Brewer Nation SPS '08: Chicago Cubs

By: Big Rygg

Chicago Cubs 
 2007 Record: 85-77
1st place in the NL Central

2007 Review

The Chicago Cubs lost a LOT of games in 2006 and management made a LOT of changes as a result. They spent a bunch of money on free agents and brought in a new manager after jettisoning Dusty Baker. The result in 2007? A 19-game improvement in the win column and a division title.

The Cubs started out very slow in 2007, but once they switched a couple of things around (like moving Alfonso Soriano from a failed experiment in CF to his more comfortable LF) and the rotation settled down, the Cubs were able to overcame a near double-digit games deficit to overtake the Brewers late in the year, finishing 2 games better. 

Comings and Goings

After so many additions in 2007, you wouldn't think the Cubs made a ton of moves this past offseason. You'd be right.

The biggest move that they made was signing Japanese star player Kosuke Fukudome, a free agent coming off an injury-shortened season in 2006 with the Chunichi Dragons. Kosuke was the league MVP in 2006 in Japan, hitting over .300, knocking in over 30 home runs, and plating over 100 RBIs. He will most likely provide a nice addition to the Cubs' lineup, especially since he bats left-handed.

The Rest of the Additions...

Jose Ascanio - RP
Alex Cintron - SS
Jon Lieber - SP

Those that left:

Cliff Floyd - OF
Jacque Jones - OF
Jason Kendall - C
Wade Miller - SP
Craig Monroe - OF
Will Ohman - RP
Angel Pagan - OF
Mark Prior - SP
Steve Trachsel - SP

25 Man Roster

Click here to see the Cardinals' 25 Man Roster. This will save space and reading time if you don't care.

Potential Starters

Here's the way I see the starting eight and five-man rotation as of opening day this season. This is not in batting order by any means.

C - Geovanny Soto
1B - Derrek Lee
2B - Mark DeRosa (ha ha!)
3B - Aramis Ramirez
SS - Ryan Theriot
LF - Alfonso Soriano
CF - Felix Pie
RF - Kosuke Fukudome
P - Carlos Zambrano
P - Ted Lilly
P - Rich Hill
P - Ryan Dempster (though I don't honestly know why)
P - Jason Marquis

Extras on Players

Derrek Lee is another season removed from his wrist injury, so he'll probably come closer to his 2005 output than he did last season. Also, Kosuke is the wild card here. He has absolutely no MLB track record coming into this game, so there is no telling what he'll be able to do. (By now, we do know that he went 3/3 with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning today.)

X-Factor

The X-Factor here is whether or not late season and off season problems will carry over into this year. Jason Marquis and manager Lou Pinella had a public argument about whether or not Marquis would make the rotation this year. Zambrano, once he signed his big contract extension toward the end of last year, wasn't nearly as sharp as he was during the months leading up to the extension. Soriano broke a finger during spring training, so if that hampers him at all into another slow start, this Cubs lineup won't score nearly as many runs until he gets out of any slump. These things and more (along with the pressure of this being year 100) could add up to more than the fragile ego of Carlos Zambrano and the rest of the Cubs can handle.

2008 Predictions

Record: 87-75

I think that the additions of Fukudome and the eventual maturation of Geovanny Soto will be worth a couple more wins. I also don't expect such a slow start, nor such a strong finish to the season by the Cubs. I think they'll be a bit more consistent throughout the year and will ultimately end up with a couple more wins as a result.
 

Final Thoughts

It has to be mentioned because it is a reality and something that the Cubs will have to hear all year. It has been 100 years since the Cubs were World Champions of baseball. They've been to the playoffs several times since then (which in 100 years, you would think so), even reaching the World Series again, but haven't been able to close the deal in 99 tries.

A lot of national pundits have the Cubs winning the NL Central and some even have them winning the NL Pennant and the World Series as well. I think that the Cubs are media darlings, a bit, and that there is a romanticism with believing that 100 years will be the charm. Personally? 25 and 50 year anniversaries didn't do it for the Brewers, and 100 years won't do it for the Cubs.

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Agree/Disagree? As always, feel encouraged to leave comments.