Piniella Says Window of Contention Still Wide Open for Cubs

INDIANAPOLIS -- If nothing else, Lou Piniella still has his sense of humor intact after a season that was among most disappointing in the majors. Whether or not 2010 will be his last season is a question he's obviously grown tired of answering, so when asked again, he replied with a laugh.

"Come on, I don't need to approach that anymore," he said in jest. "I've said what I have to say. I'll sign a 15-year extension and I'm going to go pull pitchers out with golf carts."

When the subject of expectations for the upcoming season came up, however, things got a bit more serious. Piniella seems to feel that his team is improperly labeled. The common sentiment among the general public is that the Cubs need to win as soon as possible with the current group they have because their window with this nucleus is quickly closing.

"I'll tell you this: I think the little bit of a fallacy with our baseball team, it's not an old team," Piniella insisted. "It's a relatively young team. I don't think we have anybody over, what, 34. So, basically, the team is fairly young."

"But it is a team basically that when you look at it, the most recognizable names are older. And you say, well, this team should win. And I agree with that."

The drastic decline -- the Cubs won 97 games in 2008, but just 83 in 2009 -- had a lot less to do with age than several injuries to key personnel.

"Look, last year we just had a lot of problems, a lot of problems physically. I mean, my God, every time we'd get somebody on the field, the next day somebody would be off, or even that day."

Losing Aramis Ramirez for a big chunk of the first half was a pretty devastating blow. Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto and most of the pitching staff also missed time. On the other hand, the Cubs were just as plagued by underachievement from several pieces. Atop the list was the marquee acquisition of the 2009 offseason, Milton Bradley. This time around, general manager Jim Hendry is desperate to clean up his own mess by dealing Bradley as soon as he can. Reports around the Meetings have Bradley possibly being dealt to the Rays, but they want the Cubs to take Pat Burrell and pay a significant amount of Bradley's remaining salary.

The problem there is the Cubs would be forced to deal Burrell, which won't be easy. He's coming off an abysmal season in Tampa, and he -- like Bradley -- is overpaid and considered a negative clubhouse influence. Plus, the Cubs can't chance being stuck with Burrell, a sub-par defensive player.

"We're in a situation where anything that we add to our outfield, we've got to get defense," Piniella told his audience of reporters. "That's part of the equation. We just can't look for an offensive player alone. We've got to look for somebody that can play both sides of the ball."

Most of the rest of the disappointing players for the Cubs will be back in 2009, and Hendry and Piniella are counting on them to bounce back. Piniella specifically mentioned that he has lots of confidence in Soto, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Mike Fontenot to get back to playing the way they did in that sparkling 2008 campaign. Zambrano, in particular, is in line for a big season, according to his manager.

"Well, he stayed in Chicago all winter, and he's been working out. They told me, talking to Mark O'Neal, our trainer, he's lost 15 pounds. He's working hard, and Carlos has something to prove this year. He's coming off of a nine-win season. Everybody knows that he's a lot better than that," Piniella said of his fiery ace.

"In fact, truthfully, I don't want to put any pressure on him, but this is a young man that should approach 20 wins every year with his stuff and with his physique, and hopefully this is the year he gets to that."

If he does, and the rest of team plays to its ability, the Cubs will be in much better position to reach the postseason than they were in 2009. Just getting there isn't enough for Piniella, though.

"We've had three winning seasons since I've been there in Chicago, two divisional titles. But we haven't had success in the postseason. That probably has been my biggest disappointment."

And also the biggest disappointment to fans who have been waiting far too long for that ever-elusive World Series championship. With new ownership, determined players and a manager who doesn't have many years left -- despite his 15-year joke -- the Cubs are focused on erasing a faux-curse.

In the meantime, Hendry will be furiously working to rid the Cubs of a seemingly real curse while he's here in Indianapolis: Milton Bradley.