of performance.  Performances have not been allocated to predicted playing time in the majors - many of the players listed above are unlikely to play in the majors at all in 2007.  
ZiPS is projecting equivalent production - a .240 ZiPS projection may end up being .280 in AAA or .300 in AA, for example.  Whether or not a player will play is one of many non-statistical factors one has to take into account when predicting
the future.

Now, some thoughts:

Lee (.299/.383/.567) and Ramirez (.296/.355/.559) seem extremely reasonable.  ZiPS is actually more optimistic when it comes to Lee than I am.

They give Murton a 15% chance at putting up a .315/.388/.515 line.  Freaking awsome.

One of Howry or Wuertz has to be our new closer next season.  ZiPS is really down on Aardsma and high on Dempster, which I found surprising.

Hill.  Ah, Rich Hill.  15% chance of doing this - 2.69 ERA/192 Innings/218 Ks

That last little bit completely floored me, to the extent that I was trying to find an excuse to post a Player Spotlight that didn't make me look like I was on crack.  Simply put, ZiPS likes Hill better than practically every other pitcher in baseball with minimal MLB experience.  The strides he's made in in the last year have turned his career around, as we saw after the All-Star break in the majors.  The turnaround from 2005 to 2006 in the minors was just as pronounced, as Hill went from allowing a home run every 6 innings to allowing a home run every 33 innings.

It's not full proof by any means, but it's pretty interesting to look at just the same.

Just for giggles, some of their 06 projections and what actually happened (I only included guys who stayed healthy)

Ramirez
ZiPS - .302/.359/.541
Actual - .291/.352/.561

Barrett
ZiPs -  .276/.342/.468
Actual - .307/.368/.517

Murton
ZiPs - .289/.350/.430
Actual -  .297/.365/.444

Zambrano
ZiPs - 3.40 ERA, 209 INN, 198 Ks
Actual - 3.41 ERA, 214 INN, 210 Ks

Maddux
ZiPs - 4.14 ERA, 215 INN, 129 Ks
Actual - 4.20 ERA, 210 INN, 117 KS

Pierre
ZiPS - .293/.346/.364, 198 H
Actual - .292/.330/.388, 204 H  

Link

With Piniella on board, Hendry will quickly try to furnish his superstar manager with a star-studded team. Sources said the Cubs have identified potential free agent Alfonso Soriano -- whom they view as a center fielder and leadoff hitter -- as their primary target in rebuilding a team for Piniella

The Cubs have also put power-hitting left fielder Carlos Lee, who has expressed a strong desire to make Wrigley his home, and right-handed pitcher Jason Schmidt on their winter wish list of free agents.

Good stuff.  They seem determined on getting Soriano, at least.  Though if the Cubs sign Carlos Lee I'll...I'll...well, I wont do anything.  But I'll be pissed.

ESPN 1000 is reporting that the Cubs have hired Lou Piniella. There will be a news conference tomorrow to make it official.  The same report says that Rothschild will be brought back, John McLaren will be the bench coach, and Mike Quade will be added to the coaching staff, as the hitting coach, I presume.

The Piniella deal is for three years.

Well, Piniella wasn't my first choice, but I'm not going to crucify him just yet.  For now, he's the Cubs manager so I wish him all the luck in the world.  He's going to need it.

PS - Screw you, Rothschild.

From Cubs.Com.

The Chicago Cubs' Derrek Lee today announced that he has teamed up with Boston Celtics lead owner Wyc Grousbeck to help create a foundation to fight a disease that has affected both of their families, Leber's Congenital Amaurosis.

Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, or LCA, is an inherited form of blindness that is usually apparent shortly after birth. Their effort, entitled "Project 3000," includes a plan to raise money to provide state-of-the-art genetic testing for every man, woman and child in the United States with LCA - about 3,000 individuals in all.

For more information on LCA and "Project 3000" log on to www.carverlab.org/project3000