A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request

The last time the Cubs won the World Series was 1908. You probably know that, and you have responded either two ways.

You either laugh… or you cry.

 

Here’s something else to laugh (or cry) about. The last time the Cubs went to the World Series was 1945… the last time they won a playoff game and went to the NLCS… 2003 (and we all know what happened then). The last time they clinched the NL Central? 2008.

Since then, Cub fans have dealt with some of the toughest years, as crazy as that might sound. In the past two years, the Cubs have lost 197 games, and it’s the worst 3-season stance in team history. THEY HAVE BEEN A TEAM SINCE THE 1800’S.

So after firing almost the entire organization in 2011, an organization that had plenty of winning seasons, owner Tom Ricketts hired Theo Epstein as the President of Baseball Operations, and Padres’ GM Jed Hoyer to become GM. Theo Epstein, as you may know, had the same position with the Boston Red Sox, breaking the curse of the Bambino and winning two World Series.

 

Here’s the thing. Lots of baseball fans asked if Theo can do just what he did in Boston to get a title for the Cubs. However, Theo and Jed are taking a different approach.

Can he break another curse? And yes, there is a curse in Chicago. 

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox had veterans. Some of these guys were the best in the business, like Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez. Plus, in 2004 they traded for Curt Schilling and extended his contract. Boston had a miracle run in the playoffs and turned out on top.

This Chicago team… well… they have no big time veterans, no future hall-of-famers (as of now). They instead have prospects, and they have this in order to maintain winning records not for a few years, but for many years. And it’s worked in Chicago; the last time they had a huge prospect was a guy named Mark Prior, who was the x-factor in leading the Cubs to the NLCS in 2003.

The Cubs look to win the division not this year, but in 2015. After the Yankees bought Masahiro Tanaka out, Chicago was crushed. He would have sped up this “rebuilding” program so much. It was a major defeat.

After looking at baseball’s Top 100 Prospects, including my top 10 prospects, you notice guys like Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and Albert Almora, the three best prospects in the Cubs system.

Here’s where the hope comes.

Notable stats about these guys? Baez hit 37 home runs in the minors last year… as a shortstop. Bryant was theArizona Fall League MVP, and has shown to have the best all-around power in the minor leagues. He is projected to have 30 home runs and 100 RBI’s each year. Almora has one of the best gloves and arms in baseball.

But there’s more than those three. There’s C.J. Edwards, the Cubs top pitching prospect who posted a sub 1.50 ERA in the minors last year. There’s Jorge Soler, the youngest of three power Cuban hitters that, when healthy, has such amazing raw power. By the way, the other two power Cuban hitters in that class were Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig.

But wait, there's more!. There’s Arimesty Alcantara, a speedy and versatile second baseman. There’s Dan Vogelbach, a first baseman who once hit a 570 foot home run, and there’s Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs’ minor league pitcher of the year.

The Cubs were a major disappointment in the offseason, failing to grab big names, but they did grab guys like Jose Veras, Justin Ruggiano, and former Rookie of the Year winner, Chris Coghlan.

There are lot of talks about how the Cubs don’t have any pitching in that minor league system, another reason why it was such a big blow to lose Tanaka. That’s true. But here are the facts: The Cubs finished 28^th in runs, 27^th in batting average, 28^th in on base percentage, and 17^th in slugging percentage last year. In pitching, they finished 7^th in batting average allowed. 

Also remember that they still have young guys in the majors. Their three rebuilding leaders, Travis Wood, Starlin Castro, and Anthony Rizzo, are only 26, 23, and 24, respectively. We saw Castro and Rizzo have their numbers go down last season, but with a new skipper in Rick Renteria this year, things might change.

Don’t rule out the Cubs on trading for players starting this season, too. Jed and Theo have already stated that they no longer are going to trade their guys before the deadline anymore, as they have traded a boatload of players over the past two years.

There’s also the free agency, too. In 2015, some of the biggest pitchers will be on the market, including David Price, Max Scherzer, and Hisashi Iwakuma. Watch the Cubs make a splash at one of them, especially Price.

This year is going to be real interesting for the Cubs. I think they can pull a .500 record. At the middle of the season last year, the Cubs were only 8 games under. After trading and making a bunch of moves, they finished under 30.

Fans are tired of losing. But as a long-time Cub fan and someone who will forever bleed Cubbie blue, I know there is hope. And the future has not looked this bright since drafting Mark Prior.

All I ask is this – can you please make the playoffs? Let’s just try to cross that bridge.

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd