I've spent my time pondering what things make me happy that I'm a Cubs fan. This year I've come up with 10, actually maybe 12 things if you split two of them up, that make me happy to be a "Waveland Warrior" this season.
10. CC Sabathia is in New York and not Milwaukee
Reason this makes me happy: That's four to six wins against the Brew Crew this season. Sabathia ate us up like he does so many hot dogs every year. Let us all rejoice that Milwaukee wasn't willing to pay him by the pound, like the Yankees were willing to.
9. Geovanny Soto is, well, Geovanny Soto
Reason this makes me happy: He's a potential 30 homer, 100 RBI machine. He's not the kid anymore. He's got a year under his belt and by the looks of things, we might be looking at the second coming of Pudge Rodriguez.
8. Micah Hoffpauir
Reason this makes me happy: Pronounce it Hoff-pa-WEER or Hoff-power, or however you want to, this kid is some kind of awesome. Well, he's not a kid, per-say, as he's older than me, but he has a disease call "Bat crack fever" and the only cure is left-handed pitching, which the NL Central is weak in.
Bring on the numbers if he gets some everyday at-bats.
7. Big Z says he's mature enough to lead the rotation
Reason this makes me happy-FINALLY! He says he's gonna walk fewer than 50 batters this year, wants to win 18-21 games, and wants to keep his ERA at about 2.50.
He finally gets it. I have said the Cubs are one mature Zambrano away from the World Series. He finally realizes that he's the golden child in the rotation, but he needs to work to be called so.
Can someone hand Big Z a mold of the Cy Young he'll be getting come awards season?
Zambrano has the talent to be the most dominant pitcher in the league, but much like Terrell Owens in the NFL, his maturity gets called into question and this is the season he disproves the theory that Larry Rothschild isn't a pitching coach, but merely his babysitter.
6. The Carlos Marmol Show
Why this makes me happy: Enter the ninth inning against the Cubs and meet your reaper. Marmol is a ninth-inning assassin, capable of 50 saves and an ERA that could easily match the number of times I think about changing the channel during Cubs baseball, just under one.
5. New Ownership
Why this makes me happy: Tom Ricketts, I love you man. Seriously, not only do you say Wrigley Field will keep it's name, but you give us the green light to make a play for a player at the trade deadline.
He is a fan, so he knows what we want World Series 101. He might be a billionaire, but he's a billionaire that understands that the Cubs are a team that does for it's fans.
4. Cubs to retire number 31
Why this makes me happy-Greg Maddux and Ferguson "Fergie" Jenkins are probably the best tandem to ever wear the same number for one franchise and it's no ordinary feat to have two hall of famers wear the same number.
As a Cubs fan, I've spent more time watching Fergie Jenkins videos than Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas' back side, but both of which intrigue the heck out of me.
Long time coming, for both Maddux and Fergie.
3. The NL Central is our's to lose
Why this makes me happy: This comes as no surprise as no other team in the NL Central did much. We just need to build on the momentum and let it, and good ball playing carry us to whomever emerges from the American League in October.
2. Cubs vs. Yankees
Why this makes me happy: Let's start New Yankee Stadium with us showing Sabathia that he was good to go to New York, since he'd not stand a chance in Chicago. Maybe cursing their stadium will fix our curse.
1. IT'S BASEBALL SEASON
THIS IS SELF EXPLANATORY!
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