Fan News

Spring Training is literally a day away, so what better time than now to make some bold predictions about the 2010 season for the Chicago Cubs.

The signing of Matt Holliday by the St. Louis Cardinals made them the overwhelming favorites to win the NL Central and they might be the team to beat in the National League. However, the Cubs made several moves as well, and look to be a better team than they were last season. How much better remains to be seen.

What follows are 10 predictions that I would say fall into the category of bold.

In the bleak mid-winter of February in Chicago, it is hard to imagine that baseball's Opening Day is less than seven weeks from this gray, wintry afternoon on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Such is the case, though, and so, as pitchers and catchers congregate in Arizona to prepare for the upcoming 2010 season, it is time to look at some of the most pressing questions facing the Cubbies this year.

Johnny Damon has a more than fair offer on the table from Detroit: one year for $7 million.  If that's not enough, he has a second offer from Detroit for an additional year and an additional $7 million.  He's old, he has the arm strength of an eight-year-old girl, and yet he is still not signing on the dotted line.  Detroit just isn't enough. 

Jesus Montero has been a hot issue with the Yankees lately. Should they trade him or keep him? Is he good enough to stay behind the plate or should they move him to another position? If they move him to another position where should it be? Is he ready for the major leagues now? Should he be a midseason call-up or should they take it slow with him?

After the Joba Chamberlain/Phil Hughes debate, the topic that we have focused on the most this offseason has probably been the state of the Yankees bench.

It seems like it's one spot on the Yankees that is always in flux, and that was no different this offseason after they lost Eric Hinske, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Jose Molina.

Well, first I would like to congratulate Omar Minaya on his job as general manager.  He has somehow made Washington a more desirable place to play then New York. 

As the 2009 baseball season ended, Mets fans knew that they had seen the worst; surely players would swarm to play in New York.  I hoped, like many others, that the Mets could get a decent second or third starting pitcher to bring some sort of solidarity to the starting pitching staff.

Well, that didn't happen.  But what happened?  We signed an old, star hitter instead...sound familiar? 

Brian Cashman has been the Yankees general manager since 1998, but it was only after 2004 when he really started taking over the team. Today, Hal Steinbrenner runs the budget, but Cashman seems like he’s in charge of everything else. That is why when he speaks it’s probably smart to listen.

When he speaks to NoMaas.org, you’d damn well better listen .

I’ve learned to expect nothing from Joel Zumaya.  I also feel as though I made this exact same post each of the last two years.  If the Tigers are able to get anything out of Zumaya in 2010, we should all just consider it a bonus.

In spite of all of his injuries, Zumaya remains one the hardest throwers in the big leagues.  If he is on and healthy, there are very few batters that can catch up with what he features.  From ESPN's  Jerry Crasnick:

I was watching In The Line Of Fire the other night, one of those great early 90s movies that time seems to have completely forgotten. The general plot: A grizzled secret service agent (Clint Eastwood) must take down a sinister would-be presidential assassin (John Malkovich) before it's too late. A lot of Renee Russo pant suits are also involved.

It was a star-making performance by Malkovich, who absolutely knocked the role out of the park. His character was intelligent, cold-blooded, calculating, and his singular goal overshadowed everything else.

It's been a rather quiet offseason for the Cleveland Indians on a national scale, but that doesn't mean there haven't been rumblings about the Tribe since the end of October.

The hiring of Manny Acta and his coaching staff has energized the fan base in one way or another.