Chicago Cubs Announce Opening Day Lineup; Fan's Take - MLB
We, as the astute baseball fans we are, love debating over, well, just about everything the game has to offer. One of the soup de jour arguments in recent years has been that of the "who should hit where in the lineup" argument. For the Chicago Cubs, this has been front-and-center the last few years given the Cubs' wild inconsistencies (and occasional injuries). Earlier this week, Cubs manager, Dale Sveum, announced the Cubs opening day lineup—David DeJesus, Darwin Barney, Starlin Castro, Bryan LaHair, Alfonso Soriano, Ian Stewart, Marlon Byrd, Geovany Soto , and the pitcher slot.
Based on what the Cubs have to work with this season, there aren't really many surprises in the lineup's construction. Any of the contrasts I had in my head were just simply "ideas," not necessarily what I thought was the only right way to do it. I though Barney could potentially be moved down (8th maybe), or that Byrd could be moved up. At the end of the day though, I think this is a pretty good setup based on the current players that the Cubs have. Whether or not this lineup can win any games is an entirely different story.
It's always interesting that we spend so much time arguing these points given that, over the course of the season, players get hurt, need days off, go into slumps, get hot and hardly hold tight to the lineup made public prior to opening day. As fans, we just want to know who we can expect to be watching as we continue sitting in the stands, anxiously awaiting that long-awaited World Series title. While anything is possible, this Cubs season looks more like an audition for the years to come as opposed to a potential run at a playoff appearance—much less a World Series one.
Ideally, surprise players like Joe Mather and Steve Clevenger will be able to continue to make impact plays as the season becomes "for real." The Cubs might find themselves with decent depth if these players —along with Blake DeWitt and, eventually, Brett Jackson and Anthony Rizzo— continue to produce. While it's clear the Cubs are a ways from being where they ultimately want to be, I think there is already evidence of this team moving in the right direction.
No matter what, I'm ready for opening day.
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed Major League Baseball throughout.
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