2012 Chicago Cubs Baseball Season, Tickets, Schedule, Team Predictions and Expectations

The upcoming 2012 season brings with a new era of management now that Theo Epstein is in charge of baseball operations. It remains to be seen if Epstein can duplicate the magic he orchestrated during his tenure with the Boston Red Sox but his presence certainly won’t hurt.

Unfortunately the Cubs, as an organization, appear to be primed to stay mediocre for 2012. The moves they have made are minor with the exception of shipping off malcontent starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Dumping his mental issues on some other franchise was a long overdue move on Chicago’s part.

I don’t want to sound too pessimistic but the Cubs are going to struggle to compete this year. Baring some injection of talent the team will have a difficult time finishing with a better record than the St. Louis Cardinals or the Cincinnati Reds; they might even finish behind the Pittsburgh Pirates and a declining Milwaukee Brewers team.

If you are interested in purchasing Chicago Cubs tickets visit Major League Baseball’s website here: Cubs tickets

The 2012 regular season for the Cubs can be viewed here: schedule

Adrian Cardenas - second baseman

David DeJesus – outfielder

Frankie De La Cruz - right handed relief pitcher

Paul Maholm – left handed starting pitcher

Anthony Rizzo – first baseman

Dave Sappelt – outfielder

Ian Stewart – third baseman

Travis Wood – left handed starting pitcher

Chris Carpenter - right handed starting pitcher

Andrew Cashner – right handed starting pitcher

Tyler Colvin – outfielder

DJ LeMahieu – utility infielder

Sean Marshall – left handed starting pitcher

Carlos Pena – first baseman

Aramis Ramirez – third baseman

In addition to departing with Zambrano the Cubs also let long time third baseman Aramis Ramirez sign a free agent deal with Milwaukee. To offset his offensive production the team dealt for Ian Stewart but that deal will still leave the offense worse off because Ramirez carried a much bigger stick at the plate than Stewart will. Underperforming Carlos Pena left but that should leave the Cubs with an upgrade at first base. Anthony Rizzo has the looks of a Major League first baseman; hopefully he can polish himself up because the Cubs will need to get more production from their first baseman than they did last year.

The lineup will still have Marlon Byrd and Geovany Soto and both of these players are going to have to produce for the Cubs. Sub par seasons from either of them and the season will get painful quickly.

The two biggest questions I have for the Cubs right now are related to outfielder Alfanso Soriano and shortstop Starlin Castro. Will Soriano continue his decline or can he right his ship and be able to contribute solid numbers to the club? He just celebrated his thirty-sixth birthday, so I don’t see him making a huge rebound from last year, but if he could at least slow down the decline it would help.

Starlin Castro has all of the tools to be a huge star in the league, if he can get his head screwed on right. He is very young but has already shown signs of being a great shortstop; unfortunately he has also shown signs of immaturity. I recall a game where he didn’t even have his glove on his hand or he had a hand buried in his pocket fishing out sunflower seeds. Don’t we all get scolded for doing that in Little League? This guy is in the pros, he needs to figure out if he wants to be a great player or another head case.

The pitching staff is not very good. Honestly it looks like Ryan Dempster is still their number one starter and he finished with a 10-14 record last year. Matt Garza has the stuff to be an ace but he has been really inconsistent; if he could return to who he was in Tampa Bay it would really help settle the rotation down. Signing Maholm and Wood appears to be a case of making a move just to make a move. Neither pitcher will cause a lineup to shake in their cleats. Closer Carlos Marmol has ridiculous stuff and reminds me of a young Francisco Rodriguez when he pitched for the Angels. He saved over thirty games last year so it will be safe to assume he could do it again but I do question if he will get as many opportunities as he did last season.

The National League Central has the defending champion Cardinals who, even with the loss of Albert Pujols, will still be competitive and very well might win the division. The Reds won the division in 2010 but went a step backwards last year; I think they will have a better 2012 than 2011. The Pirates are still a pretty young team but even they flirted with first place a few times during the 2011 season before fading back, they should have a decent year too. The Brewers took a big step backwards with the loss of Prince Fielder and the pending fifty game suspension of Ryan Braun so I don’t think they will repeat as the division winner.

The Cubs have started to move some pieces around, for the long term, but it certainly will not help them this year. At best I think they will finish third in the division but I would not be surprised to see them finish lower.