FALSE HOPE

Hope is a tricky feeling. There are various types of hope. Baseball fans during the spring are hit with the worst type of hope: False Hope. Chicago Fans especially Cubs fans are always filled with False hope. This year is no exception.

The Cubs have revamped their rotation and lineup with a 330 million dollar commitment to winning this year, not to mention the money spent on Big LOU. The Cubs additions were significant and will improve the team. The Cubs can't get any worse than 96 losses last year. The Cubs added Soriano who hit 46 home runs and stole 40 bases last year, which add thunder to a lineup that features Aramis Ramirez, and a healthy Derek Lee. The knock on "Sori" is that he strikes out too much, which also has been the knock on the Cubs over the last few seasons.

The rotation added Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis who have pitched well in previous seasons. Ted Lilly won 10 games last year but had an ERA of above 4.00. Jason Marquis was shelled last year posting an era of 5.26. I witnessed one of those game in person when the Cubs hung 6 Marquis in the first inning- Yikes! The scary thing is this guy could be our 4th or 5th starter. The knock on both men is that they are prone to the gopher ball (home run) and with Wrigley field short fences this could be a lethal combo.

Cubs fans right now have the hope that new addition paired with Lee, Ramirez, Wood( hot tub injury already), and Prior (might not make rotation) can make the playoff push.

I am being realistic and just hoping for a .500 record.