Chicago Cubs

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The Chicago Cubs have spent the past few years treading water in the middle of Major League Baseball.  They haven't been going on tears, but they also haven't been at the bottom of the league.

Although this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is something that is very frustrating for Cubs fans who want to get some sort of identity out of a team that refuses to give itself one.

As a Reds supporter, I love talking to Cubs fans.

See, in Cincinnati, we’re used to losing. We’re familiar with the bruised, aching feeling that follows every season gone bad. We know all too well the dejection of finishing fifth or sixth in the division, with no realistic prospects of hope on the horizon.

I had previously thought that Cubs manager Mike Quade didn't possess a "mean streak." I'm not talking like a Chris Brown/Mel Gibson anti-Semitic streak. Hell, I'm not even talking about the visible anger shown by the young, African-American couple in the State Farm commercial.

There was a time back in the days, when the Cubs were lovable losers, when the team was managed by a succession of genial incompetents who routinely traded away their best prospects for has-beens and hired equally incompetent field managers who were generally long-suffering and sympathetic counterparts of the players they directed.

I know I've hardly been a beacon glowing in the otherwise dark night of the Chicago Cubs. In fact, you might say I'm much more of a realist than most Cubs fans.

Still, always looking at the grim realities can become downright boring and so, in an attempt to liven up my day, allow me to put on the ol' rose-colored glasses and search out reasons to be hopeful that 2011 will be a better year than 2010 for us Cubs fans.

After he struggled to produce at the plate all spring, while unable to play acceptable defense at second base, Blake DeWitt has officially lost his role as the starter.

He was never starting full-time to begin with, as Jeff Baker was the plan when lefties were on the mound. Now though, DeWitt has played at such a lackluster level that it forced manager Quade's hand in the removal process.

The Cubs have allowed double digit runs in 25 percent of their games so far this season (1-5 in those games), are 9-15 overall, currently on a four game skid and have already had a in-team brawl. Is there a silver lining? Of course!

According to ESPNDeportes.com, the Cubs are interested in recently released and former Mets second baseman Luis Castillo. But while the potential acquisition of Castillo may not solve all of the Cubs woes, it may be worth a flier. 

On the surface, it's easy to see why the Cubs would show interest in Castillo. He will come cheaply, with the Mets paying the majority of his remaining contract. Any team that signs him would be required to pay just the league minimum.

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

Carlos Marmol had one of the most mind-boggling seasons in 2010, among any position.

Replacing a legend is no easy task. Just ask Chris "Izzy" Cole, Mark Wahlberg's character in Rock Star, who failed to live up to the hype Bobby Beers set forth as the front man of Steel Dragon.