DEPARTURES: RHP Bob Howry (free agent, signed with Giants), RHP Kerry Wood (free agent, signed with Indians), INF/OF Mark DeRosa (traded to Indians), RHP Jason Marquis (traded to Rockies), OF Felix Pie (traded to Orioles), INF Ronny Cedeno (traded to Mariners), LHP Rich Hill (traded to Orioles), RHP Michael Wuertz (traded to A's).

SPRING FOCUS: The Cubs will spend most of February and March finding out who their fifth starter will be and then sorting out the bullpen from there. LHP Sean Marshall will compete for the final job in the rotation along with RHPs Jeff Samardzija and Chad Gaudin. Whoever loses out will head to the bullpen, and it's possible Samardzija could open the season at Class AAA Iowa as a starter. The Cubs also want to see if OF Kosuke Fukudome has indeed rebounded from a disastrous second half, which cost him his starting right field job.

PROJECTED ROTATION:

1. RHP Carlos Zambrano

2. RHP Ryan Dempster

3. LHP Ted Lilly

4. RHP Rich Harden

5. LHP Sean Marshall

Dempster wrested the title of ace away from Zambrano last year, but Zambrano will get the Opening Day start. Erratic performances and a sore shoulder hurt Zambrano down the stretch, his no-hitter in September notwithstanding.

Manager Lou Piniella expressed regret at not using bulldog Lilly in the NL Division Series. Harden is on permanent shoulder watch. The Cubs would love to have the versatile Marshall make the rotation, giving them a pair of lefties.

PROJECTED BULLPEN:

RHP Carlos Marmol (closer)

RHP Kevin Gregg

RHP Jeff Samardzija

RHP Aaron Heilman

RHP Chad Gaudin

LHP Neal Cotts

RHP Angel Guzman

Just as they did last year, the Cubs will hold a competition for the closer's job, between Marmol and newcomer Gregg. Marmol will have to show he's ready to go from dominant setup man to closer. If not, Gregg has experience closing.

The Cubs are light on the left side, with Cotts having an up-and-down last two years. He'll need to have a good spring, or the Cubs may have to look outside the organization for a dependable lefty. Samardzija can be overpowering. The Cubs must decide whether he's a reliever or a starter.

PROJECTED LINEUP:

1. LF Alfonso Soriano

2. SS Ryan Theriot

3. 1B Derrek Lee

4. RF Milton Bradley

5. 3B Aramis Ramirez

6. C Geovany Soto

7. CF Kosuke Fukudome

8. 2B Mike Fontenot

Here we go again. Manager Lou Piniella said at the team's winter convention he wasn't surprised to get questions about whether Soriano would hit first. Soriano isn't an ideal No. 1 hitter, but he has a comfort zone there, and the Cubs have won two consecutive division titles with him there.

The middle of the lineup will get interesting. If Lee's power numbers continue their downward trend, will Piniella move Ramirez up to third and drop Lee to fifth? Rookie of the Year Soto has cleanup potential.

PROJECTED RESERVES:

C Paul Bako or Koyie Hill or Mark Johnson

INF Aaron Miles

OF Reed Johnson

OF Joey Gathright

INF/OF Micah Hoffpauir

The Cubs have speed and versatility off the bench in Miles and Reed Johnson. Expect both to see a lot of action on double switches, something Piniella likes to do. Each will start his fair share of games, as well.

With PH Daryle Ward gone, Piniella will be looking for some power off the bench. Hoffpauir will be given every shot to make the club out of camp. He hit 25 homers in the minors last year and intrigued Piniella during big-league stints.

TOP ROOKIES: RHP Mitch Atkins won a combined 17 games last year between Class AA Tennessee and Class AAA Iowa. He passed up some more highly touted prospects and could become an in-season call-up. RHP Jeff Stevens, obtained from Cleveland in the Mark DeRosa trade, is a possibility for the bullpen if someone falters or becomes injured.

MEDICAL WATCH:

The Cubs will keep a close eye on the cranky right shoulders of RHPs Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden, both of whom missed time down the stretch last year. The Cubs say they expect Harden to be stronger this year than last despite reports that he has a small tear in the shoulder.