Season Preview: Chicago Cubs

Last Season: 69-85, 6th in NL

Manager: Charlie Grimm (12th season in Chicago, 12th total)Offseason: The downward trajectory of the Cubs may continue as the club only made one trade during the offseason. In March, they sent utility infielder Bobby Sturgeon to the Braves for veteran third baseman Dick Culler and reliever Walt Lanfranconi. Neither should make any real impact on the team and are not even on the roster to start the season.Catcher: The batter for the catcher spot in the lineup has gone back and forth between Bob Scheffing and Clyde McCullough since 1941. Scheffing played in 110 games last year, but it is McCullough, who appeared in 86 games, who will start the year as the number one backstop. Both are decent and the catcher unit in Chicago is one of the better ones in the National League. Rookie Rube Walker should also enter the mix after tearing up the minors.Infield: For a couple of weeks, the Cubs will have to make do without Peanuts Lowrey. Lowrey moved to third base last year from the outfield, which also describes his replacement. Andy Pafko moves from center field to third for an interesting experiment. When Lowrey returns, one will likely be sent back to the outfield. Veteran Don Johnson has been replaced at second by rookie Hank Schenz. Schenz hit .331 in Nashville at the AA level and has had limited playing time in each of the last two seasons. The time for the change comes as Johnson turned 36. It's a similar story at shortstop as Lennie Merullo heads to the PCL, opening the spot for another rookie Roy Smalley. Smalley is just 21 and slots at the bottom of the lineup but plays solid defense. Eddie Waitkus returns at first base. He doesn't have a lot of power for someone who plays at first, but he hits for a high average and has a little bit of speed, too.Outfield: Pafko's move opens up center field, at least for the time being. Rookie Hal Jeffcoat will make his MLB debut on Opening Day as the new starter after batting .346 in Nashville last year. Once again, Bill Nicholson will start in right field. He's been there for a decade and rightly so as a two-time home run champion during the war. Since then, though, he has lost his power and contact. His 26 homers last season were more than his previous two seasons combined, so maybe he has found a way to recapture his youth. Phil Cavarretta has been here even longer and will start the year in left field but can play any position here or even first base. He's been an All-Star in three of the last four years, with the only exception being his MVP campaign in 1945. At age 31, Cavarretta has spent nearly half his life in a Cubs uniform as he gears up for his 15th season. He is starting to require more rest but otherwise does not show immediate signs of slowing down. Cliff Aberson will also help back him up in left field.Rotation: The Opening Day starter will be Russ Meyer, a young prospect who pitched 45 innings last year mostly out of the bullpen. Johnny Schmitz is the closest thing to an ace on the team with his relatively low ERA, but he led the majors in losses last year with 18. Hank Borowy was a hot commodity just a few years ago but is now coming off his worst season by far. A pair of rookies who have never played in the majors, Bob Rush and Cliff Chambers, round out the rotation. Chambers went 24-9 for Los Angeles in the PCL last year.Bullpen: A pair of starters from last year, Bob Chipman and Doyle Lade, are expected to work mainly out of the bullpen. They are the only two relievers on the roster to start the season who pitched in the majors last year. Emil Kush should be ready to pitch by the end of April, as well. The Cubs have nothing to lose and will keep trying to find pitchers they can trust by giving experience to rookies Jess Dobernic and Dutch McCall.Outlook: Their pennant in '45 is a distant memory now as the Cubs face a grim future. It only took two years for the Cubs to fall to sixth place in the league, and in 1948 they could very well finish last. Rebuilding will take longer than it took for this team to fall this far, so Chicago will likely continue to struggle as they enter the 1950's. If their abundance of rookies come through, the Cubs could fight to finish at .500, but fans will mostly be attending games to see the veterans from that '45 campaign to relive the good times since the product on the field is lacking.