Chicago Cubs- 2013 Preview

2012 Results- 61-101 (5th in NL Central) 

To plainly put it, the Cubs are just terrible. 2012 was another disappointing season for the Cubs but there are some bright spots. The team is on a slow, a VERY SLOW, road back to being a contending team but last year was just bad. The Cubs never could find there footing at any point in the season and managed to be the second team in MLB with 100 loses (Houston being the other). The Cubs ranked 24th in the Majors in ERA (4.51), 26th in Batting Average (.240), and 22nd in Fielding Percentage (.982). The Cubs were surprisingly not bad in 2012 at home (38-43) but the biggest flaw was the road record (23-58). The obvious thing the Cubs need to work on is their play on the road.

How does 2013 look?

Offseason Moves: ARRIVALS

C Dioner Navarro - Free Agent (CIN)
RHP Scott Baker - Free Agent (MIN)
RHP Marcelo Carreno - Trade (DET)
RHP Scott Feldman - Free Agent (TEX)
RHP Kyuji Fujikawa - Free Agent (Japan)
RHP Carlos Gutierrez - Waivers (MIN)
RHP Edwin Jackson - Free Agent (WAS)
RHP Barret Loux - Trade (TEX)
RHP Hector Rondon - Rule V (CLE)
RHP Sandy Rosario - Waivers (BOS)
RHP Zach Putnam - Waivers (COL)
RHP Carlos Villanueva - Free Agent (TOR)

DEPARTURES

C Anthony Recker - Waivers (NYM)
1B/OF Bryan LaHair - Free Agent (Japan)
RHP Jacob Brigham - Trade (TEX)
RHP Starling Peralta - Rule 5 (ARI)
RHP Sandy Rosario - Waivers (SF)
RHP Miguel Socolovich - Free Agent (Japan)
RHP Chris Volstad - Waivers (KC)
LHP Jeff Beliveau - Waivers (TEX)

The Cubs have improved slightly this offseason but not enough to amount to much. The biggest signing for the Cubs was without a doubt Edwin Jackson. It's a funny case for Jackson. Remember last year when he declined a multiyear contract offer from Pittsburgh to go to Washington because he wanted to play on a competing team? It confuses me why he decided to go from a winning team (Washington) to the Cubs, who are not going to be competitive for the entire length of his contract. Jackson does present a improvement in the pitching rotation for the Cubs but Jackson needs to have a better season than he had in 2012. Maybe having the comfort of a multiyear deal will help him pitch but overall, his signing shows a slight, very slight, improvement to the Cubs.

2013 Prediction- 62-100 (5th in NL Central)

The Cubs haven't won it all in a long time, well over 100 years. 2013 is going to be the same, I doubt the Cubs make it close to .500 baseball. The Cubs aren't going to be much better than they were in 2013 and will be the dead last in the NL Central. Why dead last? Well the Astros move into the AL West come the start of the 2013 season and the Cubs can expect to keep the basement nice and warm.

The Truth is simple, the Cubs need to do MORE in order to compete again. The offseason moves they have done are not enough to amount to much in terms of wins. While I think the Cubs are heading in the right direction, it's going to take a few more years. Sorry Cubs fans, but I honestly think the Cubs can become a good, competitive team....in 2017. Seriously, if the Cubs don't make more moves via trades and free agent signings, it's going to take THAT long for the prospects to come up and work.