A little bad could lead to good for Cubs

For the love of Dave Geisel and all that's holy, and for the sake of suffering Cubs fans worldwide, let us pray the Cubs can overcome the loss of Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood.

A moment of silence, please, for the departed DeRosa, who was declared a Hall of Famer the minute he left the Chicago.

Yes, this is the same DeRosa who was essentially a struggling backup infielder until he found sudden success in Texas at age 31, discovering magic at the Ballpark in Arlington.

As for Wood, bow your heads for the man who took home $49 million while winning 77 games in 11 years.

He was pretty good the last two years out of the bullpen, when he wasn't afflicted by various ailments, which didn't scare the Indians out of giving him $20 million for the next two years.

Good luck with that.

All sarcasm aside, we understand the need to wring hands and the search for what may go wrong.

It is the life of a Cubs fan.

But don't worry, because things will go wrong this year.

Milton Bradley will hurt himself, if not others.

Derrek Lee may look old at times.

Aramis Ramirez will disappear for a week here or there, as he always does.

Kosuke Fukudome will miss a road trip with vertigo after spinning himself to the ground in the batter's box.

And Alfonso Soriano will hurt an arch tiptoeing around those dangerous bricks in left field, if he doesn't first develop a full-blown allergy to ivy.

Carlos Zambrano will miss time with a cracked nail after attempting to punch an infielder who butchers a groundball.

Rich Harden will be Rich Harden.

Ryan Dempster may remember he's Ryan Dempster.

And Carlos Marmol will get a week's paid holiday in Hawaii during July to recover from exhaustion.

None of these difficulties will greatly affect the Central Division race, but they will keep Lou Piniella and company from getting bored, and that might be their biggest problem this year.

The Cubs clinched the division Dec. 18, when CC Sabathia signed with the Yankees, and so how do you get through the next six months without falling asleep?

Hey, I could be wrong. It has happened a time or three.

I thought for sure Jake Peavy would be here already, and maybe it will still happen. What hasn't changed from November is that the Cubs want him, the Padres don't, and Peavy wants to be here.

While the Padres changed owners in a couple of months, it has taken the Cubs more than two years and still it's not done.

If Peavy never winds up here, you can ask Sam Zell if those few extra dollars he got out of the deal, while holding it up and holding it up, were really worth it.

Nevertheless, I fail to see the competition for the Cubs in the Central, though I am aware a healthy Chris Carpenter intends to start and win 60 games for St. Louis this season, and that the Cubs should be positively terrified of this possibility.

However, back in 2007, at the beginning of June when the Cubs were 9 under, 71/2 games out and only 2 more defeats from falling into last place, I insisted the Cubs still had to win the division because no one else could.

And in 2008, when the Cubs had been swept by the White Sox on the South Side in late June and had seen their lead shrink to only 21/2 over the Cards and 41/2 over the Brewers, as we walked toward the clubhouse after that game I told Cubs media-relations boss Peter Chase the Cubs would win it by 10.

Maybe this is a technicality, but when the Cubs clinched they were up 10 before giving back a couple of games during a meaningless final week of the season.

Chase talks about it as though it were a great call. I think nothing of the sort. I saw it as obvious and inevitable, just like the year before that and the season we are about to endure.

If the Cubs are lucky, and I truly mean this, they will be challenged somewhere along the way this season, forcing them to stay focused and dialed in as they reach the postseason.

Funny things happen in baseball, and with injuries and age who knows how the Cubs may find a way to make this interesting.

As it stands, the Cubs' true enemy has not yet shown its face, though my guess is it may end up being boredom.

Some genuine competition and adversity would be the best thing for them.

It also would give fans a reason to fret.

That's not a bad thing. After all, a fan has to stay in shape for the postseason, too, right?