Official Chicago Cubs 2012 Season Thread

KBLEE · Apr 4, 2012, 01:46 PM

It's about that time!

IlliniSteve · Apr 4, 2012, 02:52 PM

New LED Board is ready to roll

The view from the Budweiser Patio

I'm ready for some baseball. Might not be a pleasant year, but you never know. I'd love for us to hover around .500 this season. Probably best case scenario.

DrewD007 · Apr 4, 2012, 03:49 PM

Did they actually elevate the seating there? I can't really tell from that pic so it might still be hard to see the CFer.

IlliniSteve · Apr 4, 2012, 04:12 PM

I think I read that there are different levels of seating, kind of similar to the green monster in Fenway. Not exactly sure how it's specifically set up, I'm sure they'll go through it in detail tomorrow

Wokker · Apr 4, 2012, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KBLEE

It's about that time!

Maybe we'll have another surprise magical season like in '98 after Harry passed?

Anything is possible!

ChiIllini05 · Apr 4, 2012, 06:56 PM

I'm really expecting there to be some growing pains in the beginning of the season, but a win total in the 70s is not outside the realm of possibility. Takes a lot to turn around the mess that was the Cubs, even for Theo.

DanvIllini · Apr 4, 2012, 07:25 PM

Good thing I have a TV at work.

AK Illini · Apr 5, 2012, 06:45 AM

i don't know, this seems like the type of Cubs team that overperforms...low expectations, new blood, new management...

Wokker · Apr 5, 2012, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK Illini

i don't know, this seems like the type of Cubs team that overperforms...low expectations, new blood, new management...

+1. Also, a lot of youthful, unproven potential waiting to be called up.

All I ask is for good fundamental baseball.

IlliniSteve · Apr 5, 2012, 07:40 AM

Hopefully LaHair plays today. They were talking that he might have to go to the DL.

If that were to happen Blake DeWitt would be our 1st baseman...

IlliniSteve · Apr 5, 2012, 03:03 PM

Different year, same old Cubs.

Gonna be a long year boys.

AHSIllini32 · Apr 5, 2012, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IlliniSteve

Different year, same old Cubs.

Gonna be a long year boys.

I would hope this isn't a surprise to anyone. In Theo I trust.

IlliniSteve · Apr 5, 2012, 09:26 PM

Not a surprise, but disappointing. I guess my Opening Day will be when Rizzo and Jackson get called up.

Until then I'll bite my lip and accept the laughing stock.

AK Illini · Apr 6, 2012, 09:24 AM

meh, we win without Soriano in the lineup. Time to take a hit and cut him loose.

Lucy727 · Apr 7, 2012, 03:23 PM

Its gonna be a long season. Looks like Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol are going to lose a lot of games for the Cubs this year.

AHSIllini32 · Apr 7, 2012, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucy727

Its gonna be a long season. Looks like Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol are going to lose a lot of games for the Cubs this year.

It's a good thing we are in a rebuilding process because Wood and Marmol might just be the worst set-up/closer combo in the league.

Two games, two leads in the 8th...0-2 record.

OlivetNaz · Apr 7, 2012, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AHSIllini32

It's a good thing we are in a rebuilding process because Wood and Marmol might just be the worst set-up/closer combo in the league.

Two games, two leads in the 8th...0-2 record.

I was at the game today, and it was sad. The "veteran" relievers were outpitched by guys I've never heard of before. Marmol was booed so loudly on exit that they turned up the organ volume trying to drown it out.

IlliniSteve · Apr 8, 2012, 07:02 PM

Samardzija was awesome today. Great to see.

Good to salvage a game, should be 3-0 though. Brew Crew coming in tomorrow for a 4 game set. Let's see if the good pitching can continue.

BTW, report from the farm. Iowa was down 5-2 in the 8th when Anthony Rizzo hit a game tying 3-run bomb. Then Brett Jackson in the following inning hit a game winning triple. Those two are off to great starts in Iowa.

uigrad · Apr 9, 2012, 03:39 PM

I discovered baseballsalaries.com, and had a good laugh from it. Here's the pages for Alfonso Soriano and Starlin Castro.

Here's what we have for out top 3 relief pitcher salaries this year:
$7.333M Carlos Marmol
$3.0M Kerry Wood
$0.55M Shawn Camp

Meanwhile, we have $31M tied up in our outfield, and $30M for our starter pitchers.
For the management to not pick up a big name reliever, I feel like we're setting our goal for the season at .500. Is there a reliever that we are bringing up soon that I don't know about?

During Saturday's post-game show, they said that Marmol and Wood are the anchors of our bullpen for this year. This made me shudder. Marmol can look good, but only after walking 1-3 batters. So, he's really only useful at the beginning of an inning. If Marmol comes in with men on the bags, it's all over.

Woods is terribly spotty. I don't mind having him on the team, but he should not be expected to carry the bullpen. A bullpen anchored by these two really frightens me.

Based on our current lineup, I feel that we are looking at a 500 season, at best. I'm usually one of the Kool-aid drinkers when it comes to baseball, but I just don't see anything this year that excites me!

I admit that I haven't followed the news during spring training this year. I was surprised to see Samardzija was starting, but I hear he did well in spring training, and he looked pretty good yesterday.

IlliniSteve · Apr 9, 2012, 03:55 PM

We'll probably end up trading Byrd for a young reliever at some point.

There's not really anyone in our farm system that's ready to come up and be a difference maker in the pen. With the trade of Cashner and Marshall as well as moving Samardzija to the rotation, our pen was left in shambles basically. They'll continue to ride Marmol though, hoping he figures it out. If he does, he's trade bait.

Kind of wish we had Marshall still, he'd help out a lot, but oh well. Even if we had him I don't think we'd do much better than .500 anyways. I'd consider anywhere close to .500 a success with this team.

illinifaninaz · Apr 9, 2012, 04:00 PM

I have never been a big fan of marmol honestly he is god awful and a waste of 7 mill and not even worth a roster spot. Just can't trust the guy. As far as Wood goes he has lost alot and I think he doesn't have it period.

Lucy727 · Apr 9, 2012, 06:34 PM

Well supposedly, from what I've heard on sportsradio, Tom Ricketts loves Kerry Wood and Kerry was signed for this season on Ricketts' urging. Sveum is gonna stick Kerry out there and let him get killed to show Ricketts he (Kerry) doesn't have it anymore and kind of show Ricketts he should leave the talent evaluation to the GM.

IlliniSteve · Apr 9, 2012, 07:56 PM

Everybody wanted Kerry back

He's had two rough games, he'll be ok.

fish48 · Apr 10, 2012, 11:36 AM

Went to the game last night. Enjoyed watching LaHair play! I have dedicated myself to watch for positive signs from our young players because we know this is a rebuilding process. They made it interesting late, but Castro had a rare bad day at the plate. Had fun anyway....

KBLEE · Apr 10, 2012, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fish48

Went to the game last night. Enjoyed watching LaHair play! I have dedicated myself to watch for positive signs from our young players because we know this is a rebuilding process. They made it interesting late, but Castro had a rare bad day at the plate. Had fun anyway....

Unfortunately, LaHair isn't young.

Apr 4, 2012, 03:49 PM	#3
DrewD007 Location: Swansea, IL Posts: 3,531	Did they actually elevate the seating there? I can't really tell from that pic so it might still be hard to see the CFer. __________________ Follow me! http://www.twitter.com/illinidrew11

Apr 4, 2012, 06:56 PM	#6
ChiIllini05 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 191	I'm really expecting there to be some growing pains in the beginning of the season, but a win total in the 70s is not outside the realm of possibility. Takes a lot to turn around the mess that was the Cubs, even for Theo. __________________ chicagosportstown.com http://www.twitter.com/ChiSportsTown

Apr 7, 2012, 03:23 PM	#15
Lucy727 Location: Des Plaines, Il Posts: 87	Its gonna be a long season. Looks like Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol are going to lose a lot of games for the Cubs this year. __________________

Apr 9, 2012, 06:34 PM	#22
Lucy727 Location: Des Plaines, Il Posts: 87	Well supposedly, from what I've heard on sportsradio, Tom Ricketts loves Kerry Wood and Kerry was signed for this season on Ricketts' urging. Sveum is gonna stick Kerry out there and let him get killed to show Ricketts he (Kerry) doesn't have it anymore and kind of show Ricketts he should leave the talent evaluation to the GM. __________________

Apr 4, 2012, 01:46 PM	#1
KBLEE Location: Montgomery, IL Posts: 6,255	It's about that time!

Apr 4, 2012, 02:52 PM	#2
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	New LED Board is ready to roll The view from the Budweiser Patio I'm ready for some baseball. Might not be a pleasant year, but you never know. I'd love for us to hover around .500 this season. Probably best case scenario.

Apr 4, 2012, 04:12 PM	#4
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	I think I read that there are different levels of seating, kind of similar to the green monster in Fenway. Not exactly sure how it's specifically set up, I'm sure they'll go through it in detail tomorrow

Apr 4, 2012, 07:25 PM	#7
DanvIllini Super Lurker Location: Danville, IL Posts: 329	Good thing I have a TV at work.

Apr 5, 2012, 06:45 AM	#8
AK Illini UofI Basketball..off the chain Location: Chicago Posts: 7,257	i don't know, this seems like the type of Cubs team that overperforms...low expectations, new blood, new management...

Apr 5, 2012, 07:40 AM	#10
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	Hopefully LaHair plays today. They were talking that he might have to go to the DL. If that were to happen Blake DeWitt would be our 1st baseman...

Apr 5, 2012, 03:03 PM	#11
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	Different year, same old Cubs. Gonna be a long year boys.

Apr 5, 2012, 09:26 PM	#13
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	Not a surprise, but disappointing. I guess my Opening Day will be when Rizzo and Jackson get called up. Until then I'll bite my lip and accept the laughing stock.

Apr 6, 2012, 09:24 AM	#14
AK Illini UofI Basketball..off the chain Location: Chicago Posts: 7,257	meh, we win without Soriano in the lineup. Time to take a hit and cut him loose.

Apr 8, 2012, 07:02 PM	#18
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	Samardzija was awesome today. Great to see. Good to salvage a game, should be 3-0 though. Brew Crew coming in tomorrow for a 4 game set. Let's see if the good pitching can continue. BTW, report from the farm. Iowa was down 5-2 in the 8th when Anthony Rizzo hit a game tying 3-run bomb. Then Brett Jackson in the following inning hit a game winning triple. Those two are off to great starts in Iowa.

Apr 9, 2012, 03:39 PM	#19
uigrad Posts: 149	I discovered baseballsalaries.com, and had a good laugh from it. Here's the pages for Alfonso Soriano and Starlin Castro. Here's what we have for out top 3 relief pitcher salaries this year: $7.333M Carlos Marmol $3.0M Kerry Wood $0.55M Shawn Camp Meanwhile, we have $31M tied up in our outfield, and $30M for our starter pitchers. For the management to not pick up a big name reliever, I feel like we're setting our goal for the season at .500. Is there a reliever that we are bringing up soon that I don't know about? During Saturday's post-game show, they said that Marmol and Wood are the anchors of our bullpen for this year. This made me shudder. Marmol can look good, but only after walking 1-3 batters. So, he's really only useful at the beginning of an inning. If Marmol comes in with men on the bags, it's all over. Woods is terribly spotty. I don't mind having him on the team, but he should not be expected to carry the bullpen. A bullpen anchored by these two really frightens me. Based on our current lineup, I feel that we are looking at a 500 season, at best. I'm usually one of the Kool-aid drinkers when it comes to baseball, but I just don't see anything this year that excites me! I admit that I haven't followed the news during spring training this year. I was surprised to see Samardzija was starting, but I hear he did well in spring training, and he looked pretty good yesterday.

Apr 9, 2012, 03:55 PM	#20
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	We'll probably end up trading Byrd for a young reliever at some point. There's not really anyone in our farm system that's ready to come up and be a difference maker in the pen. With the trade of Cashner and Marshall as well as moving Samardzija to the rotation, our pen was left in shambles basically. They'll continue to ride Marmol though, hoping he figures it out. If he does, he's trade bait. Kind of wish we had Marshall still, he'd help out a lot, but oh well. Even if we had him I don't think we'd do much better than .500 anyways. I'd consider anywhere close to .500 a success with this team.

Apr 9, 2012, 04:00 PM	#21
illinifaninaz Posts: 124	I have never been a big fan of marmol honestly he is god awful and a waste of 7 mill and not even worth a roster spot. Just can't trust the guy. As far as Wood goes he has lost alot and I think he doesn't have it period.

Apr 9, 2012, 07:56 PM	#23
IlliniSteve Posts: 5,908	Everybody wanted Kerry back He's had two rough games, he'll be ok.

Apr 10, 2012, 11:36 AM	#24
fish48 Banned Posts: 547	Went to the game last night. Enjoyed watching LaHair play! I have dedicated myself to watch for positive signs from our young players because we know this is a rebuilding process. They made it interesting late, but Castro had a rare bad day at the plate. Had fun anyway....