Cubs Preview

Baseball season is back in full swing on Chicago's North Side as the Chicago Cubs return to Wrigley Field after an extended off-season after missing the playoffs for the first time under manager Lou Piniella. The Northsiders have made a few significant changes over the off-season. Key departures include starting pitcher Rich Harden who signed with the Texas Rangers, relief pitcher Kevin Gregg who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and disgruntled right fielder Milton Bradley, who was traded to the Seattle Mariners. Key additions include center fielder Marlon Byrd, outfielder Xavier Nady and starting pitcher Carlos Silva, who was acquired via the Milton Bradley trade from Seattle. Nady will start the season on the bench, but will be used frequently as a pinch hitter in close ballgames.

The roster is not the only thing that has changed. There was also a key staffing change over the offseason when the Cubs hired premier hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. Jaramillo spent the last 15 years with the Texas Rangers and is presently considered one of the best hitting coaches in the majors. He has spent a lot of time during spring training with key hitters in the Cubs lineup ,changing up their swings and helping them better recognize and locate pitches coming in their direction.

Success this season depends on many factors. However, there are three outlying variables that can make or break the Chicago Cubs this season.

The Cubs must stay healthy. Injuries plagued the Northsiders last year, including major injuries to key players Ryan Dempster and Aramis Ramirez, not to mention Alfonso Soriano who was clearly playing hurt with a bad knee most of the season before getting shut down for the last month of the season.

There are three players that need to have a bounce-back year, after poor showings last year.

Geovany Soto came into the 2008 season as the reigning Rookie of the Year after hitting 23 homeruns and 86 runs batted in (RBI) while posting a .285 batting average. Last season, Soto struggled tremendously, hitting only 11 homeruns and producing 47 RBI while posting a .218 batting average. Soto reported to spring training 30 pounds lighter and has claimed to be in the best shape of his career.

Alfonso Soriano also had his troubles last year, posting his lowest batting average in eight years, hitting only .241 with 20 homeruns and 55 RBI. Soriano has been the main focus of new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who is trying to help Soriano cut down his strikeout numbers by teaching him how to recognize pitches that he might see late in the count.

Carlos Marmol is entering his first full season as the Cubs closer. Marmol has the potential to be one of the best closers in the National League. Any club would like to see their closer strikeout nearly 100 batters during the regular season, which is what Marmol has done over the past two seasons. As long as Marmol can keep his number of walks down, the Cubs should have no problem closing out close games, which was a problem for them last season.

The final, and likely the most important variables towards success this season is the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are coming into the 2010 season as the defending National League Central champions, and return just as strong, as if not stronger than, last season after signing Matt Holliday to an extended deal. The Cubs must play well against their division rival if they even want a chance of taking back the division crown.

The Northsiders are entering this season as an underdog to win the division, which should help take some of the pressure off the players. If the Cubs can stay healthy, have better years from Soto, Soriano and Marmol, and play well against the Cardinals, all of Wrigleyville will be singing "Go Cubs Go" throughout the season into October.