Who many years are we going to suck?

[C.C.]

And "Who Many" seriously, edit that.

 

 

You mean "Howe Many".

[Theo]

And "Who Many" seriously, edit that.

 

 

You mean "Howe Many".

 

We are laughing at you, not with you.

[neely crenshaw]

I don't think the new regime will be here for 19 losing seasons...

[C.C.]

And "Who Many" seriously, edit that.

 

 

You mean "Howe Many".

 

We are laughing at you, not with you.

at least your laughing.

[samhainn77]

My best guess:

2013 - continued purge of the aging and expensive roster while drafting and acquiring good young talent. No veteran FA's signed.2014 - some of the young talent is on the verge of contributing. .500 is an achievable goal by the end of the season.

2015 - team is in contention, some FA's are signed and the budget increases.

 

 

I've heard this notion a few times but I can't imagine Hoyer not trying to pick up some reasonably priced free agents with 2+ years of control in the off season. It's the easiest/only way to turn $ (which they have a ton of laying around) into long term assets. If they pick up Edwin Jackson and Kyle Lohse in the offseason, they may find themselves near contention with some surprise performances. If not they Maholm them into long term assets at the deadline.

[UMFan83]

We're going to try to stop sucking by 2014, but that doesn't mean we will. Pirates-like streak of futility coming.

 

God I hope not.

 

If team is still this bad in year 6 and the farm system wasn't about to bust with ML ready guys, Theo and Co would probably be forced out and a new guy would come in and his plan would probably involve more spending (if possible, I know you are the leader of the Cubs won't be able to spend like a big market team of we suck too long band).

[champaignchris]

From June 10 through Aug 1, the Cubs are 24-20 (.545).

 

It's not outrageous to think that if they extend Garza instead of trade him and pick up a decent free agent pitcher that they'll be about .500 next year.

[rocket]

i guarantee the cubs win the world series next year

[El Duderino]

i guarantee the cubs win the world series next year

 

that's the spirit.

[samhainn77]

i guarantee the cubs win the world series next year

 

Who can you make such a guarantee?

[davell]

Under 70 wins next year, while trying out Brett and Vitters, making sure Rizzo, Castro, and Shark continue to progress. No big additions at all, Garza dealt. Over .500 in 2014, maybe make the playoffs. 2015 and for the rest of Theo's 10 year run here, dominate the division.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Part of the reason that the Hendry era ended up the way it did is because he tried too hard to go from awful straight to good without stopping at decent in between. I think that with this regime, decent is right around the corner, but good & great will take a while. However, when we get there we should be able to stay there for more than a year or two.

[Coach C]

Would be nice to have a decade of dominance in the NL Central....

[Soul]

We'd be very fortunate to turn in a solid season in 2014. My thinking is more on the 2015 timeframe. I think we need 2 more seasons to flesh things out -- find out who from our system will develop vs. who will fail, then make the acquisitions to compensate.

 

It's not fun to think about, but this is long-term.

[Coach C]

We'd be very fortunate to turn in a solid season in 2014. My thinking is more on the 2015 timeframe. I think we need 2 more seasons to flesh things out -- find out who from our system will develop vs. who will fail, then make the acquisitions to compensate.

 

It's not fun to think about, but this is long-term.

 

Yeah, I was thinking 2015 as well.

 

2013 - New players/young group

2014 - Same core, getting better - .500 ball, maybe some new FA additions that are being added to the piece of puzzle

2015 - Begin dominating NL Central.

 

?

[Little Slide Rooter]

We'd be very fortunate to turn in a solid season in 2014. My thinking is more on the 2015 timeframe. I think we need 2 more seasons to flesh things out -- find out who from our system will develop vs. who will fail, then make the acquisitions to compensate.

 

It's not fun to think about, but this is long-term.

 

Yeah, I was thinking 2015 as well.

 

2013 - New players/young group

2014 - Same core, getting better - .500 ball, maybe some new FA additions that are being added to the piece of puzzle

2015 - Begin dominating NL Central.

 

?

 

The problem with dominating the NL Central by 2015 is not only do the Cardinals have a very good big league team, with a lot of good, young players mixed in with the old timers, but they've also got one of the best farm systems out there. And that's not even taking into consideration the stars that they're sure to pull out of their asses.

[Guest]

i think next years draft will be the last time the cubs are picking in the tup 10. i expect the team to be improved next year, and i think we should feel that we have a chance to actually do something going into the 2014 season.

[Soul]

Define improved. And "do something."

[Guest]

I'm bullish on 2014. 100th anv. for Wrigley. They have to get some pitching though.

[USSoccer]

Assuming we roll 7's in the annual "which team's relievers will suck and which won't" game, and assuming we're able to sign a good starter or two, I don't see how .500 is an unrealistic goal for next year. The core position players here now of Rizzo, Castro and Barney are just fine; they need to launch LaHair into the sun, and find an actual 3B to make .500 happen, but definitely realistic.

 

Barring an unexpected breakout or two, I think 2014 is when we can begin to actually expect contention.

[Guest]

Define improved. And "do something."

 

by "improved" i mean not tank within the first 2 months of the season.

 

by "do something" i mean be at least somewhat competitive. look at some of the teams in the wild card chases this year. by the beginning of the 2014 season, i think we'll have enough in the system to be excited about to the point where we can say "if we get some stuff to fall our way, we could actually be playing for something late in the season this year"

 

it's baseball, and there are 2 wild cards now. i think writing off the 2014 season at this point is silly, even if theo/jed continue to operate the way they have been.

[Soul]

I can't see anything near .500 in 2013. Where are the solid starting performances going to come from, over the course of 162 games?

[Soul]

Define improved. And "do something."

 

by "improved" i mean not tank within the first 2 months of the season.

 

by "do something" i mean be at least somewhat competitive. look at some of the teams in the wild card chases this year. by the beginning of the 2014 season, i think we'll have enough in the system to be excited about to the point where we can say "if we get some stuff to fall our way, we could actually be playing for something late in the season this year"

 

it's baseball, and there are 2 wild cards now. i think writing off the 2014 season at this point is silly, even if theo/jed continue to operate the way they have been.

 

OK, that's a pretty low bar though. Somewhat competitive would still mean missing the playoffs in a all likelihood.

 

I'll just say I expect the Cubs to miss the playoffs in 2013 and 2014, and make the playoffs in 2015.

[A New Era]

And "Who Many" seriously, edit that.

 

 

You mean "Howe Many".

 

We are laughing at you, not with you.

at least your laughing.

 

Do you have OCD? I do, and sometimes I spell things wrong on purpose or say something I know is incorrect even though I don't truly want to.

[SouthSideRyan]

Under 70 wins next year, while trying out Brett and Vitters, making sure Rizzo, Castro, and Shark continue to progress. No big additions at all, Garza dealt. Over .500 in 2014, maybe make the playoffs. 2015 and for the rest of Theo's 10 year run here, dominate the division.

 

I think it's more likely the Cubs finish with more than 70 wins this year than less next year.