The Core for 2005

I look ahead to next year and I see, from the current roster, only a few guys whom I hope are still here. They are:

Derrek Lee
Mark Prior
Aramis Ramirez
Kerry Wood
Carlos Zambrano

Whom else from this team deserves to come back? Barrett? Perhaps, but his glove is just mediocre. He's not a "build around" kind of guy. Sosa? Not a chance. Korey. Ha!

Sure, there are other guys who could be a solid part of the team. Matt Clement, Greg Maddux, Todd Walker, and Todd Hollandsworth all come to mind. But these guys are all older, role players, or probably replaceable by younger guys that would open money for filling huge holes in left and at short.

Those five are your core.

The good news? That's a very solid core.

The bad news? Too many holes.

Jim Hendry needs to get to work.