Northbound Suarez

The team is preparing to head north, to the point that stuff is getting put on the trucks and Lou is telling players to find apartments if they haven't already. But things aren't totally set, it seems.

* Fontenot and Cedeno both made the team. While you obviously need infield backups, doesn't this sort of suggest that Lou is looking for a little insurance should Theriot repeat last year's form? Fontenot and Cedeno have both hit in spring training, but not that much (although both have OPSes well over .800, which you'd definitely take from a middle infielder). Theriot does lag behind them in power but he hit .348 in Mesa.

* Murton is apparently going to start the year at Iowa, which almost certainly means he's going to finish it in a completely different major league city. This makes me a little sad. I'm not sure Murton was ever given a totally fair shake with the Cubs, although if you really look at it I guess his OPS+ in 2006 was only 104, which is above average but isn't exactly setting the world on fire. Soriano's OPS+ in 2007, by comparison, was 123. And Murton isn't known as a great fielder (although he was at least serviceable in left). I mean, even though Murton has put up a pretty good OBP in his career, you certainly can't fault the Cubs for going to get Soriano ahead of him, and Murton's best position is left field - and while he can play right, if Kosuke Fukudome really has a .400 OBP this year, I don't think we're going to miss Matty too much. I wish there was a place for the guy, but he plays better when he starts and you really can't justify starting him at this point (except maybe as the DH in games in AL parks - although even then, Daryle Ward probably fills that role better). Oh well.

* The battle for 12th pitcher appears to be coming down to Marshall vs. Pignatiello, because I guess we only need one lefty in the pen. (We only had one regular last year, and that was Eyre, who spent the majority of the year sucking ass.) Marshall went two innings today, giving up one run on one hit (he walked three and didn't strike anyone out). Marshall's another guy I've liked since he came up - I was at Wrigley for his first career home win, a 3-1 decision over the Marlins on April 25, 2006, and he's a lefty who is one day younger than I am. He had a 119 ERA+ last year, which is pretty dang good for a fifth starter, but he was squeezed out of the rotation by Dempster's move into it (and even if he hadn't done that, the Lieber acquisition probably would have pushed Marshall aside as well). This although Dempster is five years older than Marshall and his career high ERA+ as a starter is 120 (and Lieber has never had one as high as 119, not even in 2001 when he was the last Cub to win 20). Right now I'm expecting Marshall to start the year in Iowa; I don't think you can ignore Pignatiello's 0.90 spring ERA. But I'm not sure I wouldn't bring Marshall over Kevin Hart. Doesn't look like that's gonna happen, though.