MLB Preview: Chicago Cubs

The Cubbies. How they always warm our hearts with their cute hi-jinks and never say die attitude. They are possibly one of the hardest franchises to dislike when you live on the west coast. Why? Because they never win.

The Cubs are the franchise that has gone the longest since winning a World Series. They did it last in 1908, after having won the previous one as well. They were at that point one of the best franchises around, centering on their talented infielders, Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. So much so, that a Giant fan even wrote a poem about them:

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double –
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

10 points to anyone who knows what gonfalon means. I had to look it up. Those Cubs were good. These Cubs are still pretty good, and they even play at the home of Elwood Blues, 1060 West Addison. But seriously, they play at Wrigley Field, one of the most beautiful stadiums in the league.They were actually a great team until about 1945. They featured other greats like Three-Finger Brown, Rogers Hornsby, and gabby Hartnett.

In 1945 during the World Series, however, then sent Billy Sianis, the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, home because of the foul odor of his pet goat. He declared that, "The Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." He was right, the Cubs haven't won a pennant since. They've had great teams and players, like Ernie Banks, Hank Sauer, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, and others, but every year, they fall short of the series.Last year was no exception, but at least it didn't end it heartbreak like 2003, which made life miserable for this poor soul:



Last year, the Cubs finished 75-87, only better than the Pirates in the central. Legendary manager Lou Pinella left the team two thirds of the way through the season, and was replaced by former A's first base coach Mike Quade. The Cubs finished 21st in ERA last year, and gave up the most walks in the majors. A saving grace on the pitching: fourth most strikeouts. And Carlos Zambrano, who does things like this:



The hitting wasn't much more exciting. They finished 18th in batting average and 16th in home runs. They also struck out the fifth most and finished tied for last in stolen bases. But, again, bright spot, it contained this guy!



The team did not only feature oft-injured Aramis Ramirez (.241/25/83) and the oft-injured Derrek Lee (.261/16/56), but also the young oft-injured Geovany Soto (.280/17/53). HA! Yes, the Cubs were snakebitten last year, but things could turn around this year. Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd, and Kosuke Fukudome all return to the outfield. In 2010 they combined for 49 home runs and 189 runs batted in. Starlin Castro and Blake DeWitt return to the middle infield. Both are young and still have not yet realized their potential. Finally, joining the offense to replace Lee will be former Oakland Athletic Carlos Pena, who did hit 28 home runs last year, but he also hit .196. He'll try to turn those numbers around in the new league.

On the hill, according to the Chicago Cubs web page, the ace will be Ryan Dempster (15-12, 3.85), who has excelled since being moved to the starting rotation and should anchor the staff just fine, though he will be 34. Following him will be the former Ray Matt Garza (15-10, 3.91), making for a solid 1-2 punch. Rounding out the rotation will be Carlos Zambrano (11-6, 3.33), Randy Wells (8-14, 4.26), and Carlos Silva (10-6, 4.22). The three have been good and bad. Zambrano can be one of the best in the game if he's on, but he can also be one of the worst once his temper flares. All 5 are 28 or older, making the rotation one of the oldest in the league. Closing games will be Carlos Marmol, who catapulted to one of the premier closers in the game with his 38 saves and ratio of 16 Ks/9 innings last year.

Here they are, your 2011 Cubbies:

C Geovany Soto
1B Carlos Pena
2B Blake DeWitt
SS Starlin Castro
3B Aramis Ramirez
LF Alfonso Soriano
CF Marlon Byrd
RF Kosuke Fukudome
SP Ryan Dempster
SP Matt Garza
SP Carlos Zambrano
SP Randy Wells
SP Carlos Silva
CL Carlos Marmol

Best Case Scenario
It's rough going to start out. Mike Quade goes through some growing pains trying to follow Pinella, and the tough NL Central is not forgiving. But after a 15-15 start, things start cooking and the Cubs start winning games. Matt Garza develops into a Cy Young candidate, while the back end of the rotation has more good games then bad games, turning the staff into a powerhouse that doesn't have any trouble handing the ball to the automatic Marmol.

By mid-July, the Cubs are only a game behind the Brew Crew in the standings, and ready to make their move. They do so by acquiring Dan Uggla and his contract from the sputtering Braves. The rest of the lineup stays healthy and Byrd, Soriano, Ramirez, Pena, and Soto combine for over 120 home runs. Now combined with Uggla's pop, the lineup is one of the most powerful in baseball. Still, a rough pitching September forces the Cubs to squeak by the Brewers for the division title on the last weekend of the regular season.

The Cubs breeze through the division series against the tired arms of the Giants rotation, and match up against he Phillies in the NLCS.... and the rest, remains a mystery.

Worst Case Scenario
The growing pains mentioned earlier are never quite sorted out, and Cubs fans everywhere wonder why Quade got the nod to manage over the legendary Ryne Sandberg. They still reach the 15-15 start, but then the flameout begins. Ramirez goes out for 6 weeks with a pulled hammy, while Pena strikes out more than even Jack Cust could ever imagine. With the two major power threats neutralized, the Cubs lineup becomes stagnant. Byrd and Soriano continue regressing, and Fukudome sends himself back to Japan. After Soto goes down for 2 weeks with a strained thumb, a 7 game losing streak puts the Cubs way out of the division.

Dempster and Garza do all they can, but 2 wins out of five is not enough to balance the horrendous back end. Zambrano starts hallucinating while on the mound, seeing goats where batters should be. This drives him into a frenzy during a game against the Phillies, where he assaults the Phanatic. MLB suspends him for 20 days. In an effort to right the ship and exorcise Zambrano's demons, Cub fans call for the head of Steve Bartman. In a scene reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, Bartman is sacrificed to the beast. Unfortunately, the Cubs still miss the playoffs and finish with a record below .500 for the second consecutive year.