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After three straight winning seasons in which they finished no lower than second in the National League Central, the Cubs endured a calamitous 2010 in which they slumped to a 75-87 record and a fifth-place finish. They did wind up the season strong with interim manager Mike Quade at the helm, going 24-13 after Lou Piniella retired, which helped to remove the “interim” tag from Quade’s title going into the 2011 season.

While the Cubs begin the year without the volatile Piniella, the team is still largely unchanged. The outfield of Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd and Kosuke Fukudome is intact, Geovany Soto returns behind the plate, and Carlos Pena is the only new face in the infield. The pitching staff remains stable as well, aside from Matt Garza replacing Tom Gorzelanny in the rotation and Kerry Wood joining the bullpen mix.

Hopes for improvement rest heavily on the arm of Garza, who brings a higher profile than Gorzelanny, but whose 3.91 ERA from last year was only a shade lower than Gorzelanny’s 4.09. Add in Garza’s long-time struggles when pitching away from his former home of Tropicana Field — his career ERA away from Tampa Bay is 4.51 — and there are fewer reasons to be optimistic about a turnaround.

The Cubs are not exactly brimming with youth, but as a 20-year-old rookie, shortstop Starlin Castro provided one of the team’s bright spots, batting an even .300. Veterans Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano made up for disappointing starts with strong second halves. If Ramirez can stay healthy and Zambrano can stay focused, both could help the Cubs inch closer to .500 again, if not make them contenders in an improved NL Central that features an emerging Reds powerhouse and a retooled Brewers squad in addition to the steady Cardinals.

However, without a stable of youngsters to build upon, a healthy and consistent corps of middle-of-the-order hitters or a true ace atop their rotation, this could be the beginning of a long and difficult stretch at Wrigley Field.

Sleeper … Randy Wells, SP

Even though Wells didn’t pitch quite a full season in his rookie year in 2009, he finished a surprisingly robust 55th among all starting pitchers in Fantasy points. Last season, despite getting 32 starts, Wells fell to 80th in the rankings. The righty may have overperformed in ’09, but his value was hurt last season by an 8-14 record. Only 10 qualifying starting pitchers received less run support than Wells in that disappointing campaign. The Cubs’ offense may not have been world-beaters, but Wells should have certainly received more help than he did. Look for him to lower his ERA and WHIP slightly and to get his record back to around .500, making him a relevant hurler in standard mixed leagues again.

Bust … Blake DeWitt, 2B

As a minor leaguer, DeWitt showed good contact skills a decent amount of pop for a middle infielder, but as a major leaguer, neither of those skills has been in evidence. The 25-year-old DeWitt could still grow into being a better contact hitter, but there are reasons to suspect his power. His Triple-A stats were compiled in good hitting environments in the Pacific Coast League. He did hit 13 doubles and six home runs in only 178 at-bats at Double-A Jacksonville back in 2007, but he was repeating that level, not to mention that we’re looking at a small sample. After a much larger sample of 857 major league at-bats, it’s getting harder to expect DeWitt to become even a 15-homer threat. Even if he can get his batting average out of the .260s, DeWitt’s bat is not one to roster outside of NL-only leagues.

Bounce-back player … Carlos Pena, 1B

With a batting average that has dropped steadily from .282 to .196 over the last three seasons, it’s hard not to be skeptical about Pena’s chances for a comeback season in 2011. However, there are signs that the former Tampa Bay slugger could have a nice rebound in his near future. His power is still as evident as ever, as his home run per flyball rate of 20 percent was just one percentage point lower than his 2009 rate. His homer output dropped from 39 to 28, however, because of a growing tendency to hit grounders. Not only did this rob Pena of precious long balls, but it was an unfortunate trend for someone who has hit below .200 on ground balls in three of the last four seasons. Pena’s aversion to flyball hitting was a sudden change, so there is no reason to assume that this will become a long-term pattern. Expecting a return to his .282-46-121 line from 2007 is not advisable, but he could pay off as a late-round grab in mixed league formats.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Adding a starting pitcher at last this offseason, the Washington Nationals finalized their trade to acquire left-hander Tom Gorzelanny from the Chicago Cubs for three minor-league prospects on Wednesday.

Washington also agreed to a US$2-million, one-year contract with utility player Jerry Hairston Jr., and unconditionally released pitcher J.D. Martin, who had lower-back surgery in August. Martin’s move cleared space on the 40-man roster for first baseman Adam LaRoche, a free-agent whose contract recently was approved by Major League Baseball.

General manager Mike Rizzo hoped to land a top-of-the-rotation starter for the 2011 season, but that hasn’t happened. The 28-year-old Gorzelanny is 36-37 with a 4.68 ERA in six major league seasons with the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

He went 7-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 23 starts and six relief appearances last year, and the Cubs dealt him after obtaining starter Matt Garza in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Rizzo said Nationals scouts saw Gorzelanny consistently throw at 92 miles an hour and reach 94 m.p.h. in 2010.

Before the trade to the Nationals became official, Gorzelanny avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.1-million, one-year deal with the Cubs.

The Nationals sent outfielder Michael Burgess, right-hander A.J. Morris and left-hander Graham Hicks to Chicago.

“We think there’s still some upside to this guy, and we think he’s going to have a big rebound year,” Rizzo said. “We see him somewhere in the rotation. We’re going to have a good competition there this spring training, and we’re looking forward to it.”

With Stephen Strasburg expected to miss most — if not all — of 2011 after reconstructive elbow surgery, the Nationals are expected to have Livo Hernandez, Jordan Zimmermann and Gorzelanny in their rotation, along with perhaps Jason Marquis, Yunesky Maya or Ross Detwiler.

Rizzo also noted that right-hander Chien-Ming Wang — who is trying to come back from shoulder surgery and hasn’t pitched since July 2009 — will be ready for the start of spring training. Pitchers and catchers are due to report to Viera, Fla., on Feb. 15.

“He’s not in rehabilitation mode right now; he’s in preparation mode to get ready for spring training,” Rizzo said.

The 34-year-old Hairston is a career .257 hitter with 59 homers and 341 RBIs across 13 seasons with six clubs.

He hit .244 with 10 homers and a career-high 50 RBIs for the San Diego Padres last season.

Rizzo said that Hairston, a member of the 2009 World Series-champion New York Yankees, would be “very, very comfortable and very effective” playing any position in the field other than first base or catcher.

“He gives the manager a lot of options,” Rizzo said. “He’s a very versatile player. Very upbeat. High-energy guy. Good clubhouse presence. And a guy with a championship ring that knows how to win and knows how to be a good teammate.”

Hairston can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses.

WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals finalized their trade to acquire left-hander Tom Gorzelanny from the Chicago Cubs for three minor league prospects on Wednesday, and also agreed to terms with utility player Jerry Hairston Jr.

Gorzelanny

The Nationals sent outfielder Michael Burgess, right-hander A.J. Morris and left-hander Graham Hicks to Chicago.

The 34-year-old Hairston is a career .257 hitter with 59 homers and 341 RBIs across 13 seasons with six clubs. His deal was for $2 million, according to a major league source.

He hit .244 with 10 homers and a career-high 50 RBIs for the San Diego Padres last season.

The 28-year-old Gorzelanny is 36-37 with a 4.68 ERA in six major league seasons with the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 7-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 23 starts and six relief appearances last year, and the Cubs dealt him after obtaining starter Matt Garza in a trade with Tampa Bay.

Before the trade to the Nationals became official, Gorzelanny avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.1 million, one-year deal with the Cubs.

The Associated Press and ESPNChicago.com’s Bruce Levine contributed to this report.

The Chicago Cubs traded left-handed pitcher Tom Gorzelanny to the Washington Nationals Wednesday for three minor league players.

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) – The Chicago Cubs traded left-handed pitcher Tom Gorzelanny to the Washington Nationals Wednesday for three minor league players.

The Cubs received outfielder Michael Burgess, right-hand pitcher A.J. Morris and left-hand hurler Graham Hicks in the deal — none of whom have played above the Double-A level.

Gorzelanny became expendable after the Cubs acquired starting pitcher Matt Garza from Tampa Bay earlier this month and will compete for a rotation spot with seven other Washington pitchers.

The 28-year-old is coming off a season in which he went 7-9 with a 4.09 earned run average in 29 appearances, including 23 starts. He has a career record of 36-37 with a 4.68 ERA in 118 games over six seasons with the Pirates and Cubs.

© 2011 The Sports Network

WASHINGTON | The Washington Nationals finalized their trade to acquire left-hander Tom Gorzelanny from the Chicago Cubs for three minor league prospects on Wednesday, and also agreed to terms with utility player Jerry Hairston Jr.

The Nationals sent outfielder Michael Burgess, right-hander A.J. Morris and left-hander Graham Hicks to Chicago.

The 34-year-old Hairston is a career .257 hitter with 59 homers and 341 RBIs across 13 seasons with six clubs.

He hit .244 with 10 homers and a career-high 50 RBIs for the San Diego Padres last season.

The 28-year-old Gorzelanny is 36-37 with a 4.68 ERA in six major league seasons with the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 7-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 23 starts and six relief appearances last year, and the Cubs dealt him after obtaining starter Matt Garza in a trade with Tampa Bay.

Before the trade to the Nationals became official, Gorzelanny avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.1 million, one-year deal with the Cubs.

 

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

WASHINGTON – The Washington Nationals finalized their trade to acquire left-hander Tom Gorzelanny from the Chicago Cubs for three minor league prospects on Wednesday, and also agreed to terms with utility player Jerry Hairston Jr.

The Nationals sent outfielder Michael Burgess, right-hander A.J. Morris and left-hander Graham Hicks to Chicago.

The 34-year-old Hairston is a career .257 hitter with 59 homers and 341 RBIs across 13 seasons with six clubs.

He hit .244 with 10 homers and a career-high 50 RBIs for the San Diego Padres last season.

The 28-year-old Gorzelanny is 36-37 with a 4.68 ERA in six major league seasons with the Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 7-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 23 starts and six relief appearances last year, and the Cubs dealt him after obtaining starter Matt Garza in a trade with Tampa Bay.

Before the trade to the Nationals became official, Gorzelanny avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.1 million, one-year deal with the Cubs.