Hey hey, holy cow…
The Cubs, contrary to popular belief, aren’t quite dead yet.
Having said that, it still remains to be seen if they can win one when neither Maddux or Lee are in the lineup for that day, or when they’re playing an actual Major League team. I’m of the opinion, though, that if the club can keep its head above water until, let’s say, June 15, then they still have a better shot of making the playoffs (and beyond) than most, if not all, the teams in their division.
Why June 15th? Well, if everything keeps going how it’s going, by then the Cubs rotation will consist of a (newly rejuivinated) Greg Maddux, a (hopefully back on track) Carlos Zambrano, a (hopefully healthy) pair in Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, and a (hopefully hype-worthy) Angel Guzman. That’s a pretty beefy rotation, if all the “hopefullys” work out. This being the Cubs, the chances of that are pretty slim. But, me being a Cub fan, the thought of it is tantalizing. So here’s what my dream outcome consists of:
- Maddux keeps pitching how he’s pitching. This probably isn’t that far off of reality, in actuality. This is the first time in his career that he actually did anything other than play long-toss in the off season, and apparently is in better shape than he’s been at any point in his career. He’s never needed a 94MPH heater to get guys out, he just needs enough gas to get to the late innings.
- Wood comes back in early May and puts together 25 uninterrupted starts. I realize the likelihood of this is probably slim, if history holds true. The argument for this happening are that he’s coming back from a relatively minor surgery (one that they put off until the club was mathematically eliminated last season), and by all accounts he’s got a clean bill of health. The argument against it is that, well, this is Kerry Wood, and these are the Cubs.
- Prior comes back and throws at least as well as he did last year before the freak line-drive accident. I really don’t buy the press saying that Prior is injury-prone in the same way Wood is–for the most part, Prior’s injuries are of the freak variety, whereas Wood’s are more of the “Dusty Baker” variety.
- Lee comes back after the All-Star break and looks like he did before he pulled a Jungling.
Will any of this be even remotely close to what happens? Beats me. But that’s why they play the games.