Optimism or Pessimism? You decide

We’ve had baseball going on for about two weeks now and the Cubs are treading water in the middle of the Central Division. Are the Cubs just warming up, preparing to reel off an unforgettable streak that will propel them into the playoffs? Or, are they stringing us along just enough to keep us emotionally involved only to dash our hopes later in the season? We know what history tells us. We know what the sports analysts have all told us, but come on, we’re not exactly choosing our sports following based on advice, right? Here are 10 reasons to be optimistic or pessimistic after the first week.

Pessimism
10. The Bullpen
9. LOB
8. Bad Defense: There have been several plays that should have been handled so far that have led to runs. Many of these plays I’ve seen have been up the middle too. I expect Soriano to be slow in left, but it’s troubling to see Theriot and Fontenot/Baker bobble and boot so many balls.
7. The Bullpen
6. Too dependent on the home-run
5. Carlos Zambrano: When will we stop calling him our ace. So far, Gorzelony has looked better. Z can not get past set backs. If he pitches great, he keeps pitching great. But, one mistake and he loses his friggin mind.
4. The Bullpen
3. Crappy teams are taking 2 of 3 from us at will
2. The Bullpen
1. The Cubs have never won a world series when the year was a combination of numbers 2,0, and 1. The Cubs have also never won a World Series when they opened a season at Turner Field. The Cubs have never won a World Series in a year when the Saints won the Super Bowl. They have also never been during a year that the Winter Olympics were held in Canada. And probably the most telling omen, the Cubs never make it to the World Series in a year of an Ironman sequel.

Optimism
10. The Ricketts Family: It’s great to have a face with the franchise as far as ownership goes. On opening day, they were at the ticket counters taking tickets. And, they are Cubs fans. I don’t know if that will translate to wins, but it’s nice to see someone in charge who cares like you do.
9. Geo looks better
8. Marlon Byrd is doing what he needs to do. He hits very well and plays pretty solid defense in center. He’s no superstar, but we got plenty of those.
7. Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol: The only dependable guys in the bullpen. Marshall has been fantastic. Marmol has walked a few, but he’s closing out 9ths (when he gets a chance).
6. Ted Lilly is back in May
5. Tyler Colvin: In that first series with the Braves, Jason Heyward hit a home-run and put on a big show. Tyler Colvin in his first series, hit a home-run and ran around the bases with his head down. He walked into the doug-out, business as usual. I like this kid.
4. Carlos Silva will do. I figured he wouldn’t even make the rotation, but he’s turned in solid starts each time. He’ll be great as a number 5 once Lily is back (maybe even a 4 if Zambrano can’t get it together).
3. Randy Wells seems to be for real. You never know what the sophomore season is going to be like. Randay Wells has continued to hold it down.
2. Ryan Dempster is good. He’s really our number one. He works hard, and he’s, from what I can tell, one of the best guys in the clubhouse.
1. Geological History says that there is a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault line about every 300 years. We are due one at any time, and maybe a large enough quake could completely destroy Bush Stadium, causing the Cardinals to play all their games on the road, giving the Cubs the edge they need to jump ahea