Problems Already?

The Cubs are 8 games and 10 days into the 2009 season and what have we learned about this year’s club? According to some fans, Marmol needs to replace Gregg as the closer, Milton Bradley is going to be a waste of money, and Aaron Miles is no Mark DeRosa. While these topics may be debate fodder on Cubs message boards across the Internet it’s really way to early to draw any such conclusions. More time to see how things develop is probably wise considering these guys will be playing regular season games for pretty close to the next 6 months. However, the next 10 games could give some interesting insight as to the Central Division pecking order.

The Cubs (5-3) are a game behind the Cardinals (7-3), with the two teams playing 7 of the next 10 games against each other. It’s a big early season stretch for these rivals, while Milton Bradley may miss a few more games the Cubs want to take advantage of Cards pitcher Chris Carpenter going on the DL and take early control of the division. Will the same Gregg, Bradley, Miles chorus be sung by these fans ten games from now? If not, my guess is they will find a new set of Cubs problems to bring up…If the Cubs struggle during this stretch we may be examining those issues but if they are playing well, it’s a lot more fun to talk about the positives.

It’s just about time to put a beat down on the birds with The Marshall on the mound.

Go Cubs!