No surprises this year

Every baseball manager says he wants his team to get off to a good start every season.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella said it last year, but things didn't work out so well.

Piniella has said it this year from Day One of spring training, and he stressed there's a new urgency to get out of the gate quickly.

"Who are we going to sneak up on?" Piniella asked Sunday after his team worked out at chilly Wrigley Field in preparation for today's season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.

"We won the division last year, so we're not going to sneak up on anybody, whether we're the favorite or whatever. It doesn't really make any difference.

"Like I told our team in a little meeting: The National League as a whole has gotten tougher. Our division's gotten tougher. We've got to be ready to play right out of the gate."

The Cubs and the Brewers enter the 2008 season picked to finish 1-2 in either order by many of the so-called experts.

While Piniella was groping his way through the first two-plus months of the 2007 season, the Brewers were streaking to an 8½-game lead in the NL Central before the Cubs caught them with a late-season charge.

That happened only after several Piniella-inspired changes, such as the trade of catcher Michael Barrett and the benching and subsequent trade of shortstop Cesar Izturis.

This year, Piniella and his club are known quantities to one another.

"Lou was kind of feeling us out the first couple months, trying to understand what we were capable of doing," said first baseman Derrek Lee, who called a players-only meeting when things were bad early last year.

"We were mixing up the lineups quite a bit. This year, I think we'll be a little more stable. That should help us get off to a better start."

Lee probably can hold that thought on things being more stable. Piniella wrote out a starting lineup last week and has stuck with it that long, which is an eternity in Piniella time.

But all that could change in a matter of days if Piniella doesn't like what he sees or if he simply wants to adjust.

The key spots are Ryan Theriot at leadoff, Alfonso Soriano hitting second and Kosuke Fukudome batting fifth. All three of those players could find themselves at different spots in the order all year.

Newly acquired outfielder Reed Johnson gives the Cubs another option to bat first or second, and Piniella has toyed with Fukudome batting first against left-handed pitching.

The Cubs will send right-hander Carlos Zambrano to the mound for his fourth opening-day start. Zambrano has failed to notch a win in his first three season openers.

The Brewers counter with righty Ben Sheets, who is 9-7 against the Cubs in his career and has 5 victories at Wrigley Field.

Piniella is happy that the Cubs enter the season relatively healthy, with reliever Scott Eyre's sore left elbow being the only trouble spot.

"We're ready to play; we've got no excuses," Piniella said. "The starting pitchers got their innings in. The position players got their at-bats. The relievers did all the work that was necessary. Go out and play."

Probable Cubs lineup

Ryan Theriot, SS

Alfonso Soriano, LF

Derrek Lee, 1B

Aramis Ramirez, 3B

Kosuke Fukudome, RF

Mark DeRosa, 2B

Geovany Soto, C

Felix Pie, CF

Carlos Zambrano, P

Scouting report

Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field

TV: Channel 9 today and Thursday; Comcast SportsNet Wednesday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Carlos Zambrano (18-13 in 2007) vs. Ben Sheets (12-5) today; Ted Lilly (15-8) vs. Jeff Suppan (12-12) Wednesday; Ryan Dempster (2-7) vs. Dave Bush (12-10) Thursday. All games 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The season kicks off with a series between the co-favorites in the NL Central. The Brewers took an 8½-game lead on the Cubs in June last year, but the Cubs charged back while the Brewers faded. Milwaukee manager Ned Yost could be on the hot seat if the Brewers stumble. Zambrano is 9-8 with a 4.21 ERA lifetime vs. the Brewers. The Cubs start a pair of rookies, Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome. But Fukudome is a veteran of Japanese baseball. Youngster Felix Pie, although not a rookie, gives the Cubs another dose of youth in the lineup.

Next: Houston Astros at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday