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In an article published last week, I briefly predicted and projected the five pitchers believed to comprise the 2013 Cubs’ Opening Day starting rotation. But I did not do a full comparison between the Opening Day rotations of 2012 and 2013. The article briefly stated that the 2013 Opening Day rotation did not look as formidable as that of 2012's. That proclamation was made based on practice, rather than on theory. For over half of the of 2012 season, the Cubs had a Cy Young contender on their staff to go along with proven veteran, Matt Garza, and up-and-comer, Jeff ...
The Chicago Cubs are one of the two oldest teams currently playing in the Major Leagues, dating all the way back to 1876. With a history that long, that means there will be a lot of players to cover in their entry in the Retired Numbers Series.Even with their lack of October success, the Cubs have had a lot of good players in their history. Are there any players that might be honored now? Or is their best bet further off into the future?Begin Slideshow
It's mid-January and spring training is still about a month away from kicking off. Many will argue that it's too early to start predicting lineups.They may be right. We still don't even know if the Cubs are done adding players to the team in free agency.It's also hard to come up with batting orders before we even know who has won those last couple of position battles. However, Cubs management has probably started to kick around potential batting order ideas for 2013, and so should we.Keep in mind that the right field and third base positions will probably boil down to how the players perform ...
As I mentioned last week regarding the Boston Red Sox’s farm system, there’s arguably no such thing as an "underrated" prospect. If the player has a pulse, then it’s likely he’ll become over-hyped while ascending the organizational ladder. Well, the same can be said about the Cubs' fanbase, which possesses a similar passion for hyperbole. As Jed and Theo continue to retool and, in turn, cultivate the team’s future, they’ve already assembled an impressive collection of potentially high-level and under-the-radar talent. Here’s a look at the five most underrated prospects in the Cubs’ system.Begin Slideshow
The Chicago Cubs could draw more headlines for which players they might deal away at the 2013 trade deadline than whomever they might acquire.The season to come will be the second year of team president Theo Epstein's rebuilding project on the North Side of Chicago. As a result, outfielder Alfonso Soriano and pitcher Matt Garza could both be traded to playoff contenders looking for some middle-of-the-lineup power or an upper-rotation starter. But the Cubs will obviously be looking to improve and perhaps have designs on not finishing last in the NL Central this year, now that the Houston Astros have moved to ...
On Jan. 2, the Chicago Cubs introduced Edwin Jackson to the media. Jackson is their first major free-agent signing of this off-season. Considering that the Cubs struggled in the pitching department last year, Jackson was a good pick-up and will help the Cubs this season.Some doubt Jackson's abilities because he has played for so many teams. Since making his big league debut back in 2003, Jackson has worn the uniforms of the Dodgers, Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Cardinals and Nationals.When I take a look at what Jackson brings to the table, I don't doubt him one bit. Jackson is a ...
The Cubs have made a number of moves this offseason in an attempt to improve their on the field product for 2013. In addition to the free agents added this winter, there are some young prospects that will be looking to prove they should be a part of the Cub’s future plans as well. Spring Training will be a very important time for some of these prospects. The Cubs are not rock-solid in a couple of spots on the field, most notably at third base and in the outfield, so some prospects may see this as an opportunity to break ...
Alfonso Soriano has been the subject of trade rumors throughout this offseason, and now the Cubs are starting to give careful consideration as to what they are looking for in return. Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reports that the Cubs expect a top-tier player in return for Soriano, in light of his success in 2012 as a leader and a hitter.Trading Soriano, though, would be a mistake for the very reasons that they want a name-player to replace him. Soriano is too valuable as a bat and more importantly, as a leader, to lose.The Cubs are a club in complete ...
The Chicago Cubs have done a lot this winter in an attempt to improve the on-the-field product for 2013. However, whether all of the free-agent signings lead to on-the-field success has yet to be determined. On paper, the Cubs were one of the most active teams this winter. That’s most likely due to the fact that they lost 101 games in 2012 and had a bunch of holes to fill if they planned on improving that 101-loss season. Looking at the Cubs lineup as we move closer to spring training, not much has changed. The area that received a complete ...
There are numerous amounts of questions that surround the Cubs going into 2013. For a team who lost 101 games last year, management did not do much to upgrade the current roster. Though there are some nice prospects coming up in future years, it’ll be interesting to see if this Chicago team has improved and matured when the season gets under way in a couple months. If Opening Day were to start tomorrow, let’s look at what the lineup would look like. Catcher: Welington Castillo Castillo played 52 games for the Cubs last year after playing sparingly in 2011 and ...
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