The baseball season has hit the quarter pole and teams are beginning to show their true identities. Some are contenders, some pretenders and others clinging to a distant hope that are being kept alive by weak divisions. Which category the Cubs fit into may still be in question, although many fans may be losing the optimism that the start of baseball season always brings.
During spring training, many media experts praised the enthusiasm that seemingly enveloped the camp in Mesa. Before the Cubs played a game that counted in the standings, Mike Quade was receiving kudos for bringing a new energy to the team that Lou Piniella may have lacked prior to his retirement last season. The drills were being executed with vigor and the team was going to reemphasize fundamentals that were lacking in previous seasons.
Not surprisingly, the results during the regular season have been spotty at best. Thus far, the Cubs have committed 29 errors, the sixth most in the National League. The culprits have been varied with offensive sensation Starlin Castro committing seven of his own. Noted defensive liability Alfonso Soriano has contributed three errors thus far, although that doesn’t reflect how poorly he performs in the field. The Cubs offense has shown sporadic signs of life recently, but they are beating themselves far too frequently. While many hoped that a new manager would bring about a change in defensive execution and fundamentally sound play, the personnel may just simply not be good enough.
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