You’re asking the wrong blog about this one (laughing), though we’re in the minority of Cubs fans. Many of us would love to see the team move to a more modern facility yesterday. The player amenities are absolutely pathetic. It’s sad that the Cubs spring training park has better facilities than the big league one. Furthermore the Cubs aren’t able to get as much revenue out of the park compared to modern parks due to their stone age skyboxes and limited video board capabilities. There was a stink before the season about the new videoboard in RF but everyone who’s seen it largely thinks it’s okay. There’s a plan in place to pretty much completely rebuild the field in the next few years, they just have to finish greasing the right palms around Chicago to get it done.

From a fan perspective Wrigley is a little better. The ivy and the scoreboard etc etc are sure nice, and it’s great having a park in the middle of the neighborhood, however shocked the residents pretend to be that there’s a major event going on in their back yard 81 times a year. The upper deck box seats are easily the best in baseball, hands down. The rest though…eh. They have to keep the ivy and scoreboard, but the rest of the grandstand (and especially the clubhouses) needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Most reasonable Cubs fans realize this, and given the footprint they have to work with the upper deck seats will probably still be about as close to the field as they were before (and yes, there will probably still be crappy obstructed view seats). As long as they stay at Wrigley (and the Ricketts family has made it pretty clear that they plan to do so) most of the grumbling will come from likely having to play a season in Miller Park or The Cell while the renovations happen. There are some plans floating around out there that they could do it in pieces in the offseason, but I don’t buy it. There are some fans who still love the feeling that they’re watching a game in the ye olde ways, but I’d just as soon not get nostalgic over piss troughs.

3.  Randy Wells is unhappy!  Obviously the Cubs need to fix this immediately.  Your thoughts?

I’ve been one of the biggest Randy Wells fans around the cubs blogosphere, but even I’m starting to give up on him. He came under criticism in the local media for partying too much during his sophomore season, and they blamed his high ERA on his late night carousing (his peripherals, for what it’s worth, were just as good as his solid rookie campaign). He was injured very early last year, and was probably rushed back too soon. Which wasn’t surprising, seeing how awful all the fill-in starters for Wells and Cashner were faring. We got about what we expected from the likes of Doug Davis, James Russell, and Casey Coleman. He finally started to regain his velocity numbers late in the year, but maybe it was just a fluke. He pitched relatively poorly in the Spring and hasn’t done himself any favors in Iowa or in his stint in the majors this year.

4.  How concerned are you for the relevance Joe Mantegna’s play “Bleacher Bums” if the Cubs win the World Series?  Is this a concept even worth using brain cells on?  Who cares about Joe Mantegna?  Is there a worse written article than this one?

That’s still running? I can count the number of Cubs fans who will be bummed they lost their Lovable Losers image on one hand. There are plenty of worse written articles than that one, just check the sports pages of the Chicago Tribune or Sun-Times any given week.

5.  Is Ryan Dempster legit?  Or will he succumb to the demoralizing black hole of winlessness that surrounds his incredible ERA and overall performances?

Dempster is legit. He’s going to make a lot of money this offseason. Aside from his thoroughly putrid April last year, he pitched right on with his projections for the rest of the season.

6.  As a frequent opponent, how have the Cardinals fared minus Albert Pujols?  How has the division overall been affected?  What changes can you expect from the subtraction of the Astros come next year?  For christ’s sake, what will the Cubs see as their window?

They seem to be doing okay (laughing). They lost Pujols, but got Wainwright back to cushion the blow, and Beltran was a fantastic signing. Going into the season I thought the Cards, Brewers, and Reds would all be very close to win the division. The Brewers hopes are fading fast due to their bushel of injuries but the Reds should give the Cardinals a run for their money.

I don’t really know what to expect without the Astros. A lot of it depends on how the crazy new schedule works out. It’s not going to affect the Cubs much in the short term because they’re not likely to contend for anything anyway, and in the long term, well, the Astros also hired some pretty sharp people to run their front office this year.

The Cubs window is probably around 2015-2016. The minor league system has Rizzo and Jackson in AAA, then a whole lot of nothing until you get to the low minors. The Cubs easily have the biggest financial advantage over the rest of the division so they can push things forward if there’s a crack to pry open, but the new CBA really screwed over the big revenue teams, both in being able to pay big for talent in the draft/international free agents (which was looking like the current market direction 6 months ago) to the current trend of extending young players instead of letting them hit the market. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have their work cut out for them.

I bet his head is really good for doing headspins....you know like a breakdancer. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Placido Polanco seems like a very nice person.  He also has a really big head.  I am not speaking figuratively here, the part of his body that holds his brains is larger than it should be for a man his size.  Tony LaRussa once stated that Polanco was his favorite baseball player….so he has that going against him.  This season has not been kind to the kind hearted, giant domed third baseman leading many to question if Poly’s best days are behind him. 

The Phillies were attempting to avoid losing a series to a team that is absolutely terrible.  They have abandoned any hope of being competitive this season with the hope that Theo Epstien can vanquish the demons preventing this team from winning a world series.  There may be some precedent for this as he accomplished this task in Boston, but it looks like his reclamation project is currently on the ground floor.  (more…)

Chicago Cubs: 6-13 (4/27-4/30)

The Chicago Cubs find themselves in the basement of the NL Central coming into their series with the Phillies. This is not a shocker, as the Cubs and their new management have fully embraced rebuilding. The main architect of this overhaul is longtime Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. El Presidente now has the monumental task of shaking off another fabled baseball curse. But, if any man is up to the challenge it’s Epstein. He guided the Red Sox out of there  85 year World Series drought to win not once but twice under his reign. The Cubs however have the dark clouds of the Billy Goat and Steve Bartman lingering over Wrigley Field. Dark days are ahead for the Cubbies, but at least they are on the road to recovery.

Player to Watch: SS Starlin Castro

The young shortstop had his fair share of troubles this offseason, but was recently exonerated of any wrong doing (legally speaking) in his domestic abuse case. Whatever issues Castro had off the field, they haven’t carried over to his play. He is off to another smoldering start hitting .333, swiping 7 bases, while hitting in the 3 hole for the Cubs. His power has been late to arrive, but their is no arguing against the fact that he is the best hitter the Cubs have. On a team that will be ripe for the picking come July, Castro is likely the one player deemed to be “untouchable”. Anyone can be had for a price, but the cost for a 22 year old shortstop who can run, hit, and field at Castro’s level is prohibitively high. On top of all his baseball skills, the kid has one of the coolest first names in the game; Starlin.

Most Hated Cub: OF Alfonso Soriano

Those birds have better range than Soriano in the outfield Mandatory Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

This one comes with a bit of a caveat. Soriano is most likely one of the most hated Cubs on the roster, but not by Phillies fans. It was not so long ago that Soriano his the free agent market as one of the best hitters in the game (pre-sabermetrics). That fateful winter of 2005 turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Despite all the swirling rumors the Phillies would sign Soriano, he wound up with the Cubs with a whopping 8 year deal worth $136 million. Soriano has regressed every year since joining the Cubs, and has been a mess in the field as well as a financial albatross. Someone will ultimately take him off the team’s hands, but it will take a lot of time before Cubs fans forgive Soriano and the failure to live up to expectations.

Fansided Perspective: Jordan Campbell, editor of Cubbies Crib, enlightened me on what it means to be a Cubs fan.

Most Hated Brave: 3B Chipper Jones

Chipper waves good by to a stellar career. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

The Braves were supposed to be a team lead by their pitching depth, but its been the lineup that’s been carrying them so far. Is the hot hitting for real or will they come back down to earth?

The hot hitting will definitely slow down but it depends what you mean by ‘come down to Earth’. The offense has probably been over performing a bit so far (they have a .294 team BABIP which is just above league average) but if you think we are going to go back to 2011 form and hit .243/.308/.387 you are kidding yourself. I mentioned before the season on Tomahawk Take that the offense would be better this year, and so far the guys have made me look pretty smart. The bottom line is that last year we had injuries (Prado, Heyward, McCann) to key players in the lineup, a horribly unlucky start for Dan Uggla, and Larry Parrish. All of those things seem to be fixed this year and Braves fans should continue to enjoy one of the league’s better offenses.

Will Chipper Jones get a John Elway-esque send off in his final season?

I have no idea but I would love for him to leave with a second World Series ring. Baseball is the most difficult sport when it comes to predicting championships and this year is no different. The big key for the Braves this season is health and the starting rotation. Chipper is going to get injured (and we have Juan Francisco to step in when that happens) but if the rest of the team can avoid anything serious the Braves do have a legit chance to win a World Series. The starting rotation is extremely young and will have to find a way to pitch deeper into the games than we have so far this season. If both of these things happen you would be crazy to count Atlanta out come October.

Do fans feel as awkward doing the tomahawk chop as i do watching it? 

The age old politically incorrect tradition at its finest Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Well it depends on the situation. If you are sitting on your couch with your girlfriend watching a Braves game in the bottom of the ninth down by one, you probably have a 50-50 chance of feeling awkward, depending on your girlfriend. If you are sitting on your couch by yourself watching a Braves game in the bottom of the ninth down by one, you probably feel awkward all the time anyways. If you are on the toilet looking at MLB At Bat while doing the chop you probably don’t have any friends. But if you’re at the game Tomahawk Choppin’ with all the Braves fans then you probably feel right at home… unless of course you don’t have any rhythm and are out of unison. Then, I feel awkward for you.