The Sporting News' Ken Rosenthal on the Cubs' chances this year: "On the surface, it doesn't appear the Cubs did much this offseason besides subtract Moises Alou and Sammy Sosa and eliminate 31 percent of their home run production. But guess what? If Kerry Wood and Mark Prior start 60 to 70 games combined -- as opposed to the 43 they delivered last season -- the Cubs easily could be the best team in the National League Central."

I had similar thoughts back in December, though that was before the Sosa trade. Even after the trade, I'm still optomistic. This is a good team when healthy.