2010 CUBS PREVIEW

2010 - HERE WE GO AGAIN !!!

This is NOT a "blog" ; a mindless ranting of uncontrolled emotion mixed with sentence fragments and bad spelling ; this is a review of COLD HARD FACTS!

Cubs fans STILL believe the Cubs can win the World Series THIS YEAR!

They won't.

What do the Cubs have for 2010? They continue a revolving door of players AND managers. Since 2008, the Cubs have traded or cut Mark DeRosa, Reed Johnson, Felix Pie, Kerry Wood, Rich Harden, just to name a few. THOSE players contributed to the best Cubs season since 1945! So much for keeping team chemistry together. The Cubs also put themselves through the Milton Bradley experiment. Meltdown Milton was suppose to be the left handed power the Cubs missed in the embarrassing first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. FACT : Meltdown Milton is a SWITCH hitter, not a pure lefty AND the Dodgers did NOT use a SINGLE left handed pitcher in that series sweep of the Cubs. ALL those players had time, money and draft picks invested in them. What did the Cubs give up to get those players? JUST to get rid of them a few years later! Sometimes after just ONE season!

In 2000, the Cubs hired Manager Don Baylor. As a player, Don won five American League Pennants and two World Series Championships. Don was also the American League MVP in 1979! Don was the Colorado Rockies first manager and guided them to the playoffs in just their third season of existence in 1995. The next two seasons Don guided the Rockies to back-to-back seasons of 83-79 but  missed the playoffs. When the Cubs hired Don in 2000, Cubs fans were excited to have a young yet experienced manager, who was a proven winner. In two and a half seasons, Don was a disappointing 187-220 with the Cubs and was fired midway through the 2002 season.

Early in 2003, the Cubs hired manager Dusty Baker. As a player, Dusty won three National League Pennants and one World Series Championship. As a manager, Dusty, just the previous season in 2002, guided the San Francisco Giants to the National League Pennant. In his ten years as Giants manager, Dusty was 840-715. Seven winning seasons, three playoff appearances, and that elusive pennant the Cubs wanted so bad! Cubs fans rejoiced their new manager with exclamations of, "NOW we have a winner!". Cubs fans felt they had STOLEN Dusty from the Giants, reveled in screwing an old rival, and were POSITIVE Dusty was the answer! After the Cubs 2003 playoff meltdown just FIVE outs away from the National League Pennant, Dusty and the Cubs failed to make the playoffs again. Dusty was a mediocre 322-326 in his four years with the Cubs, and Cubs fans demanded his head roll. He was fired at the end of the 2006 season.

2007 and enter Lou Piniella. As a player, Lou won four American League Pennants and two World Series Championships. Before his tenure as the Cubs manager, Lou had won four division titles and the 1990 World Series as the Cincinnati Reds skipper, their last title. Cubs fans were certain an experienced veteran player and manager like Lou, was the answer. In Lou's first two seasons, the Cubs won their division, back-to-back, for only the second time since their World Series titles of 1907 & 1908! Come 2010 and Lou is in his last year of his contract. He is also 66 years old. DON'T expect Lou to be back for 2011.

So what DO the Cubs have for 2010? An ageing team and an ageing coach. The only stars left from 2008 are Carlos Zambrano, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano. Expect the Cubs to trade ALL of them before the year is over. Expect Cubs fans to call for Lou to be fired. Expect the St. Louis Cardinals to win the division AND expect BOTH the Cincinnati Reds AND Milwaukee Brewers to be better than the Cubs. Expect the Cubs to lose 85 to 90 games. Expect the rebuilding to begin. DON'T expect a World Series Championship.

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