Chicago Cubs Preview and Prediction
May 22, 2008
Can spending the big bucks get the Chicago Cubs from worst to first in the NL Central in 2007? Management sure hopes so. Juan Pierre led the NL in hits and stolen bases last season, but Cubs fans don’t act like they will miss a single thing about him now that they have their 40/40 guy Alfonso Soriano. With Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee both capable of 40-plus homerun seasons, the Cubs now have three of the best sluggers in the National League. But will it be enough?
For a team that finished last a season ago, realistically, any kind of improvement should be enjoyed. But Cubs fans, players, and management alike will not settle for less than a trip to the postseason. However, I’m sure management will be sick when they find out that it’s really all dependent on Chicago’s pitching staff not how many homeruns Soriano hits. Houston has made the postseason for years with teams unable to score runs, but ace pitching has allowed them to play late into October. St. Louis does not win the World Series last season if its staff did not get hot at the right time. The Cubs are hoping that the big money they spent on Ted Lilly will not look like a foolish decision. They have hopes of combining him with Zambrano to form the best one-two combination in the NL. They also brought in Jason Marquis to try to steal some of the Cardinals pitching magic. If Kerry Wood can excel in the bullpen to help shore up what has been the weakest part of this team, the Cubs can start thinking fall ball.
Chicago looks great on paper. They made offensive moves and pitching moves and brought in a fiery manager who knows how to win. The thing is, with so many newcomers, there is going to be an adjustment period. Usually, last place teams don’t have many expectations which allows them to play more relaxed. This is when I’ve seen the most success with turnaround teams. The Cubs are taking a page out of the Florida Marlins’ book by attempting to buy their World Series rings. This is a very new way of thinking in a city where its fans, players, and management have been content with just a nice time at the ball park for so many years, and not necessarily a winning season. I’m not sure Chicago is going to be able to perform under the pressure that spending $300 million creates, but I’m not going to fault the Cubs management for finally trying something ambitious. Chicago may not make the postseason in 2007, but the Cubs will play a lot better baseball. In my opinion, that’s money well spent. So let’s lose the all or nothing attitude and feel good about the Cubs showing us that they want to win.
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