2001 Record: 88-74, 3rd in NL Central 2001 Results | 2002 Schedule | 2002 Roster | 2001 Statistics: Batting | Pitching Offense (NL rank) Defense (NL rank) 777 runs (7th) Home: 393 runs (5th) Road: 384 (7th) 701 runs allowed (4th) Home: 3.61 ERA (2nd) Road: 4.03 ERA (3rd) 2001 Stats Leaders   Average: Sammy Sosa, .328 Runs: Sosa, 146 On-base pct: Sosa, .437 Stolen bases: Eric Young, 31 Wins: Jon Lieber, 20 Saves: Tom Gordon, 27 Home runs: Sosa, 64 RBI: Sosa, 160 Slugging pct.: Sosa, .737 OPS: Sosa, 1.174 ERA: Kerry Wood, 3.36 Strikeouts: Wood, 217

ESPN's Take Q: Will this be the year Kerry Wood becomes the ace the Cubs hope he can be? The Cubs think Wood is ready to step up and be the No. 1. But as brilliant as Wood's young career has been, he's never pitched a full year in the big leagues. He needs to show he can pitch a full year before he can be considered the full-time ace. The sleeper in the Cubs' rotation is Mark Prior. Prior has never played pro ball before, and will start the year in Double-A. But according to early scouting reports, Prior could be up in The Show as early as May -- they think he's that good. -- Dave Campbell  Jayson Stark's Crystal Ball Sammy Sosa will hit 74 homers -- but lose the NL home run race to Adam Dunn. With overrated prospect Corey Patterson struggling again this spring, Roosevelt Brown might be in a great spot to steal the center field job. Brown has hit well in the minors and has spent time with the Cubs the last few years. Now he might really get at-bats. Based on his breakout season of 2001, Kyle Farnsworth is the hot, new closer to grab while Tom Gordon nurses yet another injury. Farnsworth struck out 107 batters as a setup man, and if he can adjust to finishing games, he could be a 30-save guy. -- Eric Karabell Batting order Delino DeShields, 2B Bill Mueller / Chris Stynes, 3B Sammy Sosa, RF Fred McGriff, 1B Moises Alou, LF Todd Hundley, C Corey Patterson, CF Alex Gonzalez, SS Bench Roosevelt Brown, Joe Girardi, Mark Bellhorn, Augie Ojeda, Darren Lewis, Robert Machado Rotation Kerry Wood, Jon Lieber, Juan Cruz, Jason Bere, Matt Clement Bullpen Antonio Alfonseca, Kyle Farnsworth, Jeff Fassero, Courtney Duncan, Jesus Sanchez, Carlos Zambrano Mark Prior, RHP Second-overall pick in the 2001 draft out of Southern Cal nearly made the starting rotation out of camp. Could land in the big leagues as early as May.

Catcher: Todd Hundley Dissapointed last season after signing a big contract in the offseason. Hit just .187 and struck out with alarming frequency. Needs a big year to justify the dollars. NL Position Ranking: 13th First Base: Fred McGriff Drove in 41 runs in 49 games with Chicago and had his third straight 100-RBI season. Hit 31 homers at age 37 and should see good pitches hitting between Sosa and Alou. Hall of Famer? It's easy to forget he was once one of AL's best hitters in the pre-power era (that's the late '80s, early '90s). NL Position Ranking: 5th Second Base: Delino DeShields Hit .276 after coming to the National League last season. Should get a chance at second base while also playing some outfield and getting some pinch-hit at-bats. NL Position Ranking: 15th Third Base: Bill Mueller / Chris Stynes Mueller was playing well before breaking his kneecap, but he still isn't totally healthy. If he can't go, Stynes and his .292 career average will fill the spot. NL Position Ranking: 14th Shortstop: Alex Gonzalez Will get his first taste of the National League after seven seasons in the AL. Had career highs in homers and RBI last year, but hit just .253. Above-average fielder with good range and hands. NL Position Ranking: 7th Left Field: Moises Alou Had a superb 2001, hitting .388 with runners in scoring position and two outs, but was still bothered by nagging injuries. One of the best fastball hitters in the majors. NL Position Ranking: 7th Center Field: Roosevelt Brown / Corey Patterson Patterson (good defense, shaky hitting) and Brown (good hitting, shaky defense) will probably share time out here, unless Patterson develops into the hitter he's projected to be. NL Position Ranking: 11th Right Field: Sammy Sosa Perhaps the best offensive player in baseball over the last four seasons. Has 243 homers, 597 RBI in that time and a slugging percentage over .630 each year. Struck out over 300 times in the last two seasons, but still had an OBP of over .400. NL Position Ranking: 1st No. 1 Starter: Kerry Wood Finally got all the way back from Tommy John surgery, throwing hard and getting back his curveball. Was second among National League starters with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. NL Ranking among starters: 16th No. 2 Starter: Jon Lieber Had the best year of his career in 2001, winning 20 games for the first time while throwing more than 200 innings for the third straight season. Dominated right-handed hitters with .219 average and .247 OBP. NL Ranking among starters: 12th No. 3 Starter: Juan Cruz Was impressive in eight starts last year, posting a 3.22 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 44.2 innings. Huge upside. NL Ranking among starters: 34th No. 4 Starter: Jason Bere Had his best season since elbow surgery six years ago. Threw nearly 190 innings and had a respectable 4.31 ERA. Could feel some heat from highly-touted prospect Mark Prior, who might break into the rotation as early as May or June. NL Ranking among starters: 44th Bullpen: Kyle Farnsworth, Jeff Fassero, Julian Tavarez, Courtney Duncan, Carlos Zambrano Kyle Farnsworth had a rough spring, prompting the Cubs to trade for Antonio Alfonseca. The trade bolsters the Cubs pen in that it pushes the hardthrowing Farnsworth back into the role of set-up man, a spot he flourished in last season. Fassero is the lefty complement to Farnsworth, while Duncan will look to recover from a disastrous second half last year. Zambrano is another youngster with a power arm. NL Position Ranking: 10th Closer: Antonio Alfonseca Saves dropped from 45 in 2000 to 28 last year, but his ERA dramatically improved (from 4.24 in 2000 to 3.06 last year). Underwent offseason back surgery, so how effective he is early on will be interesting to follow. NL Position Ranking: 11th

Overall Power Index Rankings (NL rank):
Position: 9.13 (11th) | Pitching: 7.50 (7th, tie)

-- Rico Longoria