What I Expect From The Cubs In 2012

That even though Steve Martin primarily is playing Banjo now, you have taken over the use of Air Quotes.

we may not be viewed as a contender, but I think this year is the start of something good.

78-84 seems accurate – I think that the regime change and the increase in overall depth will keep us from losing more.

You know what I’d like to know, is how TheoJed is going to spend their $40 million next winter, when we are free of Zambrano’s money, and also Dempster’s and Byrd’s.

Rizzo and Jackson will be with the team, perhaps struggling, but I am as excited to see them play as any offense prospects we have had in a long time. Along with Castro, a good nucleus. I don’t worry so much about our future offense.

The Cubs need pitching. They need an ace. This is where I want to see something happen. I don’t like giving huge contracts to pitchers… So I wonder how they will fix this rotation.

…honest, consistent effort, an emphasis on fundamentals and, most of all, accountability. Based on what I’ve heard and observed so far from Theo, Sveum, etc., I have no reason to believe that any of these goals is out of reac and, yes, that gets me excited.

So let’s not get too focused on how many wins this team is going to get since those kind of meaningless predictions almost always lead to disappointment.

Yes, we have a long way to go. Theo’s moves this off season are a pretty strong indication that he doesn’t believe we’re anywhere close to competing yet but, after last season’s debacle…my all-time worst season in my 40+ seasons as a Cub fan, just teh fact that they now ave a plan will be like a breath of fresh air. I, for one, am getting excited.

and go .500. If we are that close at 78 maybe we could pass the Pirates. If I were to bet, I think 72 is about right but it does not take a lot to turn things around in 4-5 games. I can hope can’t I?

…it’ll be over rather quickly. There will be no reason for “what ifs”. Painless…no suffering…no tense moments…the swiftness of a guillotine.

Remember though…minor league teams need lovin’, too.

For a number of the guys that will be playing for the Cubs in the first half of the season, if they really do catch “lightning in a bottle,” they may be gone.

I’d guess that if any of Byrd, DeJesus, Soriano, LaHair, Stewart, Soto, Dempster, Marmol, Volstad, Garza, Maholm, or Randy Wells (at least) were putting up the kind of numbers that kept the Cubs above .500, they’d be attractive enough to real contenders that they’d be dealt by the deadline.

If the only guys left from the Opening Day roster are the ones who weren’t good enough to get traded, it doesn’t bode very well for the second half of the season.

to see new faces that will provide some excitement along with much despair. I expect to see younger players that will run out each ball that is hit, run hard every chance they get and play with some passion.

I expect to see fewer wins than loses, but I also expect to see players smart enough to learn from their mistakes and improve not only for future seasons, but this season as well.

I expect to see a manager that will actually have a handle on the game and make solid smart baseball decisions. I expect to see an improved defense and improved pitching. I expect to see Jim Belsuhi sing the 7th inning stretch. Well I hope not.

Not losing two fifths of your starting rotation a week into the season probably would be a good thing. So would not running out James Russell or Doug Davis every fifth game, and replacing them with actual major league starters.

Of course, the real key will be if the new additions in the field can drive in runs at a better clip than the pathetic rate of the 2011 Cubs. If they can, they should easily pick up a few wins over last year, since Milwaukee and St. Louis both took a heavy offensive hit.

still mad about last year?

games we will win, I’m just excited that players will be held accountable, expected to run hard to first base, etc.

but i would probably bet on 68 to 72 wins .

However many we lose…I will curse and be sad.

Go and vote.

It will be nice to watch with a purpose. With Hendry, he just threw guys together on the field. He had no direction. Now that Theo has a direction he’s going in, it will be nice to watch, knowing that with every at bat Anthony Rizzo or Brett Jackson takes, the future is just getting better.