Cubs in position to win pennant

By Shane McKiness Sports Central Columnist

The Chicago Cubs were underdogs last year, and this year, they are again being ignored by the media. I have found this to be deeply disturbing. It is obvious why they are being ignored -- it is because of the offseason acquisitions that the New York Yankees have made.

They have again wowed the people of New York, the media capital of the United States, and thus they have created an atmosphere where the New Yorkites believe that they will win the World Series without any competition.

They are wrong.

The Chicago Cubs are in the running, and when I say running, I am not talking about the Central Division title. I believe they will get to, and win, the World Series. Just look at the team and you will see why! Last year's talented squad of overachievers is back, plus a host of mint acquisitions that have turned this team into nothing less than a dynasty waiting to happen.

Whoa! I am getting ahead of myself, and you are probably thinking that I am some kind of nut, right? After all, these Cubbies have not won a World Series since before World War I, and I am saying it is going to happen this year? Well, let us look at the players and see why.

In the outfield, the Cubs have Moises Alou in left field, Corey Patterson in center field, and Sammy Sosa in right field. Last year, each of the three had a sub-stellar year. Moises Alou again hit below .300, Corey Patterson went on a prolonged disabled list, and Sammy Sosa had numerous problems, such as injuries and suspensions. In total, the Cubs three outfielders averaged only about 118 games.

This year, Sammy is back healthy and not expected to use any corked bats, cross your fingers. With a full season, and the amount of talent in the lineup, you can expect Sammy to accumulate another 120 run, 120 RBI, 50 homerun year. Moises Alou is more determined that ever, and Corey Patterson is expected to be at 100% by Opening Day, April 5th. With a full year under his belt, Corey has the skills to be a 30-30 man with over 100 runs and 100 RBIs.

This Cubs' infield is a vast improvement over the starting infield for the Cubs last year, as well. Aramis Ramirez, who led the league in RBIs as a third basemen last year, will be expected to come into his own this year. At 25, and with six years of experience, Ramirez is beginning to enter his prime, so expect him to hit over 30 homeruns and 100 RBIs.

The two infield spots will face tough competition this year. Not only do the Cubs have Alex Gonzalez, who has Gold Glove potential, committing only 10 errors all of last season, at shortstop, but they have Mark Grudzielanek coming off his best year. Now, they are joined by backup, yes, I said backup, Todd Walker, who would start on most teams.

Cubs Manager Dusty baker is expected to rotate the players at second base on the hot hand, but I'd expect Walker to get playing time at shortstop later in the season, when Gonzalez's bat hits its annual slump.

Now we get to the big one, the hot potato. The big trade of Hee Seop Choi to the Florida Marlins, the team who stole the National League pennant from the Cubs last year, for superstar Derek Lee. Derek Lee is not known as a superstar, but he is, and will be known as one in Chicago.

This guy is without a doubt in the top-five first basemen in baseball. In the last three years, on a subpar, unrecognized team, he has averaged .274 batting average, .415 on base percentage, 26 homeruns, 84 RBIs, and committed only 5 errors! Not only does this guy put up fantastic numbers, but he is also Gold Glove material. How many first basemen have the complete package? Hey, if that doesn't phase you, how about a 20 stolen base average over the last two years?

Now we get to the wildly talked about, highly feared, much revered pitching staff: Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano, and Matt Clement. These four guys blew away the competition last year. Wood, 266Ks, and Prior, 245Ks, were the top two power pitchers in the entire league. If it weren't for a short stunt on the injury list, Mark Prior would have easily won the Cy Young Award.

Last year's team was fifth in ERA at 3.83, fourth in complete games thrown, second in hits-allowed, and first in strikeouts by over 100Ks.

Wait. What did you say? Did you just say that one of the best starting staffs in all of baseball has gotten better? But how could that be so? They acquired another starting pitcher? What in the world could they be thinking? Who was it?

Yes, I remember now ... this is an addition that is not the icing on the cake (I consider the icing on the cake to be Derek Lee and Todd Walker), but instead, the cherry on top!

Greg Maddux is again a Chicago Cub. This guy has never had an ERA over 4.00, or pitched less than 199.1 innings in a year, since his rookie year in 1987, when he was a young star for the Cubs. He's even going to have back his old personal catcher from Atlanta in Paul Bako. I see nothing but improvement for Maddux, especially with his 300th win looming before him.

For whatever reasons, the Chicago Cubs were able to grab this gem of a free agent, and now their starting rotation is no longer one of the best in baseball, but instead, it is hands-down the best. On top of that, the depth of the pitching staff has also improved. The Cubs added LaTroy Hawkins, Ryan Dempster, and Kent Mercker. In addition, they dropped the frail Damian Miller for a fresher, more diverse, and potentially better Michael Barrett.

For all their shortcomings last year, the Chicago Cubs have shown to be a very good team. With the additions to the team this year, some of which I failed to talk about, like Todd Hollandsworth, the Cubs are my favorite to win it all this year. They are simply the best National League baseball team out there, but the real question is whether they can pull it together as a team and succeed where so many have failed.

Look for the good, ol' Red, White, and Blue in the postseason.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.