Cubs go 76 and 86. Finish 4th ahead of only St. Louis. Hoyer is fired. Elon Musk gets offended by somebody involved in the Dodger front office. Musk buys the Cubs from the Ricketts who are imploding. Musk gives the new GM a 500 million budget over this years with instructions to destroy the Dodgers at any cost. Then there is a lockout for two and a half years.
After this is there any reason to try and predict anything? Good lord.
94 Wins is mine.
All Stars - PCA, Steele, Nico
Lose to Dodgers in the NLCS.
Cubs go 76 and 86. Finish 4th ahead of only St. Louis. Hoyer is fired. Elon Musk gets offended by somebody involved in the Dodger front office. Musk buys the Cubs from the Ricketts who are imploding. Musk gives the new GM a 500 million budget over this years with instructions to destroy the Dodgers at any cost. Then there is a lockout for two and a half years.
Was it I, Lord?
Wmljohn with the best prediction at 91 wins. Well done.
Bingo!
Brewers win 93 games.
Whenever anyone stands up to his bullying, Reb will continue to lash out like a rabid weasel.
ROBB, good to see you.Thanks Curt.
ROBB, good to see you.
84 wins
…..A lot went right for them last year, and I think they overplayed their true talent level……
I predict that Dusty will make two racist and one misogynistic comment before April 15.
74-88
Another prediction: this will be the first year in Cubs history that the pitching staff suffers the indignity of having zero complete games.
Of course I hope it doesn't happen, but I suspect it will.
85-77 CurtOneAt the halfway point in the season the Cubs are 33-48 (.407). That puts them on a pace to finish 66-96.
82-80 Robert L
82-80 davep
81-81 JeffH
76-86 Dave23
74-88 Chiman
73-89 craig
72-90 jacey1
71-90 dev
71-91 JR
71-91 Deeg
70-92 Dusty
69-93 Tuffy
67-95 method
67-95 Robb
65-97 Bennett
60-102 wmljohn
Let's try this for the Predictions thread...
NL MVP - Harper, PHI
NL CYA - Buehler, LAD
NL ROY - Suzuki, CHC
AL MVP - Otani, LAA
AL CYA - Ohtani, LAA
AL ROY - Casas, BOS
But he's not getting moved in the first year of his contract. That would be an absolute PR disaster.
They have a ton of young pitching about to come upAhhh.... reminds me of the "Iowa 4"...who was that? Z,Wood, Prior,...I forget...
So if some team came to the Cubs with a Berrios package you think the Cubs would say no? They have a ton of young pitching about to come up and a ton of money to spend and Stroman 2.0 next year. He’s really only a two year deal if he does well and the Cubs stink.
No chance Stroman gets dealt. That would be a horrible look.
I expect an offense that will be less powerful and less explosive, but perhaps more consistent (Hi, br!).
Will there be a sell-off? Yes, I'm sure. I expect it to be mostly bullpen pieces, which is where we should be able to backfill relatively effectively (Ueckert, Leeper).
That was my thought.Dusty,
Rizzo to the Brewers, if Rowdy Tellez fails?
I really lack the energy or time to play schematics these days. You know what i mean. I dont know what they asked for, but i do know what they accepted. They choose to accept a deal where they are getting prospects that are years out.
I think if they had asked for closer to MLB prospects in the Darvish trade, it would signify a desire to retool. But by going after kids that are 5 years away from the majors, it kind of signals a full rebuild.
Then they should sell the team.
I think you are overestimating how much the ricketts will spend... I dont see a retool coming.
I think you are overestimating how much the ricketts will spend... I dont see a retool coming.
With this year's FA class, the money the Cubs *should* have to spend, and our current tradable assets, there's a chance to do a quick reload here.
In this context, and given our lack of MLB-close, quality SP, I'd be reluctant to deal Hendricks unless he commanded an enormous premium.
If gutting the team why not try for a Quintana like return for Hendricks?
No need to trade Hendricks...he is signed thru 2023...
Predictions made before the 2021 season started
76 - Dave23
77 - Bennett
78 - JR
79 - JeffH
80 - Deeg
81 - DUSTY
83 - Chiman
84 - Dihard
84 - craig
85 - method
86 - jacey1
86 - wmljohn
87 - davep
88 - Robert L
93 - Robb
60-102I'll update that to 77-85
Ohtani to SeattleI just discovered this topic and found an interesting alternate reality post from 2017...
Darvish to Cubs
Arrieta to Texas
Stanton to Dodgers
JD Martinez to Blue Jays
Santana to Cardinals
Frazier to Cardinals
Yelich to Cardinals
Avila back to Tigers
Cain to Cubs
Jay to Seattle
Cobb to Cubs
Lynn to Angels
83 wins, third place, no playoffs. Bullpen is a dumpster fire, starting pitching inconsistent, and hitting continues to be less than the sum of their parts for the third year in a row.
I really hope I'm wrong.
90-72.
Cards win the division.
I doubt that Happ could still be considered "highly coveted".
Here is a prediction.
Before the deadline Jed and Theo make a big move to shake up the lineup. One of the coveted young names gets moved that is not named Addison. He would be too easy. It will be an Almora, Schwarber, or Happ kind of player.
This team needs a shake up but not a panic move. Please don't make a trade just to make a trade.Obviously there are pieces they could trade that would send a message, but not many that would actually change the dynamic of the team.
This team needs a shake up but not a panic move. Please don't make a trade just to make a trade.
120 wmljohn
100 Robert L
99 CUBluejays
98 Robb
98 grrrrlacher
98 Jes Beard
96 Chiman
95 Bennett
94 davep
94 Dave23
93 DelMarFan
93 JeffH
92 dev
91 sam hannam
90 Dusty
90 PRCubFan
89 Deeg
89 jacey1
89 Eastcoastfan
88 craig
87 method
86 JR
83 brjones
76 CurtOne
74 mO
After today, I'd like to change mine to 162-0. Maybe 159-1 to be more realistic.Any chance you are considering changing your prediction back?
Try not to be a ****.
Albert Almora gets some MVP votes.
93 wins. Albert Almora gets some MVP votes.
Albert Almora gets some MVP votes.
CurtOne ... is confined to Clybern House for the Criminally Insane.
76 wins, Joe is fired, Theo feels heat and may move on, Cub players no longer scoff at early predictions of doom, br is hired as special consultant regarding back up catchers, Cubs finish 4th only because Cincinnati chokes and drops to the bottom. Thousands of fans burn their jerseys and march on Wrigley in protest of Joe Ricketts. Tom Ricketts gets upset, sells the team to Fox News and Trump Enterprises. CurtOne begins rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals and is confined to Clybern House for the Criminally Insane.Finally a reasonable prediction
96 wins and this . . .
(https://suntimesmedia.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/sneed10416.jpg?w=670)
95We have a winner.
Craig and Jacey are looking like the they have the best shot this year. 104? What was I thinking?
Craig and Jacey are looking like the they have the best shot this year. 104? What was I thinking?You were probably thinking that Darvish would be our ace, that Chatwood would do much better than he has, that neither Bryant nor Morrow would be hurt during the season, that Contreras and a couple others would not have an off season, things like that. If expectations had been met, 104 would be reasonable.
2017 record 107-55
Well, I suppose if you cast a wide enough net you'll find someone who considers themselves an expert predict pretty much every possible FA signing. I just don't recall any of the bigger names predicting Cain or Darvish to the Cubs. And with good reason, because I don't think there's much chance either is going to happen.
Curt - Not to nitpick, but in my quick skimming of those articles none of them seem to "predict" the Cubs end up with Darvish. Rather they tend to make a case for why the Cubs "need" or match up with Darvish. I would be shocked if they sign Darvish, or even give a serious effort to do so.
I think Theo and Maddon have the best chance of persuading him.
mlbtraderumors.com predicted a $20/3 contract for Chatwood.
The chances of Chatwood signing for that little is zero. Not 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001%. Zero.
He'll get closer to $50 than $20. I want to say closer to $100 than $20, but I'm not quite that brave.
I think the Rangers have a real shot, personally. My #2 dark horse after the Angels.
Happ for Salazar was what was proposed by a writer. The writer admitted that the Indians would likely have to add more.
A while back, I mentioned this guy as a possible Cubs target:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=bieber000sha
The heat gets turned up on the Hot Stove at baseball's annual Winter Meetings from Dec. 10-14 in Orlando.
The question was whether Darvish and the Cubs had been linked at all. If you need picks, on something that I thought would be a fun exercise, try this link:
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2017/11/20/16680950/mlb-free-agency-2017-otani-darvish-jd-martinez
I see absolutely no scenario where the Cubs lay out the salary for Darvish, Cobb and Cain. No way.Where does it say that? Could be they will be wrong on one, two, or all three of those. Try to visualize how that list was put together. I didn't see anyone predicting all three of those to the Cubs. It's a compilation.
mlbtraderumors.com predicted a $20/3 contract for Chatwood.
The chances of Chatwood signing for that little is zero. Not 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001%. Zero.
He'll get closer to $50 than $20. I want to say closer to $100 than $20, but I'm not quite that brave.
I didn't say what year!That was in reference to the commercial that is being shown during the playoffs...
Prove it!!!I didn't say what year!
Cubs in three. Okay, four. I'm a REEL PHAN.Prove it!!!
Dodgers in six.
I hated the reds when I was little. That was when they had charlton, dibble and the other guy. And Jose Rijo. I hated the stros second tho.I hated the Mets when I was little. That was when... well, you know.....
I've been a Cub fan for 23 years and even though that's a lifetime longer than all these bandwagon son of a bitches you see I still realize I can't even touch how long some of you all have been fans.
My point is when I first started I knew nothing of the Cubs/Cards rivalry so all I was able to do is form my own opinions and my most hated rival was the Astros.
Kinda hated to see them leave the NL Central.
Cubs
Cardinals
Brewers
Houston
Cincy
Can you show us what we all predicted at the start of the season? I think i predicted 93
Bummer that the 5 top teams are all in the NL right now. And that's not including the Pirates.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Cubs pace of a 124 win season may be a little hard to sustain but my prediction of 93 wins isn't looking very good.
Pretty good. Not bad. Can't complain.
http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-mlb-predictions/
http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-mlb-predictions/
The Cubs will win 93 games in 2016.
I predict 95 wins and a division winner.
102 wins.
I had 101 last year. I am going 125 this year. ;D
14
I liked 93, but it's taken so I'll say 92.
I'll say 100 exactly.
And the Cardinals finish .500 or worse.
105
86 games miss playoffs.
I'm ashamed of all of you. Win totals implies that they are going to lose some. Not so. I predict 162-0, sweep the first playoff series 3-0, sweep the second series, 4-0, win the first three of the World Series, and then lose 4 straight. Why? Cuz, we're the Cubs, that's why.
98
92
Ill say 100-62. The playoffs will depend on health, surprises, and how active we are at the deadline.
After all...you cant script October. Ill say Rizzo is an MVP candidate, Schwarber leads the team in HRs, Soler gets traded, and Javy finally produces.
Last year's 248 2/3 innings takes it toll on Jake Arrieta as he falls to 16-12 with an ERA near 3.50. The sophomore jinx claims one of Russell/Bryant/Schwarber. Zobrist & Heyward have solid seasons but Anthony Rizzo drops to 26 HRs, 86 RBI, .260/.356/.466 with an OPS of .823. Either Lester or Lackey spend significant time on the DL. The Chicago Cubs finish 3rd in the NL Central, 7 games back of the Pirates, as the Cardinals pull another rabbit out of the hat to win the division. Since it's an even number year, the San Francisco Giants win another World Series title. This time over the New York Yankees as Jeff Samardzija gets a ring.
78-84]
98-64
MVP: Jason Heyward
96.
94
124-38 (damn the 1906 Cubs were good).
Really 104.
91 WINS
103
98
Disregarding the three frivolous predictions, the average of the 21 predictions so far is 95.4
I'll go with 94 wins. A lot went right last year including Arrieta's unbelievable 2nd half where he pretty much won every time he took the mound so I expect our record to be a little worse. But, I think 94 will be enough to win the division.
I also think we'll definitely trade for a top 3 starter at the deadline to push Lackey to number 4 in the potential playoff rotation.
97-65 deja vu all over again
91
The Cubs' current Pythagorean ratio would translate to 143 wins. So they're under-performing expectations so far. Fire Maddon.I agree. I said 162-0. I've been in the Fire Maddon camp since loss 1.
91
Expectations are certainly high, even among those who are normally pretty cranky about the Cubs. Lots of potential for disappointment it seems. While I don't make specific W-L predictions, I am confident that the Cubs are going to have a very good team, provide lots of excitement and at least get into the playoffs, whatever else happens. Fingers are crossed for much more.The 95.4 average is less than last year's win total of 97.
Disregarding the three frivolous predictions, the average of the 21 predictions so far is 95.4
It is certainly possible but a lot of things would have to go wrong for the Cubs to go 78-84. This isn't 2004.
78-84
Last year's 248 2/3 innings takes it toll on Jake Arrieta as he falls to 16-12 with an ERA near 3.50. The sophomore jinx claims one of Russell/Bryant/Schwarber. Zobrist & Heyward have solid seasons but Anthony Rizzo drops to 26 HRs, 86 RBI, .260/.356/.466 with an OPS of .823. Either Lester or Lackey spend significant time on the DL. The Chicago Cubs finish 3rd in the NL Central, 7 games back of the Pirates, as the Cardinals pull another rabbit out of the hat to win the division. Since it's an even number year, the San Francisco Giants win another World Series title. This time over the New York Yankees as Jeff Samardzija gets a ring.
Method get outta here.
I had 101 last year. I am going 125 this year. ;D
Just don't cherry pick the predictions you got right. ;D ;D
88 wins. Wainwright has arm problems all year and Molina shows his age. In Pittsburgh, the loss of Martin hurts them more than expected--Liriano is especially impacted. Cubs win the division with the Pirates and Cardinals taking the two wild cards.
Arrieta is going to win the NL Cy Young this year.
In battle of sabermetrics, Cubs clobber Mets
NEW YORK -- Back in the 1980s, the sabermetrics revolution really took off, thanks to Bill James publishing his annual Baseball Abstract.
In one of his editions, he came up with a formula for predicting the winner of postseason series. Given the advancements in sabermetrics today, this formula seems quaint. Let's put it to work for the National League championship series between the Cubs and Mets:
• Give 1 point per half-game difference in record. The Cubs finished the regular season 97-65 while the Mets were 90-72. That's 14 points to the Cubs.
• Give 3 points to the team with more runs scored. Award 3 to the Cubs.
• Give 14 points to the team with fewer doubles. (Back in the day, James warned "not to bet a dime on a team that hits a lot of doubles.") Award 14 to the Cubs.
• Give 12 points to the team with more triples. That's 12 for the Cubs.
• Give 10 points to the team with more home runs. The Mets get on the board with 10 points.
• Give 8 points to the team with the lower batting average. Each team hit .244, so that's a wash.
• Give 8 points to the team with fewer errors. The Mets get 8.
• Give 7 points to the team that turned more double plays. That's 7 for the Mets.
• Give 7 points to the team whose pitchers walked more batters. The Cubs get the 7.
• Give 19 points to the team with more shutouts. Award 19 to the Cubs.
• Give 15 points to the team with the lower ERA. The Cubs edged the Mets, 3.36 to 3.43 to give the Cubs 15 points.
• Give 12 points to the team in postseason play more recently. That would be 2008 for the Cubs to 2006 for the Mets, although both teams have changed completely. But by the formula, the Cubs get 12 points.
• Give 12 points to the team that led in head-to-head competition. The Cubs swept the season series from the Mets, but four of those games were in May, and three were in July. The Mets look quite a bit different now, but the Cubs get the 12 points.
Adding it all up, the Cubs win by a landslide, 101 points to 25.
Does it mean anything for the NLCS? Maybe. Maybe not, but let's see how it all adds up when the games are played.
Was my 101 closest?
With Playoff wins they could still get there. I hope they pass it. ;D
No one picked 97 wins???
88 wins.
Wainwright has arm problems all year and Molina shows his age. In Pittsburgh, the loss of Martin hurts them more than expected--Liriano is especially impacted. Cubs win the division with the Pirates and Cardinals taking the two wild cards
87I was under:)
The Cubs are currently on a 98 win pace. Who had 98 wins?
The Cubs are currently on a 98 win pace. Who had 98 wins?
They probably starting making them 12 days ago.
And if you pull the Bryant off, it says Grace underneath.
Wow, I guess they're already selling Bryant #17 jerseys.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCy9iKkVAAAOMl4.jpg)
Predict the uniform number for Kris Bryant.
He wore 23 in college but that's retired. He wore #76 this spring. Lowest number that's not assigned is #6. I'm guessing they give him number 12.
I'm taking April 24 in the When Will Bryant Be Called Up Pool.
I'm going to stick with 88 wins.
I've been pessimistic the last two years but this year I'm signing up for the koolaid. I say everything comes together just right and the Cubs win 91 games.
Looks like I won't be the highest this year. I predict 90 wins.
101. Book it.
Ya know, in my gut, I feel this is probably more like what their record will be this year, But I went with my number trying to be optomistic
2015 Cubs: 75 wins (75 - 87)
I'm not buying it.
14
I'm not buying it.
14
Bold prediction: this is the year Dexter Fowler puts it all together and produces a random 4+ WAR season.
When the Cubs clinch a playoff spot, we'll look back at the Fowler acquisition as the move that put the Cubs over the top. The Lester deal will obviously have the biggest impact, but they were still a little short of being a real contender until they got Fowler.
But Soler has already been very good. It's reasonable to not only hope but expect him to be reasonably good next year, with the chance to be very good.
....And of course, everything depends upon the kids on offense, and it is likely that some will falter in spring training. But I wouldn't rule out that many wins at this point.
wow davep....you must be feeling good about the coming season :)
It looks like Cubsin, DMF, and Ron Green are this year's prediction winners at 73 wins.
If the Cubs go 4-9 the rest of the way I will be right on the money two years in a row. What do I win?
Fangraphs and/or PECOTA revised their projections for the Cubs to 75 wins, so I'll go with that because of, uh, science.
53 and 81. I think we have the outer range of predictions with those two.
53
53
Didn't I make a prediction?
Ill say 70-92.
At least we wont lose 100.
They look to me about like a 76-86 team.
I'd like to thank all the little people.
looks like Robb was correct.
Congrats.
How many games will the Cubs win in 2013?
59 - JeffH
63 - Strikezone
65- Chiman
65 - Jes Beard
66 - Robb
67 - Andy MacFail
67- Cubsin
67 - FITS
68 - grrrrlacher
68 - Dihard
69 - papa smurf
69 - Santo4HofF
69 - JR
70 - bitterman
70 - jacey1
71 - Cactus
71 - Deeg
71 - shasson
72 - ticohans
73 - DelMarFan
74 - Ray
75 - Ron Green
78 - brjones
81 - AZSteve
82 - davep
Entries are now closed
And that Obama was toast.
And that Obama was toast.
And that Obama was toast.
And that Obama was toast.LMAO
The Cubs are 13-25 since the All-Star Break.
The predictions at the lower end of the scale are looking pretty good right now. If our current pace of play continues, we'll win another 10-11 games this year, which puts us at 65-66 wins.
A 35-46 record at the half way mark is about what many of us expected.
How many games will the Cubs win in 2013?A 35-46 record at the half way mark is about what many of us expected.
59 - JeffH
63 - Strikezone
65- Chiman
65 - Jes Beard
66 - Robb
67 - Andy MacFail
67- Cubsin
67 - FITS
68 - grrrrlacher
68 - Dihard
69 - papa smurf
69 - Santo4HofF
69 - JR
70 - bitterman
70 - jacey1
71 - Cactus
71 - Deeg
71 - shasson
72 - ticohans
73 - DelMarFan
74 - Ray
75 - Ron Green
78 - brjones
81 - AZSteve
82 - davep
The outcome of a one run game is mostly random.
If we're going to play the law of averages game, then at some point, the Cubs are going to start winning more than 33% of 1 run games.
59 - JeffHWednesday night’s game marks the one-quarter point of the season. The Cubs record of 17-23 projects to 69-93 for the season.
63 - Strikezone
65- Chiman
65 - Jes Beard
66 - Robb
67 - Andy MacFail
67- Cubsin
67 - FITS
68 - grrrrlacher
68 - Dihard
69 - papa smurf
69 - Santo4HofF
69 - JR
70 - bitterman
70 - jacey1
71 - Cactus
71 - Deeg
71 - shasson
72 - ticohans
73 - DelMarFan
74 - Ray
75 - Ron Green
78 - brjones
81 - AZSteve
82 - davep
Where's mO's 105 wins?
I don't see why people think third base will be better.... It's quite possible that it'll be worse.
It's quite possible that third base will be worse than last season.
Again, they screwed up third base big time when they got to Chicago and haven't fixed it yet.
The Cubs weren't good when actual major league starters were on the mound (47-61; 70-71 win pace), but they were at least respectable.
Casto declined from 2011 to 2012, so I see no reason to assume he'll automatically improve. Relying on guys like Schierholtz and Hairston for "massive" improvement in your projections is only an indication of just how desperately bad things are. That seems to be the basis of the argument: we were so bad in 2012 that even by doing almost nothing to improve, we'll be better by sheer law of averages. Well, maybe by a hair - but not enough to make much difference. And it's entirely possible that Soriano's production could drop off the table in a big way, in which case look out, below.
Well, let's go position-by-position:So two positions that should be major upgrades (just because the names aren't exciting doesn't mean the upgrades aren't huge), and two that are a push. The improvements from Rizzo and Castro should cancel out the declines of Soriano and DeJesus, although there is a significant chance that one or both of the young players could really break out as true stars. The lineup is better. Not good by any stretch of the imagination...but good enough to move up to 11th or 12th in the league instead of dead last.
- First Base: Rizzo is a year older and should be better. 2013 > 2012.
- Second Base: Barney is Barney. Push.
- Shortstop: Castro is a year older and should be better. 2013 > 2012.
- Third base: Still likely to be awful. Valbuena was the best performer of the group last year, so you could see a little improvement just by not giving ABs to Mather or Vitters. Still, this is a push.
- Outfield #1: Soriano is a year older and should be declining. 2013 < 2012.
- Outfield #2: DeJesus is a year older and should be declining. 2013 < 2012.
- Outfield #3: Schierholtz and Hairston aren't exciting, but are competent...possibly good enough to be roughly league average in RF. They're taking the ABs given to mainly awful players last year: Mather, Byrd, LaHair after the league had figured him out, Baker, and Campana, with a few league average-ish PAs turned in by Reed Johnson. This is a massive upgrade, 2013 >>> 2012.
- Catcher: Castillo can reasonably be expected to be a .250/.320/.400 hitter this year, and has a little bit of upside. With a little luck, he'll be around a league average starter. Navarro is a perfectly capable backup, who should ensure that the Cubs at least get anti-awful performance out of the position if Castillo bombs. Soto/Clevenger/Hill/Lalli/Recker provided nothing resembling anti-awful performance. Another big upgrade, 2013 >> 2012.
If we're recording these and are going to look back at them throughout the season, we really need two projections: pace before the trade deadline, and actual win total. As constituted right now, I think they are about a 78 win team. But once they're forced to start one or two of Rusin, Raley, or Loux after the deadline, Soriano's bat is gone, and the bullpen loses depth after Marmol is traded, they're not going to be as good. In the end, they'll end up with about 74 wins.
I was going to wait until Opening Day, but with Garza, Baker and Stewart all on the DL for the foreseeable future, another July fire sale seems inevitable, so I'll go with 67.
There's zero reason to think the offense will be meaningfully better than 2012 - which means it'll be awful.
Garza is out at least a month, and after that is anyone's guess. Baker? Pray it's a month, but it could be the season. Feldman stinks but at least he's healthy and doesn't stink as bad as the likes of Raley and Rusin. Maybe Samardzija proves 2012 wasn't a career year, maybe he doesn't.
The only area that looks like it could be significantly improved is the bullpen - but that gets you improvement into the two-digit loss column, and maybe to 70 wins.[size=78%] [/size]
Too soon for predictions. Cactus has it right.
1-161
Me saying they're a sub .500 team means Im drinking kool-aid? I dont think so. They're quite a bit better than they were last year.
It’s too soon to be pinned down to a specific number for 2013 so for now I’ll say the Cubs will win more than 61 games and fewer than 81 in 2013.I propose that official predictions be made in the ten day period before the season opens on April 1.
This Fangraphs analysis currently has the Cubs in the 77-79 win range, with about a 3% chance of winning 91 games.
71-91. If there's another fire sale it could be worse, but let's be optimistic.
It would be nice to find a way to upgrade third base, then let Stewart back up 1B and 3B (with someone like Jeff Baker being signed to platoon with him in that role).
But how much better they are is still TBD. At the very least, I expect them to still add a RH platoon/4th outfielder and a RH infielder who can minimize the suckiness at 3B. But I wouldn't be shocked at something better than that.Besides those additions, there are no backups on the present roster for Darwin Barney or Anthony Rizzo.
The one thing you hate doing is saying .500 would be good. Because it’s not good. It’s not 101 losses, but .500 isn’t getting you to the playoffs, either.’’
The 2013 season can be considered a failure if the Cubs don’t make the playoffs.
68
New rule for 2013: The winner will be the closest prediction that does not go under the final total
Actually, by Price is Right rules, we're all over...so we all lose.
Oh, well, I still won the Showcase Showdown!
Total wins for the 2012 season...
88 - DaveP
87 - FITS, AZSteve
85 - Ray
83 - BR
82 - DelMar, Tico
81 - Cactus, Jay
80 - Dave23
79 - JR, Clark
76 - Chiman, Santo
75 - Craig, Cubsin, PR, Ben
74 - Jacey, Jes, Dihard
73 - Robb
72 - ECF, Deeg
71 - grrrrlacher
70 - Jiggy
69 - Bitter
63 - StrikeZone
Total wins for the 2012 season...
88 - DaveP
87 - FITS, AZSteve
85 - Ray
83 - BR
82 - DelMar, Tico
81 - Cactus, Jay
80 - Dave23
79 - JR, Clark
76 - Chiman, Santo
75 - Craig, Cubsin, PR, Ben
74 - Jacey, Jes, Dihard
73 - Robb
72 - ECF, Deeg
71 - grrrrlacher
70 - Jiggy
69 - Bitter
63 - StrikeZone
Who would have believed 73 was optimistic?
63-99
79 wins? Man, what was I thinking?
Total wins for the 2012 season...The Cubs are 47-75 after losing to Milwaukee Tuesday night. With forty games left in the season, DaveP has been mathematically eliminated.
88 - DaveP
87 - FITS, AZSteve
85 - Ray
83 - BR
82 - DelMar, Tico
81 - Cactus, Jay
80 - Dave23
79 - JR, Clark
76 - Chiman, Santo
75 - Craig, Cubsin, PR, Ben
74 - Jacey, Jes, Dihard
73 - Robb
72 - ECF, Deeg
71 - grrrrlacher
70 - Jiggy
69 - Bitter
63 - StrikeZone
So far, so good.
63 - StrikeZone
Total wins for the 2012 season...
88 - DaveP
87 - FITS, AZSteve
85 - Ray
83 - BR
82 - DelMar, Tico
81 - Cactus, Jay
80 - Dave23
79 - JR, Clark
76 - Chiman, Santo
75 - Craig, Cubsin, PR, Ben
74 - Jacey, Jes, Dihard
73 - Robb
72 - ECF, Deeg
71 - grrrrlacher
70 - Jiggy
69 - Bitter
63 - StrikeZone
Other than the $10 million SuperPAC fiasco, the SuperPAC set up to "end government spending" by a man who wants $300 million is government spending directly to his pocket and Joe Ricketts saying he bought the Cubs because they sold tickets even when they sucked, you mean?
Rather than a bad team performing badly when it was 100% predictable, people should be worried about the emerging reality that the Ricketts are a dysfunctional and despicable family (most of them).
And there's growing reason to doubt they will (give the Theocracy the funds that lead to the Cubs winning the World Series).
BTW, I agree that Joe's proposed superpac campaign sucks.
This brewing debacle is a body blow to both, especially if public financing for Wrigley is a casualty.
The info that's emerging - that it was Joe calling the shots in the negotiations,
his bragging (on camera) that it was the fact that the Cubs could sell out the ballpark with bad teams that attracted him to the idea of buying the team - is just the tip of the iceberg.
The problem is, Tom Ricketts can't extract himself from the stink. It's obvious Joe and Pete are involved intimately in the financial side, and the growing ill will on the part of the fans is going to further poison the relationship with the ownership.
And if the Ricketts don't get their publicly funded Wrigley upgrades - which is where they saw the dollar signs flashing - they aren't going to spend heavily on trivial things like payroll.
It's no wonder Joe sent Laura to the Kerry Wood retirement festivities...
Whether Tom is able to repair relations with Rahm remains to be seen.
I base my opinions on the Ricketts Family from growing up with them as an outsider, going to a high school full of people like them....
Any chance at all that the lower payroll is due to the inevitable Soriano salary dump and trying to take care of most of that charge during this year?
Other than not having a high enough payroll to suit you, exactly what do you have against the Ricketts family? You have been quite vague about complaints.
What have you seen them do that you feel is so wrong?
Rather than a bad team performing badly when it was 100% predictable, people should be worried about the emerging reality that the Ricketts are a dysfunctional and despicable family (most of them). That has much greater implications for the future.
You're talking to the guy who said 72 wins. I'm an optimist!
Well, at least it's clear they could not possibly do better. ;)
No, they've played a home-heavy schedule - they could certainly end up worse over a full 162 games.
So I guess the consensus here is that the first 35 games are pretty much guaranteed to reflect the eventual result of 162 games?
Dave never updated the list. In my post on April 7th (still there second from the last post on page 1 of this topic), I predicted that they'd finish 57-105.That may be because your prediction was made after the season started and the Cubs had two losses.
The Cubs have now played 25% of the season and are on pace for 59 wins. Nobody guessed that low.
57 wins.
57-105 should get the Cubs the first overall pick in the 2013 MLB Entry Draft.
Total wins for the 2012 season...
88 - DaveP
87 - FITS, AZSteve
85 - Ray
83 - BR
82 - DelMar, Tico
81 - Cactus, Jay
80 - Dave23
79 - JR, Clark
76 - Chiman, Santo
75 - Craig, Cubsin, PR, Ben
74 - Jacey, Jes, Dihard
73 - Robb
72 - ECF, Deeg
71 - grrrrlacher
70 - Jiggy
69 - Bitter
63 - StrikeZone
The Cubs have now played 25% of the season and are on pace for 59 wins. Nobody guessed that low.
So that's where JBN has been . . .
For the record, I knew it wasn't Patton when I posted it.
Why, just so you can be first on the list? This isn't the trivia leaderboard, ya know. :)