Chicago baseball optimism and pessimism

There is a lot of optimism and pessimism for Chicago area baseball this season, as both the Cubs and the White Sox have playoff aspirations and things to look forward to, as well as reasons to be nervous and skeptical.

Last season the Chicago Cubs won their division for the first time since 1989, won their first playoff round since 1908, and came five outs away from going to the World Series.

All things being considered this was a pretty successful season.

The Cubs didn't stand pat with their roster during the offseason though, as they added Derrick Lee to play first base.

He replaced Eric Karros and youngster Hee Seop Choi who platooned there most of last season.

Lee is the first power hitting first baseman the Cubs have had since Bill Buckner.

The Cubs also will have Aramis Ramirez at third base for the entire season.

He replaces a platoon of Lenny Harris, Ramon Martines and Mark Bellhorn that played third last season.

Bellhorn was traded last season to Colorado, and Harris was released last season as well.

Also added to the lineup is Todd Walker, the leadoff hitter in Boston last year.

His .283 average and 85 RBI's will help the Cubs offense that was mediocre for most of last season.

Walker will be used as the Cubs utility player as he can play second base, third base, shortstop and outfield if need be.

He is expected to start three or four times a week.

The Cubs didn't just add to their offense, however, as they were aggressive in the free agent pitching market.

LaTroy Hawkins was one of the best set-up men in all of baseball the previous two seasons.

For a Cubs team whose bullpen was shaky at best at the end of the season adding another quality arm doesn't hurt.

The biggest signing in the off season for the Cubs and all of baseball was Greg Maddux.

Maddux is coming back to where he started his career and left on negative terms.

If he can keep his 16 year streak of winning 15 games a season alive, that means the Cubs have the best pitching staff in the National League, if not all of baseball.

The Cubs also have a few concerns as well.

The lineup lacks a true leadoff hitter.

Mark Grudzielanek did a commendable job last year but can he do it two years in a row.

It is possible Todd Walker might be the leadoff hitter a couple of times a week when he starts.

Another concern is strikeouts.

For the past couple of seasons the Cubs situational hitting has been porous.

Often times they get runners in scoring position and fail to get them home. Players like Sammy Sosa, Corey Patterson, Derrick Lee and Alex Gonzalez all strike out very frequently causing many quality scoring opportunities to go for naught.

Another concern is the Houston Astros, who finished only one game back in the division last season.

They upgraded their starting rotation significantly with the additions of Andy Petite and Roger Clemens.

They also will score significantly more runs than the Cubs will.

If Craig Biggio, and Jeff Bagwell come back from down years the Astros could have one of the best offenses in baseball.

On the other side of town, the Chicago White Sox are a team that no one can really get a grasp of.

They have the potential to win 90 games, but they also have the potential to lose 90 games.

There is a lot of talent on the White Sox.

Frank Thomas is a future Hall of Famer, while Magglio Ordonez is one of the 10 best pure hitters in baseball.

Carlos Lee hit 31 home runs and drove in 113 runs last season and Joe Crede could be an emerging superstar.

Crede was the crown jewel of their farm system.

He hit seven home runs and had 24 RBI's in a little more than a month in 2002.

During spring training last season he lost 15-20 pounds due to an illness and had an off year.

He has the potential to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs.

Mark Buehrle had 35 wins in his first two seasons but he started the season 2-10 last year.

He did recover in the second half of the season to finish the year with 14 wins.

There are a lot of question marks for the Sox, however.

Along with the Cubs the White Sox also lack a lead off hitter.

They are hoping second baseman Willie Harris can hit well enough to be hold the leadoff spot.

He tore up Triple A pitching, but hasn't figured out major league pitching in his limited playing time.

In addition, the starting rotation could be a major problem.

After Buehrle there are questions marks throughout the rest of the rotation. Esteban Loaiza won 21 games last year, but can he do it again?

Is John Garland ever going to be more than a .500 pitcher?

Is Scott Schoenweis a legitimate major league starting pitcher?

Who will win the fifth starters spot?

The Chicago White Sox bullpen is an absolute mess at the moment.

Billy Koch is penciled in as the closer for the coming season, but Koch was terrible last season having an ERA over 5.0 and losing his closer's job early last season.

Damaso Marte is possibly the best left-handed bullpen pitcher in the American League the previous two seasons and should continue to excel.

After that the pickings are slim.

Cliff Politte is scheduled to be a set up man, but had an ERA over five last season.

The White Sox signed Japanese closer Shingo Takatsu this off season to help solidify the bullpen, but no one is really sure what to expect from Takatsu yet.

The wild card for the White Sox is new manager Ozzie Guillen, who manned shortstop for over a decade in the '80s and '90s.

He is a flamboyant personality who should fire up his team, but he has zero managerial experience at any level.

He was a bench coach with the world champion Florida Marlins last season.

Recently, bench coach Joe Nossek stepped down from his position because of ongoing health concerns.

This won't raise a lot of eyebrows nationally, but Nossek was in baseball for over 40 years and was perceived to help tutor and mentor Guillen in his new position.

White Sox management is hoping Guillen provides a spark to a clubhouse that often times looked sleepy, tired, and uninterested the previous two seasons.

The White Sox were favored both seasons to win the Central Division, but twice finished second to the Minnesota Twins.