The Cubs look to be who we thought they were

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Two weeks into the MLB season and some things are becoming clear about the Cubs. In a nutshell, for the most part, they are who we thought they were. With a few possible exceptions.

I love it when a plan comes together

The starting pitching looks good. For that matter, the pitching as a whole looks good. After a rocky first start, Jon Lester and Yu Darvish looked good in their starts against the Brewers. The bullpen in general, has been strong this year. There is no reason to think the Cubs won't have one of the best staffs in baseball this season. The hitting has gotten off to a s slow start, however.

One half of Brizzo is rolling

Kris Bryant has gotten off to a great start. That has helped to mitigate a slow start by Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo has been sidelined by back issues and is currently hitting .107 with an OPS of .433. Of course, that's after only 28 at bats. Anthony will probably be good for his 30 home run, 100 RBI thing.

I thought his bat was dead

I've been shoveling dirt on Ben Zobrist for a while, but he's been digging out from under it this season. Zobrist was slowed by a sore wrist and possible old age last season. This season Zobrist has a healthy wrist and despite still being old he's really hitting the ball well. If Zobrist can produce at his career norm for 120 games this season, it would be huge.

Is hitting leadoff the new Cubs curse?

It seems like whoever starts stats out as the Cubs leadoff hitter will hit about .170 and strikeout a ton of times. Last season it was Kyle Schwarber, this season it's been Ian Happ. Maybe Ben Zobrist will provide some relief in the leadoff slot. 

I know it hurts but...... 

Jason Heyward looks great until he swings the bat and hits a weak ground ball to the right side. Expect more of the JHay we've seen in Chicago for the last two years. That contract of his is going to loom larger as the Cubs start paying their young stars who become arbitration eligible. At some point the Cubs need to accept the fact he's a defense first fourth outfielder.

Javy is one of the most exciting players in baseball, but I may be Baezed

Javy Baez is one of the five most exciting players in baseball. He's also one of the five most frustrating players in baseball. He's one of the most exciting base runners in the game, even though he doesn't steal a lot of bases. He's also greatest tagger I've ever seen and one of the most flamboyant defenders in baseball. He's also capable of booting the routine play and still gives away far too many at bats because of a lack of plate discipline.

 Put me in, coach

Will Albert Almora ever get a shot at the center field job? I'd like to see him in there everyday for a while to see what he can do. For some reason, Joe Maddon doesn't seen that enamored with him. I'm not sure why. 

And Kyle can hit his weight now 

I appreciate Kyle Schwarber's determination to get better as manifested in his losing 30 pounds. Kyle's production looks about same, but he looks better doing it. At least it's easier for Kyle to hit his weight now.

All in all, the Cubs look like about a 95 win team to me. That will be good enough to win the NL Central.

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