Don’t look now, but baseball will soon be back; that’s a good thing, I think. I’m going to coach my son’s team this year! I did coach him in fall ball, but this will be the first time since pre-Covid that I will coach his spring/summer team. Headed to the kick-off coach’s meeting next week, followed by the draft next weekend… I’m hyped up. This is going to be fun; I will sprinkle those details in throughout those months. But what about the Chicago baseball teams? How they looking?
Well, one thing that gets everybody talking are the over/under projected win totals; at least one of the Chicago teams is projected to finish over 500… barely. Yeah, the Sox come in at 83.5 over/under regular season win total for this year. The Sox have been hyped up over the past few years, living up to exactly zero percent of that hype; is THIS the year they finally break through? Well, for all the LaRussa detractors, a new manager will eliminate that excuse; hey, it ain’t Ozzie, but more importantly, it’s ain’t Tony. Not sure how many wins that will equal, but it certainly won’t hurt the Sox. As usual, it will boil down to the guys on the field, and… the Sox are pretty much running it back with the same team. For all the talk about who will be shipped this offseason, the only guy of note that will not return is Jose Abreu; some may argue he’s not JUST a guy, and I would agree. Still, Eloy, Luis, Yoan, Anderson… they’ll all be back for better or for worse; I do like the Benintendi signing as well. The rotation will look very similar as well, including the already controversial acquisition of Mike Clevinger; sounds like a he said-she said situation, but if what she said is true, he won’t be around long. So could I see the Sox getting to 84 wins? Yeah, why not. 84 is good enough to finish above 500, but more importantly, will that be good enough for the playoffs?
On the other side of town, the Cubs over/under sits at 77.5 wins; why do I still feel like that’s too high? Well, I imagine it’s always a little weighted on the high side, just because of the national appeal of the Cubbies. The addition of Dansby Swanson gets me excited; pairing him and one of my favorite Cubs Nico Hoerner up the middle is a really good start. That’s kind of where my excitement levels off. Hosmer at first; it will be interesting to see how much he’s got left in the tank. The same can kind of be said for Trey Mancini. He was great when he came back in Baltimore, and he was on the World Series winning team in Houston, but… hope he can do well. Bellinger… another guy you can put in the “wish I would have had this guy 5-10 years ago” category, which I guess is where the cash-strapped Cubs live now… Suzuki looks like he’s been in the weight room; most likely he’ll have to prove that’s all it was when the MLB calls him. Ian Happ… never really a huge Happ guy, but hey, he surprised me last year; hoping for more of the same this year. And then of course there’s the whole battery thing… kind of important, and THAT is where the Cubs will struggle. With Willson gone, the carousel begins; will Tucker be OK? The rotation is… average at best. When you’re running out Stroman as your #1… like Marcus, don’t get me wrong… is he really a #1 starter? I’d feel a lot better if he were our #3, which is where we’re slotting Justin Steele followed by Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly; that ain’t going to scare anybody. Our #2 is new addition Jameson Taillon. Here’s a guy who had a ton of promise, but never really panned out; here’s our pitcher that falls in that category. If I was a betting man, I would be taking the under on the Cubs win total; hope I’m wrong, but feels like it’s going to be another rough year at the Confines. Certainly feel like the win total will be in the 70s again… 78? Here’s hoping.
But hey, baseball is almost back, and that’s what matters. That reminds me… need to take a look at the Cubs schedule again; hoping to get to a road game THIS year. Need to see my son’s schedule first, then our other potential vacations… baseball means summer is coming, which is always a great thing. Hope we’re not going to get one last winter smack before we make it to Spring… I’m ready to play some catch…
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