The new look Chicago Cubs aren’t poised to be so good this year. However, the new regime in the front office brings hope. During the off season, the Cubs have added big names like Theo Epstein as the president of baseball operations,and Jason McLeod as senior vice president of scouting and player development. These are the same guys that brought the Boston Red Sox two world championships, and cemented their legacy in Boston. Now the question is can Theo and company bring the same to Chicago? The answer is yes. That’s right cub fans this organization is being built from the ground up, and the future holds promise of sustainable success that could take the loveable losers all the way.
As a Cubs fan myself, I’ve grown tired of watching them trade away good prospects to acquire players in the latter stages of their careers, or trying to patch positions in the offseason through free agency. This approach has left the team with a weak farm system and a very high payroll full of bad contracts. Although they were able to unload the contracts of Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez, and Carlos Pena, they still have a lot of expensive contracts still on the books. Alfonso Soriano is still owed 54 million for the next three years, but guys like Ryan Dempster and Marlon Byrd will be hitting free agency after the 2012 season giving the Chicago Cubs some payroll flexibility.
Letting the prospects come up and have some magor league experience will also be a key element in long term success. Prospects like Brett Jackson and Joe Mather are close to be being contributors to the big league club (Joe Mather actually made the 25 man roster this spring) and, the Cubs are spending more money than ever in scouting and player development. This approach will strengthen their farm system, provide depth, and allow the cubs to be more active in free agency or less active if necessary. In other words, they will be able to spend more wisely when good opportunities present themselves, and they wouldn’t be obligated to sign an expensive free agent to fill a hole in the lineup or starting rotation.
Another area of concern for the Chicago Cubs is the back end of the bullpen. Can Carlos Marmol step up and be the closer everone thought he was going to be, or will he remain the same guy who will come in and walk three in a row, then strike out the next three to barely get the save? Can the young guys like James Russell, Shawn Camp take the bull by the horns and solidify their spots on this roster? Can Jeff Samardzija be a future solid number 2 or number 3 for the starting rotation? These are all legitimate questions that Epstein will have to address in the near future, but he will be well equipped with the knowledge and resources needed to make this team a World Series contender by 2015 maybe even 2014. Cubs fans should be patient during this transition but, they should also enjoy the energy and enthusiasm that the new movement in Chicago will provide. It wont be long before everyone is watching them going deep into October.
SPORTSMANIAUSA 