Could this finally be the year? Crane Kenney has repeatedly mentioned the 100-year due bill the Cubs' front office is faced with on a daily basis. It is more than obvious the Cubs are in "win now" mode. But do they have enough to play games in October? Some say yes, some say no....but what does the Faithful think?
The final look ahead before Opening Day stateside is centered around not only the final standings in the National League Central, but in all of Major League Baseball.
The NL Central
With teams such as the Padres, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Rockies in the West and the Mets, Phillies and Braves in the East, the likelihood of the Wild Card coming out of the Central is very slim. So if the Cubs have aspirations of playing in the fall, they must win their division. With the obvious out of the way, that could be easier said than done.
The 'Comedy' Central has featured Champions the past two seasons that have sported win totals of 83 and 85 respectively. With all of the moves made during the off-season, the Central should be more competitive and the winner will likely need to win at least 90 games in order to be crowned champion.
A lot of the experts are predicting the Central will be a two team race between the Cubs and the Brewers, with the sleeper being the Reds. Many of the XM experts are giving the edge to the Brewers....because of their young, explosive offense and the promise of such pitchers as Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva. Holden Kushner, however, recently emailed the CCO and not only is he picking the Cubs to win the Central but he is predicting the Cubs will represent the National League in the Fall Classic against the Toronto Blue Jays.
PECOTA is predicting the Cubs to win the Central with a 91-71 record and the rest of the division to shake out as follows:
- Chicago Cubs - 91-71
- Milwaukee Brewers - 86-76
- Cincinnati Reds - 80-82
- St. Louis Cardinals - 75-87
- Pittsburgh Pirates - 73-89
- Houston Astros - 72-90
And the Sporting News is predicting:
- Chicago Cubs
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Houston Astros
- Cincinnati Reds
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
With the Cubs losing to the Red Sox in the World Series
Phil Rogers recently predicted a 95-win season for the Cubs and his final predictions for the Central:
- Chicago Cubs - 95-67
- Milwaukee Brewers - 88-74
- Cincinnati Reds - 86-76
- Houston Astros - 76-86
- Pittsburgh Pirates - 74-88
- St. Louis Cardinals - 69-93
For another point of reference, Squawking Baseball.com has the over/under on Cubs' wins for 2008 at 87.5....and then there is Dave Kaplan's prediction of 96 wins.
But this is not about the experts, it's about the Faithful. So what is your prediction for the NL Central for the upcoming season?
The Rest of Baseball
So if Lou Piniella's crew is able to play ball deep into October, which teams could the Cubs end up facing?
PECOTA is predicting the rest of baseball to finish as follows:
NL East
- New York Mets
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Atlanta Braves
- Washington Nationals
- Florida Marlins
NL West
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Colorado Rockies
- San Diego Padres
- San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card - Milwaukee Brewers
AL East
- New York Yankees
- Boston Red Sox
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Baltimore Orioles
AL Central
- Cleveland Indians
- Detroit Tigers
- Chicago White Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- Kansas City Royals
AL West
- Los Angeles Angels
- Oakland A's
- Seattle Mariners
- Texas Rangers
AL Wild Card - Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers finished their prediction with identical records
And the Sporting News is predicting:
NL East
- Atlanta Braves
- Philadelphia Phillies
- New York Mets
- Washington Nationals
- Florida Marlins
NL West
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Colorado Rockies
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- San Diego Padres
- San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card - Philadelphia Phillies
AL East
- Boston Red Sox
- New York Yankees
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Baltimore Orioles
AL Central
- Detroit Tigers
- Cleveland Indians
- Chicago White Sox
- Kansas City Royals
- Minnesota Twins
AL West
- Los Angeles Angels
- Seattle Mariners
- Texas Rangers
- Oakland A's
AL Wild Card - Cleveland Indians
So here's the final preseason contest. There will be two winners for this round of predictions. First, you must correctly pick the finishing order of the NL Central. Second, you must correctly predict the final records of each team.
Also, there are two more stats to correctly pick that will help determine the winner in the event of a tie....the total amount of runs the Cubs will score this season and team ERA. In 2007, Lou Piniella's offense scored 752 times and the 2nd best ERA in the NL belonged to the Cubs....4.04.
To make your prediction, leave a comment below.
You can also make your predictions for the rest of the league, but those are only for bragging rights only....and a very clever title we will come up with later.
Winners will be announced at the end of the season and there will be prizes awarded....probably just some CCO swag. Hat tip to Jim Kneisley for the idea behind all three articles.
Also, keep in mind there is still time to make your predictions on the Cubs' offense and pitching staff and all entries will be accepted if time stamped before Carlos Zambrano's first pitch on Monday....
A Look Ahead....Predicting the Offense for 2008
A Look Ahead....Predicting the Pitching Staff for 2008
Remember to have fun, isn't that what baseball is supposed to be? FUN!
Before we get too ahead of ourselves.. April is a key month. When the weather is lousy in Chicago, our offense usually remains in hibernation....
A .500 month in April will be a pretty solid effort. Something to build on and then take advantage of the warm, windy summer. The power numbers will likely not be there for the offense. The pitching has to carry the ballclub through April. A good month to evaluate Dempster(watch the walks!!) and Marquis(medium-slow sinker MUST sink)...
Here's looking forward to a good 2008
OK, here goes:
Cubs 93-69
Brewers 85-77
Reds 81-81
Astros 77-85
Pirates 72-90
Cardinals 70-92
Cubs will score 884 runs
Team ERA will be 3.87
GO CUBS
I agree 100% baron. April is a key month and I'd be happy with a .500 record. As always, when the weather heats up the bats will follow.
Cubs - 92-70 (898 runs scored)
Brewers - 85-77
Reds - 79-83
Pirates - 74-88
Astros - 71-91
Cardinals - 68-94
4.01 ERA
IMO, the playoffs are made in the second half of the season (e.g. 2003). Cubs will hold there own and then explode (with some mid-season acquisitions) to win 100 (coincidence?) on there way to the post-season!!
Cubs -100-62 (945 runs scored, 4.08 era)
Brewers - 89-73
Reds - 81-81
Cardinals - 79-83
Astros - 73-89
Pirates - 69-93
Cubs 92-70
Reds 89-73
Cards 82-80
Brews 79-83
Pirates 72-90
astros 70-92
runs 782
era 4.35
NL Central Predictions:
Cubs 89-73 (811 runs, 4.08 era)
Brewers 86-76
Reds 84-78
Cards 77-85
Astros 71-91
Pirates 65-97
The rest of the Divisions and the Post Season:
In the NL East: one-two teams Mets and Phillies
In the NL West: one-two teams AZ and CO
NLCS teams: Mets and CO, CO wins
In the AL East: one-two teams Red Sox and Yanks
In the AL Cen: one-two teams Detroit and Clev
In the AL West: one-two teams Seattle and Angels
ALCS teams: Red Sox and Detroit, Detroit wins
World Series Champion: CO Rockies
Why the Cubs don't do better: Soriano is limited by injuries, Musha goes .280-12-72, and JH doesn't do a deal for a 2-3 type starting pitcher. Exceptional years from Lee, Rameriz, Soriano (100 HR's and 320 RBI, Musha hitting .300 and JH getting a top pitcher in a mid-season trade could get us to the Series, but that's too much to expect. That is, however, what I am hoping for.
I like this team and I am glad the trade rumors (for a player not to be named) are all done with, that way our players and team can focus on the task at hand - Winning it all! There are a few things I think are going to play a huge factor this year.
One: Lou knows his team and knows what he has, except for maybe a tweek here and there of the lineup, that in it self will help us get off to a better start.
Two: Better bullpen, our bullpen lost us alot of games early last year. The pen we have now is much stronger than what we had going into last year. And hopefully includes "Piggy"
Three: Defense, our outfield defense should be one of the best around this year. No more noodles arms, no more slowness in RF. Plus Soriano is in his second year in left with a bigger warning track. Behind the plate, we have a catcher that our pitchers seem to repond well to, and he can actually throw a runner out.
So with that being said, here come my optimistic predictions:
Cubs: 94-68
Brewers: 84-78
Reds: 79-83
Astros: 75-87
Cards: 74-88
Pirates: 72-90
nick...well said, I like your thinking.
Here is my take; 829r 4.28era [best bullpen NL]
Cubs 95-67
Astros 84-77
Brewers 83-78
Reds 79-83
Pirates 78-84
Cardinals 74-88 [lol!]
The reason of the Cardinals being last is because Pujols will be out to surgery before the All-Star. The Astros beat the Brewers simply because their offense is even scarier than that of the Brewers.
Never mind Neil I found It! Thanks! it is a lot of fun.
Gucci seems to be closer than anybody
time will tell...