Opening Day is here!
Hopefully we will at least be in the Wild Card Race come late Summer/Early Fall.
Hopefully we will at least be in the Wild Card Race come late Summer/Early Fall.
***Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter BigJCy
- Start date
I suppose I'd call myself cautiously optimistic...? Shouldn't be a super hard division, but we are once again hoping some over-the-hill veterans go back to their old form.
As I see it we are just biding our time before Ohtani gets here and then we roll (I'm going to speak it into existence...).
As I see it we are just biding our time before Ohtani gets here and then we roll (I'm going to speak it into existence...).
Hosmer and Bellinger are both hitting .180 and 1/2 our starting pitching is on the IR.
My only hope this year is the guys who are with us in 2024 look like they could be players for championship teams. Guys like Steele, Wesneski, Hoerner, Suzuki, Swanson.
i want what your smokin' if you think ricketts is gonna pony up and pay that kind of money
He's been paying it, just to the wrong guys.
That's a lineup with a ceiling of about 77 wins.
The top 4 are serviceable, beyond that you have Wisdom and Gomes who would be backups on most teams, a washed up Hosmer, and some guy I've never even heard of in right field.
Didn't they change the schedule this year so they aren't playing as many division games?
They won't have many chances to stack Cinncy or Pittsburgh wins up now.
I have no expectations for this team going into the season so if they are even still in the mix for a wild card spot by the deadline it would be a step in the right direction. They did position themselves to have some pieces that could be traded off if they are in sell off mode again. I could see Stroman and Hendricks and bullpen guys on short deals like Fulmer and Boxberger would all be considered not part of the long term plan they could flip to stock a few more prospects. I do like this version of the rebuild where there is actually pitching coming up through the minors now as that 2016 team had to go out and trade for or buy a lot of pitching.
Hoping Bellinger can at least not be the hitter he was the past 2 years but I don't expect him to be the player he was when he was MVP either. He's a big x factor on where the ceiling is for this team as they don't have a lot of consistent or big time hitters on this roster. I am not expecting a rebound year for Hosmer and I think he's gone if he struggles and Mervis is raking at Iowa. We hopefully should see a couple of the OF prospects up at some point but the 1 position that concerns me for long term is 3B as the Cubs don't have any true 3B prospects even close to ready right now. They have some of these guys listed as 2B/3B but they are mostly A and AA guys right now. At some point will need to either trade for or sign someone there as Wisdom is not an everyday 3B on a good team.
Hoping Bellinger can at least not be the hitter he was the past 2 years but I don't expect him to be the player he was when he was MVP either. He's a big x factor on where the ceiling is for this team as they don't have a lot of consistent or big time hitters on this roster. I am not expecting a rebound year for Hosmer and I think he's gone if he struggles and Mervis is raking at Iowa. We hopefully should see a couple of the OF prospects up at some point but the 1 position that concerns me for long term is 3B as the Cubs don't have any true 3B prospects even close to ready right now. They have some of these guys listed as 2B/3B but they are mostly A and AA guys right now. At some point will need to either trade for or sign someone there as Wisdom is not an everyday 3B on a good team.
How much better would baseball be if the season started 4/30 instead of 3/30.. Plus the World Series guaranteed last day possible was 10/31.
1/3-1/2 of the US is still at risk of snow right now.. November is for Football, while October is still early enough in the season for people to not be thinking about the playoffs or CFP (bowl season) yet
1/3-1/2 of the US is still at risk of snow right now.. November is for Football, while October is still early enough in the season for people to not be thinking about the playoffs or CFP (bowl season) yet
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
