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And so it begins!

I've not been excited this much for a season to start in quite some time. On paper, I really like what Theo & Jed have done. I've got the Cubs at 82-80 (third in the NL Central. 8th in the NL). My first trip to Wrigley for the season will be April 17.

Im little ticked off that not only Kris Bryant got demoted but so did Zac Rosscup. if the cubs ain't gonna put Zac on the major league roster, at least trade him to another team who can use him full time. I have got to pull for my local Oregon boy and his wife.

Hope springs eternal! Lets' go CUBBIES!

Tonight's game was seriously lacking fundamentals. Glad baseball is back and it's just one of 162, but yeesh.

Yeah. That game was rough. Hopefully with the hype a little less we see some better ball going forward.

its going to be alright, go cubs!

Montero worth the contract already as he showed the young guys what situational hitting looks like.

Arrieta is a beast. No reason he can't repeat last year.

Nice win.

cubs win!

arrieta is still good!

i suppose its encouraging that we are getting people on base

can't drive them in but baby steps

Fowler

That was a great win!

It was nice seeing not only a Cubs W, but others feeling the pain that in LaTroy Hawkins.

Soler just hit his 2nd homer of the night to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th.

I love this team.

Finally a Cubs team that doesn't fold when they get down. Really early but we're beginning to see the start of something great.

this soler guy is good

should we be worried about lester at all?

hermes wrote:should we be worried about lester at all?

I am a bit, but at same time sample size is so small it's like wondering if we should be worried about Rizzo and others who look like they can't hit when you look at the numbers. He's got a track record that makes me think it might just be the dead arm part. So short answer is not yet, but might be justified soon.

hermes wrote:should we be worried about lester at all?

No. It is two bad stars and nothing more. He is a veteran with an established baseline of performance. If your concern is that he will not repeat last year's 2.46 ERA then yes, but that was unrealistic to start with. He'll get going and finish with his normal 3.50ish ERA and 200 innings. Even last year he had starts like his last two. He had a 4.2 IP start with 8 runs surrendered, only 3 earned, in April. He had a 6.1 IP with 7 ER start in May. He had a 4.1 IP and 5 ER start in June. Even after that bad start June 7th his ERA was 3.52. Every start after that was a quality start and he finished off the season with a 2.46 ERA.

The point is that he's going to generally have a bad start a month and be a 3.50 ERA pitcher. That is based on his career. Last year he got on a roll late and had a very strong second half. He is capable of doing that again, but I wouldn't go expecting it. I just view it like asking if we should be concerned that Rizzo is only hitting .238 with no extra base hits. It's just a sample size thing for the first week of the season. If 10 starts in Lester has has a 4.50 ERA and things are still going rough and he looks off then I'd start to be concerned, but not two starts in.

2nd series win in a row and a great performance by Wood. Great to see him have some of his 2013 form. A day off and then the Bryant "deadline" passes.....