Lou Piniella

Must I say I told you so?

Thursday, Tyler Colvin, 24, made his first start of the 2010 season at Turner Field for the Cubs after slow starts from Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and the entire Chicago offense for that matter.

Colvin faced numerous skeptics after demolishing opponents in spring training—the outfielder hit .468 while slugging .753 and driving in 18 RBI’s in 77 plate appearances—but few of those doubters still remain.

MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom reported that Cubs skipper Lou Piniella had this to say following the team's win over Arizona is the final game of the preseason on Saturday:

"I think the Cubs, their time is coming to win the World Series. Hopefully, it's very, very, very soon."

As someone who's been waiting for 40 years, I sure hope it's soon, too, Lou.

I actually like Lou's World Series chatter. For too long, the club has been careful to avoid that talk, saying instead that the goal is to "win the division" or "have a winning season."

Unlike his counterpart on the other side of town, you’re not going to find Lou Piniella tweeting any time soon.

As you probably already know, Piniella responded to a minor Twitter controversy early in the spring sparked by White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who joined the social networking site to communicate with fans.

Sweet Lou has never been tagged as a web-junky, and do not expect to find the old-school manager updating his Facebook status at your local Starbucks.

It’s a tale of two teams, but three cities. And as Charles Dickens wrote, it’s a tale of the years they intertwined from the start, one enjoying a “season (or seasons) of light,” the other dreading a “season of darkness.”

The Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs always pop up on each other’s schedules at least twice, sometimes more, every year. But rarely do they begin a regular season against each other.

This article was originally published at TheDailyCub.com , my blog covering all things Chicago Cubs.

Although the 19-year-old prospect was sent to the minors yesterday, Starlin Castro has spent his Spring Training turning heads and creating quite a controversy as to whether or not the Cubs should give the young prospect a shot.

I realize that the title sounds a little arrogant, but it's true.  Allow me to explain to you how/why it's going to happen. 

The first reason is very simple: we have an easy starting schedule. Of the first 39 games we play, only six come against teams that had a winning record last year. We open the season with a three game series at Atlanta, and then host the Marlins for a three game series early in May. 

Filed:February 25th, 2010

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What can the Chicago Cubs do for an encore in 2010?

2009 started off with the highest of expectations, but a season of hope and promise quickly turned into one of dismal performances and despair.

A team that was predicted to win the National League by most "experts" did not even qualify for the playoffs.

Their season was derailed by injuries early and often, and a manager, front office, and city of fans were left scratching their heads, wondering what the hell happened to a 97-win ball club.

It's the middle of November, so there's a ton of speculation flying around the web about baseball players moving addresses before the 2010 season.

For teams like the disappointing Chicago Cubs, the final out of the World Series means the beginning of a new hope. But, this winter, that hope needs to be tempered with a strong dose of reality.