[Psyblast]

Cubs believe it's their year...again
100 years of expectations follow the Cubbies into 2009

CHICAGO - It's one of the longest running jokes in sports, and certainly the longest in baseball. 100 straight years without a championship. The Curse of the Billy Goat. Completely Useless By September.

The list goes on and on. And once again, the Chicago Cubs are going to try and prove people wrong.

With one of baseball's highest payrolls, the expectations are still high on the north side of Chicago, where long-suffering Cubs fans, while eternally pessimistic and cynical, still demand the best from the North Siders. And after two straight NL Central championships and two straight playoff sweeps at the hands of Arizona and Los Angeles, manager Lou Piniella is tired of losing, too.

"I think we've built a good foundation," the Cubs skipper said. "It's just time to produce now. We've steadily improved since I got here...it's time to improve when it counts."

On paper, the Cubs have no business not being among the elite in the National League and in Major League Basebal in general. They have a good combination of stars (Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez), supporting players (Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome) and utility players (Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot) in their lineup. Milton Bradley hit .321 with the Texas Rangers last season, good for 3rd in the AL, and he signed a three-year deal with the Cubs this past offseason.

Pitching is a bit of a mixed bag with the Cubs. Their rotation is rock solid, one of the best in all of baseball, but there are vulnerabilities in the bullpen. Carlos Zambrano is still the ace, posting a 14-6 record in 2008 with a 3.91 ERA. Rich Harden was gold for the Cubs when he was acquired in July last season from Oakland, putting up a 5-1 record in 12 starts with a 1.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 71 innings. If he can stay healthy (which is a very big "if"), he will be an elite #2 pitcher to Zambrano. After that comes lefty Ted Lilly, coming off a career best 17 wins in 2008, and Ryan Dempster, who was a sparkling 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA, good enough to earn his second career All Star Game appearence. Sean Marshall is penciled in as the fifth starter, but there is a lot of smoke about the Cubs being very, very interested in former Brewers ace Ben Sheets, with one source in the front office hinting that the two sides are already working on a deal that could have Sheets in a Cubs uniform in a matter of days, which could actually set up his first start in Milwaukee against his former club.

The Cubs bullpen could best be described as enigmatic. Angel Guzman and Aaron Heilman can shut teams down, but can also serve as gas cans. Neal Cotts is the only lefty in the pen currently, which gives him value, and he does rack up strikeouts, but he can also be wild and very hittable at times. Rookie Jeff Samardzija is battling in spring training, and at this point is expected to make the team, mainly due to his length at 6'5, and his blazing 95+ MPH fastball. Many believe it's only a matter of time until Carlos Marmol is the closer, but for now he remains the primary setup man. He was one of the elite relief pitchers in the game a year ago, and the Cubs used him as such, trotting him out to the mound a whopping 82 times, and he delivered, posting a 2.68 ERA with 114 strikeouts. For the time being, newcomer Kevin Gregg will serve as the closer. He posted 61 saves over the past two seasons as Florida's closer, including 29 last year with a 3.41 ERA. Like others in the Chicago pen, however, he can implode randomly and spectacularly at any given time.

Overall, it would be a bitter, bitter disappointment if the Cubs were to miss the postseason. They are the clear favorites in the NL Central, and if they can stay healthy - and buck a century's worth of history and bad karma - they have the potential to make some noise in the postseason.