|
|
|
Written by wrigleyville
|
|
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 |
|
 The $136 million center fielder has never played the position before. The right fielder spent 2006 throwing like a girl. Kerry Wood is in the shop. Mark Prior is apparently headed for the minors. The staff ace is openly musing about playing for other teams. The catcher has one nut.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2007 Chicago Cubs!
And you know what? We Cubs fans are more optimistic about this season than at any time since 2004.
Why? Derrek Lee is back and hitting about .937 in spring training, showing no ill-effects from last year’s wrist injury. Aramis Ramirez is a poor man’s version of “Manny being Manny,” but keeps putting up bigger and bigger numbers. Alfonso Soriano brings his 40-40 capabilities to town to bat leadoff. Cubs management actually made contingency plans for the inevitable Prior-Wood train wreck. Not great ones, but plans nonetheless.
And, oh yeah, Lou is in town. Sweet Lou. Demanding accountability and forcing players to earn their spot on the roster and on the playing field. Piniella stood up to Kerry Wood and told him he would decide when he was ready to play. He stood up to Mark Prior and told him his 2003 performance wouldn’t earn him a spot on the 2007 rotation. And, most importantly, he isn’t determined to be everybody’s best friend on the team. He is the Patton to Dusty’s Michael Scott. He is demanding the Cubs play defense. He is demanding the Cubs hustle. He is demanding the Cubs hit cutoff men. It's very confusing.
But is it enough to add 20-plus wins to last year’s dismal 66-win season? Probably not. Is it enough for me to ignore all evidence to the contrary and predict a playoff-caliber team? Absolutely!
Because we’re not basing our fandom and this subsequent prediction on your so-called “facts.” No, we’re basing it on sheer emotion and a longing for the Cubs to make baseball relevant again after the All-Star break.
In other words, what fun is it to predict a 78-win season? None.
Therefore, Wrigleyville is sticking by Wrigleyville’s earlier prediction: 89 wins and the NL Central title.
That’s what Wrigleyville thinks.Labels: Chicago Cubs, Lou Piniella
|
|
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 
