Cursed Comeback Chicago Cubs

Regurgitated annually is the notion the Cubs will end their World Series drought and bring a championship ring home to the baseball-famished city. Cub backers dream of declaring their darling team the best in baseball. They imagine a world where Wrigley hosts the World Series and fantasize about sweeping the AL representative. Will this be the year for the Cubs? Experts perceive Chicago running away with the NL Central division and striding steadily into post-season glory. Chicago has a team of players who can guide this club into the playoffs and beyond.
Last year, the stars were aligned for Chicago to capture the crown. 2008 was exactly 100 years since the 1908 team appeared in the Fall Classic. Fans believed in their lovable losers a year ago, but hours after losing their final game to the Dodgers, I am sure were not so let down. After all, this is the Cubs we’re talking about. The team hasn’t been tothe World Series in over 100 years.
Wrigley Field is one of baseball’s valued venues. Lou Piniella again is the manager for the NL club who won 97 games in 2008. Piniella has a strong starting rotation at his fingertips. The same starting five pitchers return, but the bullpen will be without Kerry Wood at the back end.
Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Milton Bradley form a fearsome four at the plate. The need for a left-handed bat was addressed in the off-season with the acquisition of Bradley. Milton can switch hit for Piniella and whack for power. He can also be a major headache for a manager some consider hard to please. Bradley brings baggage to the Cubs. The team already has one hothead in pitcher, Carlos Zambrano. More distressing than Milton though are the sporadic and spontaneous injuries that seem to occur to Soriano and starter, Rich Harden every season. Harden can’t stay on the field long enough to put up CY Young numbers he is well capable of throwing. Harden has that fresh from high school face and is an appealing hurler when he’s tossing his pretty pitches. Soriano is as scary as any slugger when he steps into the batter’s box. Both players are going to have be in prime shape. The Cubs will ride their talent throughout the summer. Lucrative Lee is a scary force and a defensively-sound fielder. Lee’s all-star bat brings a brashness to the Chicago lineup any opposing team would dread. He is also a team leader and spokesperson but could be curbed by an aching aged body.
The rest of the lineup consists of Kosuku Fukudome, Micah Hoffpauir, Mike Fontenot, Geovany Soto, and Ryan Theriot. Soriano hits leadoff because his aggressive swing and ability to steal bases score the most runs. The Cubs were efficient in scoring early last season. They also had some large leads in the early innings of several games to accompany their winning season record. Defense is going to be important, and was part of the problem during last year’s playoff fumble. Soriano certainly does not have any Gold Gloves in his trophy case. Hoffpauir is also an error-prone first baseman, but a young one. Micah had a fine spring, one of the best for all major leaguers, at the plate. Fontenot plays second base next to a fine third baseman in Ramirez. Theriot is Piniella’s right-handed shortstop and hits near the bottom of the order. Fukudome is a smooth second hole hitter and is a capable glove in center. He is a Punch-and-Judy hitter but will show the occasional power to the fences. His name alone subjects him to public mockery however.
Zambrano is the ace of the staff and a grinder who knows exactly what he wants to do with the ball. The stubborn pitcher mixes off speed stuff with a devastating fastball for a deadly combination. Harden, Ted Lilly, Sean Marshall and Ryan Demptser round out the startling rotation. Not a bad five to lead a team, I would gander.
Kevin Gregg and Aaron Heilman were added as right-handed pitchers to an already stacked bullpen. Heilman is a former Met, who always considered himself above the relief role. Something to keep a keen eye on this year will be Heilman’s production for the Cubs. If Piniella eventually decides Aaron has starter material, I wonder how Heilman will perform. He might not get the chance unless a major injury occurs to one of the starters. Gregg is no slouch, and also an ambitious reliever with high personal goals. He recently won the closer job over Carlos Marmol. Marmol gets hitters to chase his pitches and pop up with relative frequency. However, Gregg is slated to appear when the Cubs start the season in Houston on Monday.
Catcher, Koyie Hill, beat out Paul Bako the for backup job, but there are still two spots left to be determined for the final pitchers. Chad Gaudin, David Patton, Jeff Samardzija and Angel Guzman are the four options. Joey Gathright is a quality pinch hitter riding the pine this Spring for the Cubs. Gathright is a quick and slick outfield option too. Veteran, Mark DeRosa, was traded during the winter and replaced by utility man, Aaron Miles. Miles gives the Cubs much needed depth and might be a sleeper player. Luiz Vizacaino joins Heilman and Kevin Hart in the bullpen for Chicago. The pen is considered a strength for this team.
Piniella is no conservative coach so I assume we will see some changes throughout the Cubs season. His heads-up style is great but many of his choices are questionable. Still, the Cubs play in a weak division. They could be rivaled by Dusty Baker and the up-start Cincinnati Reds. Cincy’s rotation is going to claim credibility, and if all goes well, could give the Cubs a run for the division title. In the end, I do think the Cubs are too deep to be surpassed by any of the other NL Central clubs. The curse of the Billy goat has to end sometime. Right?

Parting points: In case you haven’t caught on by now, yesterday was April Fools Day. Thus, my blog was not true. I am not going to become a Mets fan.