The Cubs Are Back

I’m watching the first Cubs’ broadcast of the season. That is a good thing. There’s nothing like the gentle rhythms of baseball on a Saturday afternoon. I can half watch the game while taking care of conference and writing tasks.

The Cubs look nicely above average this year. There aren’t any major holes on the roster. Assuming that everybody stays healthy and none of our key players have a major decline, we should be in the playoffs. I would say this is a 90-win team. That’s plenty of wins in the laughable National League.

The only team in the NL Central that scares me is the Milwaukee Brewers. Their line-up is awesome. However, I’m not sold on their defense and their rotation isn’t exactly the mid-90s Braves. Not the Cubs are all aces behind Zambrano, but we have a few more dependable arms. The Brewers’ dependence on Ben Sheets is unfortunately eerily similar to the Cubs’ Prior and Wood situation of the last few years. I just don’t see him staying healthy for a full season.

Here are my season predictions. Please feel free to laugh at me in November.

AL Winners-
West- Anaheim Angels
Central- Detroit Tigers
East- Boston Red Sox
Wild Card- Cleveland Indians

MVP- Alex Rodriguez
Cy Young- Jared Weaver

NL Winners-
West- Arizona Diamondbacks
Central- Chicago Cubs
East- New York Mets
Wild Card- Milwaukee Brewers

MVP- Prince Fielder
Cy Young- Johan Santana

World Series-
Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago Cubs

World Champions-
Detroit Tigers