Any chance we'll be good THIS year?

[bcl412]

I'm trying to excited about this season but since it's clearly a rebuilding year it's kind of hard to do right now aside from the fact that baseball is awesome.

 

Every once in a while teams do come out of nowhere in baseball and are competitive for most of the season or even make the playoffs. Is there any indication sabremetrically or elsewhere that says that this Cubs team could compete this year?

 

I kind of think that our pitching could possibly click and we have some decent defensive players so the Cubs could theoretically be a team that wins a lot of close games this year though I have a hard time seeing them scoring runs.

 

Is there anything else out there to hope for as far as a successful 2012 Cubs season goes?

[Prizefight]

Bryan LaHair NL MVP

[CubColtPacer]

Yes, it's unlikely but the Cubs have enough players who have shown spurts that they could compete.

 

On offense,

 

Soto having a 2008/2010 year.

LaHair playing up to and maybe beyond his computer projections.

Stewart breaking out.

Soriano having one last good season.

DeJesus bouncing back now that he's in a better offensive environment.

Castro taking the next big step forward.

 

The pitching staff has tons of upside and tons of downside as well from just about everybody.

 

The problem for the Cubs is that without elite players, they need most of these to happen rather than a few. But this team isn't devoid of talent, and there's always a chance that it all just falls into place.

[bcl412]

I think the Brewers will be by far the best team in the division (though I always underrate the Cardinals) but I could see a scenario where every other team in the division struggles too. So with the right combination of luck I suppose competitiveness will be possible.

[Old Style]

It's going to happen THIS year and it will look exactly like this...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a9kLDdAot4

[Little Slide Rooter]

It looks to me like it could be another 85 wins could win the division type of season.

 

The Brewers just lost Fielder. Chances are that Brauns numbers are going to take a dip, if for no other reason than because he's no longer protected by Fielder. Corey Hart and Shawn Marcum are both already having injury issues, and Ricky Weeks and Yovanni Gallardo always seem to as well. Axford looks like a shut down cloer, but so did Dan Kolb and Derrick Turnbow for a year.

 

The Cardinals just lost the best player in the world(no Theriot jokes please), their ace is coming off a major injury, and virtually any member of their core are prime candidates to spend a good chunk of the season on the DL. Even last year, they simply were not as good of a team as they looked to be in the last few months of the 2011 season and they're worse this year.

 

The Reds: Nothing really wows me about them, but they seem solid all around. Cueto and Latos should be a formidable 1-2, but beyond tat, the rotation is not a pretty one.

 

The Pirates are...um....young.

 

I stand by my assessment that if enough goes right( Soriano, Soto, LaHair, Stewart, DeJesus, entire rotation) that we could keep relevant through July, and perhaps make a big pickup.

[treebird]

no

 

next thread plz

[Guest]

It looks to me like it could be another 85 wins could win the division type of season.

 

The Brewers just lost Fielder. Chances are that Brauns numbers are going to take a dip, if for no other reason than because he's no longer protected by Fielder. Corey Hart and Shawn Marcum are both already having injury issues, and Ricky Weeks and Yovanni Gallardo always seem to as well. Axford looks like a shut down cloer, but so did Dan Kolb and Derrick Turnbow for a year.

 

The Cardinals just lost the best player in the world(no Theriot jokes please), their ace is coming off a major injury, and virtually any member of their core are prime candidates to spend a good chunk of the season on the DL. Even last year, they simply were not as good of a team as they looked to be in the last few months of the 2011 season and they're worse this year.

 

The Reds: Nothing really wows me about them, but they seem solid all around. Cueto and Latos should be a formidable 1-2, but beyond tat, the rotation is not a pretty one.

 

The Pirates are...um....young.

 

I stand by my assessment that if enough goes right( Soriano, Soto, LaHair, Stewart, DeJesus, entire rotation) that we could keep relevant through July, and perhaps make a big pickup.

 

Was this aimed at B2B or yourself?

[Exile on Waveland]

"Good"? No, not seeing it. Even if basically everything goes right.

[Little Slide Rooter]

It looks to me like it could be another 85 wins could win the division type of season.

 

The Brewers just lost Fielder. Chances are that Brauns numbers are going to take a dip, if for no other reason than because he's no longer protected by Fielder. Corey Hart and Shawn Marcum are both already having injury issues, and Ricky Weeks and Yovanni Gallardo always seem to as well. Axford looks like a shut down cloer, but so did Dan Kolb and Derrick Turnbow for a year.

 

The Cardinals just lost the best player in the world(no Theriot jokes please), their ace is coming off a major injury, and virtually any member of their core are prime candidates to spend a good chunk of the season on the DL. Even last year, they simply were not as good of a team as they looked to be in the last few months of the 2011 season and they're worse this year.

 

The Reds: Nothing really wows me about them, but they seem solid all around. Cueto and Latos should be a formidable 1-2, but beyond tat, the rotation is not a pretty one.

 

The Pirates are...um....young.

 

I stand by my assessment that if enough goes right( Soriano, Soto, LaHair, Stewart, DeJesus, entire rotation) that we could keep relevant through July, and perhaps make a big pickup.

 

Was this aimed at B2B or yourself?

 

It's aimed at the fact that we're in a weak division and have a lot of players that at least have an off being valuable, whether they're one time highly touted players (Stewart, Maholm, Volstad)or players that could potentially have a big, bounce back year(Soriano, Soto, Marmol, DeJesus,). It would take a lot to go right for it to happen and a lot of extra sugar in the Kool-Aid to get me or anyone else to believe that it could really happen but I'm entering the season in the same state of mind I did pretty much every year up until the early '00's and just hoping to sit back and enjoy some games, and if I happen to be surprised by a team that manages to contend, that's a bonus.

[Guest]

It looks to me like it could be another 85 wins could win the division type of season.

 

The Brewers just lost Fielder. Chances are that Brauns numbers are going to take a dip, if for no other reason than because he's no longer protected by Fielder. Corey Hart and Shawn Marcum are both already having injury issues, and Ricky Weeks and Yovanni Gallardo always seem to as well. Axford looks like a shut down cloer, but so did Dan Kolb and Derrick Turnbow for a year.

 

The Cardinals just lost the best player in the world(no Theriot jokes please), their ace is coming off a major injury, and virtually any member of their core are prime candidates to spend a good chunk of the season on the DL. Even last year, they simply were not as good of a team as they looked to be in the last few months of the 2011 season and they're worse this year.

 

The Reds: Nothing really wows me about them, but they seem solid all around. Cueto and Latos should be a formidable 1-2, but beyond tat, the rotation is not a pretty one.

 

The Pirates are...um....young.

 

I stand by my assessment that if enough goes right( Soriano, Soto, LaHair, Stewart, DeJesus, entire rotation) that we could keep relevant through July, and perhaps make a big pickup.

 

Was this aimed at B2B or yourself?

 

It's aimed at the fact that we're in a weak division and have a lot of players that at least have an off being valuable, whether they're one time highly touted players (Stewart, Maholm, Volstad)or players that could potentially have a big, bounce back year(Soriano, Soto, Marmol, DeJesus,). It would take a lot to go right for it to happen and a lot of extra sugar in the Kool-Aid to get me or anyone else to believe that it could really happen but I'm entering the season in the same state of mind I did pretty much every year up until the early '00's and just hoping to sit back and enjoy some games, and if I happen to be surprised by a team that manages to contend, that's a bonus.

 

Jesus Christ.

 

 

The bolded.

[davell]

LaHair needs to have the type of season he's been projected to have. Stewart needs to have the type of season he's had in the past(not last year), DeJesus needs to bounce back, Soriano needs to have a solid year, Soto does too. If Castro takes another step forward, the offense will be fine.

 

The pen needs health from Kerry and a bounceback from Marmol. Have a few guys fit into roles, after that. Garza needs to be the same, Dempster needs to be a mid rotation guy, one of Shark or Volstad needs to take a serious step forward and be a legit 2-3 type.

 

Not all of these WILL happen, but if most do, we'll probably be in contention come the trade deadline, since we're in a weak division.

[Little Slide Rooter]

It looks to me like it could be another 85 wins could win the division type of season.

 

The Brewers just lost Fielder. Chances are that Brauns numbers are going to take a dip, if for no other reason than because he's no longer protected by Fielder. Corey Hart and Shawn Marcum are both already having injury issues, and Ricky Weeks and Yovanni Gallardo always seem to as well. Axford looks like a shut down cloer, but so did Dan Kolb and Derrick Turnbow for a year.

 

The Cardinals just lost the best player in the world(no Theriot jokes please), their ace is coming off a major injury, and virtually any member of their core are prime candidates to spend a good chunk of the season on the DL. Even last year, they simply were not as good of a team as they looked to be in the last few months of the 2011 season and they're worse this year.

 

The Reds: Nothing really wows me about them, but they seem solid all around. Cueto and Latos should be a formidable 1-2, but beyond tat, the rotation is not a pretty one.

 

The Pirates are...um....young.

 

I stand by my assessment that if enough goes right( Soriano, Soto, LaHair, Stewart, DeJesus, entire rotation) that we could keep relevant through July, and perhaps make a big pickup.

 

Was this aimed at B2B or yourself?

 

It's aimed at the fact that we're in a weak division and have a lot of players that at least have an off being valuable, whether they're one time highly touted players (Stewart, Maholm, Volstad)or players that could potentially have a big, bounce back year(Soriano, Soto, Marmol, DeJesus,). It would take a lot to go right for it to happen and a lot of extra sugar in the Kool-Aid to get me or anyone else to believe that it could really happen but I'm entering the season in the same state of mind I did pretty much every year up until the early '00's and just hoping to sit back and enjoy some games, and if I happen to be surprised by a team that manages to contend, that's a bonus.

 

Jesus Christ.

 

 

The bolded.

 

Oh that. Mainly me.

[Guest]

I think they will become more fun to watch as the season progresses. I don't think they can challenge the top of the division, but after the trade deadline and into September, it will be youth wherever possible trying to prove that they deserve to be part of the future of the organization.

[Wheelimus]

If well over half of the 25 man roster over performs there's a chance we surprise everyone this season. Maybe even win it all. Sadly, the day after the frogs start raining. Day after that the dolphins fly away singing "thanks for the fish." And then various other anomalies as the world slowly crumbles.

[BeerHere]

I think they will become more fun to watch as the season progresses. I don't think they can challenge the top of the division, but after the trade deadline and into September, it will be youth wherever possible trying to prove that they deserve to be part of the future of the organization.

Agreed. The first half of the season will probably be pretty bad, but it could be "ok" around .500 or so. The second half should be much more entertaining with younger players moving up and (hopefully) some of the veterans getting traded for prospects.

[Guest]

if good means at least 1 game over .500, there is chance. If good means challenging for a playoff spot, then no.

[Little Slide Rooter]

if good means at least 1 game over .500, there is chance. If good means challenging for a playoff spot, then no.

 

Depending on what "at least 1 game over .500" means, if we're there by July and the rest of our division shapes up as I expect it to, we'd probably be about 5 games out and who knows what type of help could be available.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Sure. It's baseball.

 

All you need is about 8 guys to have seasons 1-1.5 WAR better than you expect, and then get about 5-7 extra wins from pythagorean variance and such.

 

It's a 100-1 shot, but it can happen.

[MSG T]

If, by good, you mean better than last year despite the lower payroll then yes, I think they can be good. If you mean still in the division/wild card race until the last few days of the season, then no.

 

I am looking forward to hanging out at Sec Taylor more and seeing Rizzo/Jackson and company, at least the first few months of the season.

[bcl412]

If, by good, you mean better than last year despite the lower payroll then yes, I think they can be good. If you mean still in the division/wild card race until the last few days of the season, then no.

 

I am looking forward to hanging out at Sec Taylor more and seeing Rizzo/Jackson and company, at least the first few months of the season.

 

I'm annoyed that the year I move away from Iowa they have some good prospects there that I would really want to watch.

[MSG T]

My problem is going to be all the track meets, 50+ Little League and HS baseball games, summer league and AAU basketball games and football camps my two sons have going on this spring and summer. Going to have to spend as many of those off-days as I can watching the I-Cubs.

[BeerHere]

If, by good, you mean better than last year despite the lower payroll then yes, I think they can be good. If you mean still in the division/wild card race until the last few days of the season, then no.

 

I am looking forward to hanging out at Sec Taylor more and seeing Rizzo/Jackson and company, at least the first few months of the season.

 

I'm annoyed that the year I move away from Iowa they have some good prospects there that I would really want to watch.

At least you don't have to live in Iowa anymore.

[bcl412]

If, by good, you mean better than last year despite the lower payroll then yes, I think they can be good. If you mean still in the division/wild card race until the last few days of the season, then no.

 

I am looking forward to hanging out at Sec Taylor more and seeing Rizzo/Jackson and company, at least the first few months of the season.

 

I'm annoyed that the year I move away from Iowa they have some good prospects there that I would really want to watch.

At least you don't have to live in Iowa anymore.

 

I liked Iowa better than Indiana.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

They'll be better than expected due to the "change of atmosphere" that has relaxed the organization or something. Seriously, we'll probably hear that and there's no reason not to like it. Plus the roster should be a little younger and yadda yadda...No playoffs or anything, but nothing embarrassing for the majority of the time.