As that magical time of year rolls around again, I ask myself, ‘Could this be The Year?’ That’s right, I’m a Cubs fan. I bleed red and blue. The Cubs are without a doubt my favorite team and the only team I need to see win a championship before I die. But this year has a different feel to it than years in the past. For the first time in a while, I don’t know whether to write off this team or to truly believe there is a chance this might be the year. I want to believe this team can return to the form it had in 2008 when it won 97 games, but I’m not sure if I can fully invest myself into this team again, only to be disappointed.
On the bright side, Milton Bradley-self proclaimed Kanye West of baseball-is off in Seattle where he will under-produce and over-talk once again. In his place is Carlos Silva, who won the number four spot in the rotation this spring. Silva had a great spring, but it remains to be seen whether he will ever regain the form he had when he was awarded his hefty contract from Seattle. In addition, Carlos Zambrano and Geovany Soto-who have been criticized for their fitness in the past-came to camp in fantastic shape. In fact, Soto lost so much weight the Cubs asked him to gain some back. This renewed commitment shows at least these two Cubbies aren’t satisfied with last year’s disastrous results.
The Cubs also added Marlon Byrd to replace Bradley. At the very least Byrd isn’t Bradley, plus he improves the Cubs’ defense by moving Kosuke Fukudome back to his original position in right field. Also, rookie Tyler Colvin hit the cover off the baseball in Spring Training and forced his way onto the big league roster. Should an outfielder go down, watch out for him to go off. Chicago’s biggest acquisition could be Rudy Jaramillo, its new hitting coach. If Jaramillo can get the Cubs offense of 2008 back into shape, there is no doubt the Cubs will be playing in October.
This Cubs team does have some major areas of concern. Jim Hendry, Chicago’s GM, has failed to give the Cubs an experienced bullpen. This is a recipe for disaster as Lou Piniella is often critiqued as a poor manager of the bullpen and with only two solid veterans, John Grabow and Carlos Marmol, in the pen, they are likely to be overused. Another problem is Alfonso Soriano’s mammoth contract. Soriano isn’t getting any younger and his body showed wear-and-tear last year. Can he rebound and be the middle of the order bat the Cubbies need, or will it be another year of disappointments for the Cubs superstar?
There are other areas of concern on this baseball team, but who am I kidding? I’m a Cubs fan; I couldn’t keep myself away if I tried.
Pat Grayhack is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected].
