1. Do the Cubs have a lead-off hitter in camp?
No. Suggestions that Castro will be slotted #1 in the line up brings back the free swinging Alfonso Soriano days. Bonifacio, who has a minor league deal but will probably make the 25 man roster, can steal bases but has a low BA and OBP.
2. Where should Castro bat in the line up?
He was most comfortable batting second in the order. But the real issue is putting Castro in one spot in the line up and keeping him there. He seems to have trouble adjusting to different line up slots from game to game, week to week.
3. Who is the best hitter on the team?
By default, it was Schierholtz but he only batted .251 last year.
4. Can Rizzo have a bounce back season?
Possibly, but pitchers and pitching coaches around the league figure out young batters very quickly. It takes a good hitting coach to help players make the necessary adjustments. The Cubs new hitting coach, Bill Mueller, will have pressure on him to turn around Rizzo and Castro.
5. If the front office's approach has been high OBP guys, why is the roster devoid of such players?
Because other teams also value the sabermetric of high OBP as a means of steady run production. There are less of those quality contact and walk hitters on the free agent market.
6. Which current Cubs will not be with the club on August 1st?
It is clear that the Cubs and Samardzija are growing farther and farther a part. It would not be surprising that the Shark would be traded in July. It would not be that surprising that other veterans who may have value to a contender, such as Schierholtz, Sweeney or Valbuena could be moved as well. In reality, any player making more than $3 million is probably on the market.
7. Who is the Cubs third baseman?
Ramirez was the answer to the question "who replaced Ron Santo at third." The Cubs have had a circus of caretakers at the position since Ramirez left for free agency (which was fine because he has had injuries and down years since). Currently, Valbuena and Murphy appear to be a platoon at the position. The front office has traded for the top 2 Rangers third base prospects, Villanueva and Olt, but both players have not performed well in the Cubs system.
8. Can Kris Bryant leap to start at third for the Cubs in 2014?
An independent observer could say yes, anything is possible. But the real answer is absolutely not, since the front office has stubborn promotion rules (such as 500 AAA at bats). Besides, the Cubs are not ready to win so bringing up Bryant early would not help in his development.
9. If the Cubs are not ready to win, how does that affect "core" players already on the roster?
It hurts them. As former manager state after leaving the team, the losing culture is a drain on the team. Instead of driving to win, players and coaches fall into the trap of accepting losing as a way of Cub life. Three bad seasons in a row can have a negative effect on players like Wood, Rizzo and Castro who are supposed to be the leadership core for the future. It also plants the seed in their minds to leave the losing organization as soon as possible.
10. If Bonifacio makes the 25 man roster, whose spot will he take?
I imagine the Cubs will put someone on the disabled list to open up a spot. But the players who are in jeopardy of losing their 40 man roster status include Brett Jackson, Szczur, Vitters and Watkins.
11. Is Ian Stewart the biggest bust of the Epstein era?
Stewart did not perform at all with the Cubs, but considering his Rockies injury history and demotion, it was not that surprising conclusion. On the current roster, former Brave starter Vizcaino, who has missed the last two full seasons due to injury rehab, needs to pitch well or he would be considered a larger bust since pitching is a premium need for the Cubs.
12. Why did Scott Baker sign a minor league deal instead of coming back to the Cubs?
See Answer 9 above. It is true Baker used the Cubs as a paid rehab year, but players have no loyalty to their past teams. Baker felt that his career would be better served with an up and coming club like the Mariners than being mired at the bottom of the standings with the Cubs.
13. Can the Cubs survive three straight horrible losing seasons?
Yes and no. The team will muddle forward because of its NL charter, but financially it will be hard to see the team changing its direction soon if fan attendance continues to dramatically fall and the local TV deals will not happen until 2020. In addition, the perception of free agents that the Cubs are the new Astros or Royals will keep talent away from the North Side.
14. Is Edwin Jackson tradeable?
It was a bad contract (4 years/$52 million) but it seems that the current free agent market for pitchers has fallen to that level (as seen recently with the Brewers contract with Matt Garza). Jackson would need to become his 2011 self (12-9 record, 3.79 ERA in 31 starts) in order to draw interest.
15. Will Rick Renteria have more success than Sveum or Quade?
No. The front office has not given him any more talent than his predecessors. Renteria's extroverted personality and bi-lingual skills may help him communicate better with his young players, but it may be difficult to re-train them to get out of bad habits and losing mentality.
16. Is there any untradeable player on the current roster?
No.
17. What happens if the touted prospects such as Baez, Bryant, Almora, P. Johnson, Hendricks, Edwards, and Soler get injured or don't pan out at the minor or major league level?
Disaster, in the scope of the Hindenburg. The whole Epstein-Hoyer plan is the fill the major league roster with six or seven home grown "impact" players, and then have a pipeline of replacement AAA talent year after year. But if the first crop fails, just like in real life, the farm turns to dust and the farmers are out of their jobs.
18. When ownership and management said the new Mesa spring training facility is going to insure the Cubs championship caliber talent in the future, is that true?
No. The only thing the new Mesa facility has done for the Cubs is that the team/owners did not have to pay $100 million to build such a facility. Despite what teams say, state of the art facilities do not equate to winning teams or exceptional boosts in player talent levels. Most players turning pro have already been trained in high school or college; professional development is to polish those existing skill sets to give the player the best opportunity to succeed. All pitchers need is a mound and coach to observe and suggest changes in mechanics or baseball approach. The same is true with hitters; a batting cage, a live pitcher, and a field to practice defense is all that is required for coaches to develop position players. Foreign players who played stick ball in the streets, or played in Cuba at lesser facilities, can come to the majors and succeed right away. It is more important to scout and sign players with inherit ability than build facilities.
19. Speaking of facilities, will the Cubs ever move from Wrigley?
Economically, there is only so much revenue ownership can squeeze out of the Clark and Addison location. Many developers believe that if the Cubs are going to spend $500 million to "rehab" Wrigley Field and surrounding properties, that money could be better spent building a state of the art multipurpose facility in the suburbs. So if the neighborhood continues to object to plans, and there is litigation over the Cubs new revenue plans, it is possible the team could move out of Wrigley but at this time it is very remote.
20. When will the Cubs be in the playoffs?
Based upon the current roster, the stated rebuilding plan, the team finances and the other teams in the NL Central, the Cubs best chance to be in the playoffs is 2021. The Cubs current exclusive cable deal expires after the 2019 season. This means the Cubs cannot create their own network until 2020. Under the new paradigm, these new team networks are the significant resource for teams (creating billion dollar deals for teams like the Dodgers and Phillies). But even if the Cubs can create their own local broadcast network at that time, the whole cable environment and cost structure could be dramatically changed negatively towards content providers such as the Cubs. If the Cubs can reap new broadcast windfall in 2020, it would take at least a year to "spend big" like the Dodgers to field a championship caliber team.
