Cubs in 2014

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nickhawk

Well-Known Member
It’s plain to see that the Cubs will most likely finish this season as 1 of the 2 worst teams in baseball along with the Padres.

The future does hold some promise though for us long suffering Cub’s fans.

A potential lineup in 2014 could likely include the following names:

Name: Position: Age at start of 2014:
1. M. Szczur LF 25
2. S. Castro SS 24
3. A. Rizzo 1B 24
4. J. Soler RF 22
5. J. Vitters 3B 24
6. B. Jackson CF 26
7. W. Castillo C 27
8. J. Lake 2B 24

That’s a lot of young talent in one lineup – with 7 of the 8 guys being homegrown players and Rizzo being brought over in a trade. That’s not even including the Cubs last 2 top draft picks in J. Baez and A. Amaro.

If the Cubs can somehow manage to get some good pitching prospects in trades for Dempster and Garza this year and get a stud pitcher at the top of the draft next year – they have a decent chance to be a formidable team as soon as 2014.

Summers are so much more exciting when the Cubs have a winning team and aren’t 20 games under .500 by June 1.
 
nickhawk said:
It’s plain to see that the Cubs will most likely finish this season as 1 of the 2 worst teams in baseball along with the Padres.

The future does hold some promise though for us long suffering Cub’s fans.

A potential lineup in 2014 could likely include the following names:

Name: Position: Age at start of 2014:
1. M. Szczur LF 25
2. S. Castro SS 24
3. A. Rizzo 1B 24
4. J. Soler RF 22
5. J. Vitters 3B 24
6. B. Jackson CF 26
7. W. Castillo C 27
8. J. Lake 2B 24

That’s a lot of young talent in one lineup – with 7 of the 8 guys being homegrown players and Rizzo being brought over in a trade. That’s not even including the Cubs last 2 top draft picks in J. Baez and A. Amaro.

If the Cubs can somehow manage to get some good pitching prospects in trades for Dempster and Garza this year and get a stud pitcher at the top of the draft next year – they have a decent chance to be a formidable team as soon as 2014.

Summers are so much more exciting when the Cubs have a winning team and aren’t 20 games under .500 by June 1.
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That is a bit hopeful I'm assuming but would not mind seeing it, though I doubt it turns out that way. Sczur is a bit of a project, I think he's still low in the minors, and will take some time. I wouldn't expect to see Baez or Almora in 2014. Baez is just now in A ball, and we don't even know if Almora will sign with the cubs, and how long will it take him to figure things out. usually plan on high school kids being 3-5 years from teh majors. 3 being great prospects.

Also, Vitters needs to improve defensively before he can be considered for the Majors and Junior Lake is currently too much of a free swinger. Be interesting to see how they progress.

I'm more interested in seeing what kind of pitching we can figure out in the system and what they can get in trades this year.
 
nickhawk said:
If the Cubs can somehow manage to get some good pitching prospects in trades for Dempster and Garza this year and get a stud pitcher at the top of the draft next year
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LOL at just nonchalantly throwing this comment out there as if its easy
 
You know you're a Cubbies fan when..... you're looking 2 years ahead into the future. I knew this season was going to be bad, but not this bad. :(
 
GoHawks24 said:
You know you're a Cubbies fan when..... you're looking 2 years ahead into the future. I knew this season was going to be bad, but not this bad. :(
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Everyone knew it was going to be bad, but when guys you are counting on to be just average don't show up, it hurts even worse, like Soto and Stewart. I think most everyone else has performed as expected, or close to it, some even better, like LaHair, but the bullpen has been atrocious outside of Russel and no clutch hitting, period has killed this team.
 
hawkfarmer said:
Everyone knew it was going to be bad, but when guys you are counting on to be just average don't show up, it hurts even worse, like Soto and Stewart. I think most everyone else has performed as expected, or close to it, some even better, like LaHair, but the bullpen has been atrocious outside of Russel and no clutch hitting, period has killed this team.
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Yep. Just a very sad season overall. I'm gonna blame it on the bullpen and the inability to give run support because the starting pitching has been just fine.
 
GoHawks24 said:
Yep. Just a very sad season overall. I'm gonna blame it on the bullpen and the inability to give run support because the starting pitching has been just fine.
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There are several teams in contention that would love to have the production of the Cubs starting rotation right now. 1-4 has been pretty solid for the Cubbies.
 
Soriano was awful the first month of the season, Stewart has not rebounded from his injuries like everyone had hoped, Marmol was horrible and lost games when they were meaningful, top 3 catchers all went down, and outside of Russell and Camp the Bullpen has been awful.

All of this adds up to a miserable 2012. The only bright spots has been the production of the 1-4 starters, LaHair, and Campana.
 
My prediction is that they will be better by 2014, but not truly competitive until the following year. There will be some young talent, but I'm sure Theo will pick up some major pieces in FA once the bad contracts are gone in the next few years.
 
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