Okay guys put your thinking caps on.

Who do you think is most likely to bounce back and have a good 2010 and rank in order of most to least in your opinion.

I'll give the names and list them by my own rankings.

Soriano
Zambrano
Soto

If all 3 bounce back to at least close to their pre 2009 forms we're in really good shape.

I picked Soriano as most likely because I think he was truly hampered all season by injury and he got that taken care of. Call me weird but I really was almost happy to hear he had that knee problem because it helped explain how badly he sunk.

Soriano
Z
.
.
.
Soto

I think Soto is the man we saw last year, not the man we saw in '09.

Soriano will be healthy and I'm excited to see a healthy Soriano hitting 6th in this lineup.

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

Soto. And you are foolish if you look at the BABIP numbers and think otherwise imo

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Team Cutler.

soriano. i am also very worried about soto. he regressed so far both at the plate and behind the plate, it was scary.

So you think he's getting back on the juice next year huh?

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

I don't think he'll get back to his 'rookie' year levels, but he'll find a happy medium between the two and be a solid .270avg and around 800 OPS. Stick him in the 7 hole and call it a day

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Team Cutler.

I hope you're right, but I'm not holding my breath. I fear we may be seeing a lot more of the 4 fingered bandit then we'd like.

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

probably rich harden and milton bradley

20 wins for Z is a career year, not bounce back. His tantrums and injuries always prevent him from winning 18+ games. In order:

Soto
Soriano
Bradley


Z

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I think Soriano will rebound with a solid year if he stays healthy. About .280 30-35 hr and about 90-100 rbi

I think Soto was caught off guard with how teams adjusted to him and I also feel that since he had such a good rookie season that he's be able to repeat it with no problem. Hopefully he's workin his ass off for a better season. I think he'll have a good season maybe somewhere close to his 1st year. I think he can be a very good player if works hard and keep his mind focused

As for Zambrano - fuck him already. For the last 4-5 yrs I've been sayin I think he'll have a 17+ win season and finally live up to his potential and be the cy young winning ace he can be and he never does. Z will win like 12-14 games and still pitch a disaster after pitching a gem. He'll have his mental meltdowns and be inconsistent. I hope he proves me wrong

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"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."

Wow, I wish I was that optimistic. What do you see that makes you think that? Unless his knee was much worse than we were let to believe all year

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Team Cutler.

As a "leadoff man", Soriano could hit 35HRs and still only have 80 RBI.

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Good thing he's not gonna be leading off then huh?

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

Soriano and Soto are the most likely I think.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Thats why I said if he's healthy and now he's in the middle of the lineup which will lead to more rbi chances. I think 30 and 90 is possible

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"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."

soriano has a pretty long history of those type numbers for the last 7 years or so. it isnt exactly a stretch to say that in a healthy year he would achieve them again. you cant take health for granted i realize, but if he can get over 500 AB's i think 30-35 HRs and a .280 isnt exactly a stretch.

One thing about Soriano - there is no reason to believe that he is telling the truth about his true age. The point of diminishing returns seems to hit baseball players much more quickly than other sports. I should say that it seems to affects hitters much more so. Bat speed is crucial and from everything I read he has refused to change his bat size and ounces.

I don't see Soriano returning to anywhere near a 30/30 type player. I believe his decline will continue unfortunately.

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Does your cat make too much noise? Try KITTEN MITTENS!


Charlie: Oh shit. Look at that door dude. See that door right there? That door marked 'Pirate'? You think a pirate lives in there?
Dennis: I see a door marked 'Private.'

you could be right, but with his levels of production being what they were for that period of time, i would give him one more year before i would say he is totally on the decline. i will give him a chance for a rebound year. his days of 30 steals are definitely done though, i agree.

Carlos Silva will have a better 2010 than Carlos Zambrano.

Step away from the keyboard.

I am going to have to conduct a sobriety typing test.

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Does your cat make too much noise? Try KITTEN MITTENS!


Charlie: Oh shit. Look at that door dude. See that door right there? That door marked 'Pirate'? You think a pirate lives in there?
Dennis: I see a door marked 'Private.'

if that is true, that would be quite a prediction!

You know you are in trouble when a meatball is telling you to step away.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

HA!

I am probably the most pessimistic Cubs fan ever RFDC.

But if you mean meatball in the under-expectation type of way, I will agree.

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Does your cat make too much noise? Try KITTEN MITTENS!


Charlie: Oh shit. Look at that door dude. See that door right there? That door marked 'Pirate'? You think a pirate lives in there?
Dennis: I see a door marked 'Private.'

It won't be because Silva competes for the Cy Young. Rememeber, Z won fewer games in 2009 than Yankee reliever Alfredo Aceves.

Wrong.

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

Alfredo Aceves

2009 Salary: $406,750
2009 Wins: 10
PPW: $40,675

Carlos Zambrano

2009 Salary: $18,750,000
2009 Wins: 9
PPW: $2.1 million (approx)

What exactly are these numbers supposed to prove?

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

Big Z's an overpaid wash-out, even more so than Carlos Silva. Silva wins 10 games in 2010 and Z wins 8 or 9, Silva's the better deal for the Cubs in that case.

Wash-out? Seriously? You can't actually think that. Yeah he's been disappointing, and he's most definitely not an ace but he's still a very good pitcher. 1 year doesn't make him terrible the same way 1 year doesn't make Soto good.

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

Well, this is a predictions/speculations thread.

You make your predictions and then check back later in 2010 to see how ya did.

It's all good fun.