June 6, 2014: Win one for the Zim

To echo the sentiments of Second City members during Thursday night’s 7th inning stretch, it was nice to see the Cubs win one for Don Zimmer.  Zimmer passed away on June 4th at the age of 83.  Maybe best remembered for his Yankee days and his tussle with Pedro Martinez, he will be remembered here for his Cubs days, more specifically, 1989.  That was a special year, as Popeye managed the Cubs to a 93-69 record.  Who can forget that team of Sandberg, Grace, Dawson, & Sutcliffe led by fiery Ditka-esque manager Don Zimmer.  That special year ended in the NLCS in a great series vs the Giants, who went on to get swept in the famous earthquake series by the A’s.  Not only did the Cubs win one for Zim, they swept one for him.  We will miss you Zimmer.

The Cubs swept their first series of the year, which was their first home series sweep since July 13-15 of 2012.  That’s pretty sick.  Don’t look now, but the Cubs are officially NOT the worst team in baseball after Thursday night’s win.  They have been playing better ball, and improved to 11 games under .500.  Can this team still win my predicted 70 games?  You bet your ass they can.  They’ll even make a push for the wild card…….. WHOA whoa whoa…  I’m not signing up for that, although I think they will continue to get better… slowly.  They do have some pieces in place.

Anthony Rizzo.  He scored the game winning run in each of these 3 wins vs the Mets, including a game winning HR Thursday night.  He’s being overshadowed by the other first baseman in town, and rightfully so, considering the awesome numbers Abreu is putting up so far.  (I think Abreu is great, but it’s only been just over 2 full months of his career.  Let’s not put him in the Hall of Fame yet Sox fans.  You know, like that first ballot HOFer Gordon Beckham…)  Rizzo has a higher BA than Abreu at .274. and more runs with 37.  Not many people can beat Abreu’s 17 HR and 47 RBI, but Rizzo has posted a respectful 11 HR and 29 RBI in a much weaker lineup.  Let’s not forget Rizzo’s fielding percentage at .994, which is slightly better than Abreu too.  I don’t watch the Sox on a regular basis, so I can’t say how often Abreu makes plays, but I can tell you that Rizzo has saved many errors from that Cubs infield with his scoops at first.  Who would I rather have right now?  I’m OK with Rizzo.  He continues to improve each year.

The big knock on him was his weakness against left handed pitching.  Rizzo is actually hitting BETTER against left handed pitching this year than right handers.  He’s hitting .333 in 57 ABs against southpaws.  Way to work on your weakness kid.  He’s also been knocked for being too quiet, and maybe not the leader the Cubs need in the clubhouse.  Well, he’s getting more vocal as well.  I think that comes with time too.  As he continue to improve his individual game, he will develop as a team leader, both leading by example, and leading in the clubhouse.  The Cubs needed Rizzo and Castro to be THE guys.  Castro has had a nice rebound year so far, and Rizzo, who I was more worried about, is turning out to be that guy we needed him to be.
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So the Cubs are set then right?  Wrong!  They still have ways to go to be perennial contenders as Theo has promised us.  Again, I don’t think they’re that far off, pending some off season moves of course.  Drafting at #4, the Cubs selected C/OF Kyle Schwarber.  I’m not going to act like I knew about him, and from what I read, if the top 3 pitching prospects were gone (the Sox took Carlos Rodon at #3), which they were, the Cubs were going offense again.  Best available player on their board.  I can’t be mad at that.  So, add him to the offensive prospects lining up in the minors.  Will they all make it to the show?  Maybe not, but the more bullets you shoot, the better chance you have at hitting the target.

So, I’m going to continue to believe in the plan.  After a terrible start to the season, I’m seeing slow progress.  I’m excited to see some of the boys get called up this summer.  I’m hoping to get some positive momentum by signing some of the guys we do have, like Samardzija.  I’m looking forward to finally making that big FA signing this offseason.  I’m ready to be in the .500 neighborhood, and with a few breaks, be back in contention next year, year 4 of the Theo regime.  Am I dreaming?  Maybe, but I don’t think so.  At the very least, we have somebody else up there to look out for us.  Maybe Zim can pull a few strings, and get some of those breaks I mentioned for us… it can happen.  It will happen.