Chicago Cubs 2012 Preview

2011 In A Nutshell

The Cubbies finished next to last in the surprisingly strong NL Central.  The team never had a real identity, and their overpriced, rundown “stars” didn’t play up to their contracts, again. Hey! I guess that’s their identity! “Chicago, The Place Where Worthless Baseball Players Get Paid Boat-Loads Of Money”. Their hitting was shockingly not bad, middle of the pack in almost all major hitting categories. It was their pitching that was dreadful. Near last in Batting Avg. Against, ERA, WHIP, and more.  Their bright spots included a young Short Stop called Starlin Castro. Many have dubbed him the Derek Jeter of the Midwest (I find this funny since Jeter is more-or-less from the Midwest). Now this is a guy the club can be built around! Aramis also showed some resurgence which helped absolutely no one but himself.

2012 Preview

Theo. THEO. THEO!! “He did it before and he can do it again! Yes he can do it again!” This guy rode in like a conquering hero, assembled his brain-trust, and went to work. The moves he’s making are cold and calculated, exactly what the Cubbies need. He’s building for the future, 2-3 years down the road, not right now. He slashed some cancerous pieces, Carlos, acquired a cornerstone bat, Rizzo, filled out a comparable rotation, obtained a hard-hitting lefty third baseman Stewart, and he’s not done. To Be Continued. 

This team is a long ways away from competing for the NL Central crown. He still has to move Soriano, Garza, acquire some draft picks, develop Rizzo, assess Barney to see if he’s the future f second base in Chicago, and this all has to be done by spring training!! AAAHHH!! Just kidding. Theo has some time, right Chicago? He has some interesting pieces in his farm system that I’m anxious to see in action, including Jackson, Vitters,  and McNutt. I don’t see this team competing till at least 2013 and Soriano can be moved. I will however look into my crystal ball and say next year, 2014, Theo is going to make some huge waves. Particularly in the outfield, and maybe make a play for David Wright. Keep in mind, Theo’s only signed guys for short year deals, and all the deals the former GM made are finally coming off the books. In 2013 the Cubs’ payroll drops more then $100mil…just saying.

2012 Roster

C-G.Soto: Arbitration

1B-A.Rizzo:Rookie Contract

2B-D.Barney: Rookie Contract

3B-Ian Stewart:1yr/$2.2mil(12)

SS-S.Castro: Rookie Contract

LF-A.Soriano: 8 yr/$136M (07-14)

CF-M.Byrd:3yr/$15M(10-12)

RF-D.DeJesus:2yr/$10mil(12-13)

Rotation

1. R. Dempster: 4 yr/$52M (09-12)

2. M. Garza:Arbitration

3. T. Wood: Rookie Contract

4. C. Volstad: Arbitration

5. P. Maholm:1yr/$4.25mil(12)

6. R. Wells: Arbitration

CL-C.Marmol: 3 yr/$20M (11-13)