The Chicago Cubs are baseball’s most storied and most tortured team. They haven’t won World Series since 1908 and won’t win one this year either. Mike Quade is entering his first full season as manager after taking over for Lou Pinella last year after Pinella got fed up with the pitiful 2010 Cubs. They are a little better this year, having added Carlos Pena, Kerry Wood, and Matt Garza, but the Cubs need production out of the guys they already have.
Projected Lineup:
- Kosuke Fukudome (RF)
- Starlin Castro (SS)
- Aramis Ramirez (3B)
- Carlos Pena (1B)
- Alfonso Soriano (LF)
- Marlon Byrd (CF)
- Giovanni Soto (C)
- Blake DeWitt (2B)
Projected Rotation:
- Ryan Dempster
- Matt Garza
- Carlos Zambrano
- Randy Wells
- Carlos Silva
Strengths:
Back of the ‘pen: The return of Kerry Wood to Chicago is sentimental for many fans but it has a myriad of practical implications as well. Wood was absolutely lights out after going over to the Yankees mid-season in 2010 (0.69 ERA in 24 games) and will look to serve in that same set-up role for the Cubbies. Carlos Marmol, though he can be a little wild at times, was very effective last season with a 2.55 ERA and 38 saves.
Castro: Stralin Castro was the Cubs top prospect heading into last season and he did not disappoint. Castro didn’t showcase a ton of power but hit .300 with 31 doubles in 125 games in his rookie season. Normally, that would be good for significant Rookie of the Year consideration but in 2010 he was overshadowed by Jason Heyward and Buster Posey. Like we wrote about Posey on Day 1, Castro has to be careful to avoid the sophomore slump as pitchers learn to adjust to his hitting style.
Weaknesses:
Consistency/ Its not their fault: On paper, this team looks really good. It is staffed by former 
All-Stars and highly regarded imports and prospects. On the face of it, it looks like the Cubs brass did a good job assembling this group. The one problem is that none of these guys have preformed up to expectations. For instance, Alfonso Soriano was the next big thing in baseball when he broke out with the Yankees in 2001. In 2002, he was one HR shy of 40-40. Remember, he was traded for A-Rod when A-Rod was at his peak. Since coming to the Cubs in 2007, he hasn’t stolen more than 19 bases or driven in more than 79 runs. The last two seasons he hit .241 and .258 respectively. Aramis Ramirez has been the model of inconsistency. Among many other things, Ramirez, who hit .310 in 2007 and .317 in 2009 (in 82 games), hit .241 last season. Koske Fukodome hasn’t panned out since coming over from Japan either and experiments such as Milton Bradley on the North Side have crashed and burned. If all these guys perform up to expectations, the Cubs could be a force, however, there’s no evidence that would lead us to believe that will happen.
Storylines:
Quade: Mike Quade was the players choice over heir-apparent Ryne Sandberg. In his first full season he has a lot of expectations from fans and management.
Chemistry: I considered putting this under “weaknesses,” because the Cubs don’t have any. Last year it was Carlos Zambrano’s blowup that landed him in Anger Management and this season the Cubs have ALREADY had a closed door meeting to discuss another dugout fight involving Carlos Silva. Its understandable that tensions might be high among so many underachievers and the Cubs might be so focused on not killing each other that they forget to win games.
Prediction:
79-83, 4th Place, NL Central. The Cubs have too much talent not to win, yet they consistently find a way. With the emergence of the Brewers as a contender and the Reds and Cardinals clearly superior, the Cubs are destined for a 4th place finish. The guys who’ve struggled will continue to struggle. Its time this team gets blown up and rebuilt.
Bold Prediction:
- Mike Quade stays the entire season but is fired after the Cubs miss the playoffs, again. Enter Ryne Sandberg, if he’ll take the job. (For the record, it wouldn’t surprise me if Joe Torre is the 2012 Cubs manager, just wait)
- Carlos Pena returns to his old form, hitting .265 with 38 bombs.
- Soriano continues to struggle, is traded at the deadline and resurrects his career, having a monster second half.
- Albert Pujols does not sign with the Cubs. Every goat in Chicago is sacrificed to the baseball gods. It doesn’t work, they still lose.
And Now Something Completely Different:
Apparently Usher, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, and Nelly Furtado performed at a New Years Eve Party in 2009 hosted by Mummar al-Qaddafi’s son. They have donated the proceeds to human rights charities. Does anyone else not care? I think its nice that they donated the money but I’m not going to expect every performer to make sure their employer for every show doesn’t have ties to any homicidal, delusional dictators. Disagree? Let me know.
The typical human is a 28 year old Han Chinese man. There are over 9 million of them.
Here’s an article about a dissenting voice in the evangelical movement.
Its important to keep up with current events.
The new iPad is only .34 inches thick. Cool.
Do you have measles?
As Always, offthebench@offthebenchbaseball.com or in the comments section below.
-Max Frankel
