Cubs Spanked in Spring Opener

Though there were several positives in the Spring Opener today against the Oakland Athletics the Cubs were downed 15-7. Here are some of the particulars.

Positives
Carlos Zambrano: Big Z threw two hitless innings, striking out two while walking one. Zambrano is hoping to build on the strong finish he had last season. After a tumultuous first half that included a stint in the bullpen and a suspension, Zambrano was superb down the stretch and started his spring of on a good note.
Alfonso Soriano: 3-3, Double, 2RBI. Soriano, known as a streaky hitter is coming off a season in which he played in 147 games, his most since 2006. After signing a mammoth contract with the Cubs, he has not lived up to the billing. Though relatively productive, injuries have hampered his time in the Windy City. Soriano is hoping to turn things around in Chicago and a hot start would be nice.
Starlin Castro: After a great rookie campaign, the young gun was 2-3 with a run scored. The big thing for Castro this season will be correcting some of the problems that deterred him on defense.
Offense in General: The Cubs offense exploded for four runs in the bottom of the first against potential AL Cy Young candidate Trevor Cahill. The Cubs racked up 16 hits, and showed glimpses of a potentially explosive offense.

Negatives
Tyler Colvin/Blake DeWitt: A personal favorite of mine, Colvin was 0-3 at the plate and left three men on base while DeWitt was 0-3 with five men left on base. The pair accounted for all three Cubs fielding miscues, with DeWitt making an error at second and Colvin making two in the outfield.
Matt Garza: Making his spring debut for the Cubs, Garza surrendered five runs on five hits while walking one and giving up a grand slam. Nothing to worry about here. Garza did however collect his first hit in professional baseball of any kind.
Pitching in General: The Cubs used eight pitchers in the spring opener and half of them gave up runs. Garza-five, Jeff Samardzija-one, John Grabow-two, and Justin Berg-7.

The Verdict: Some Good, Some Bad. It's way too early to jump to any conclusions but this-It's Baseball Season.