Chicago Cubs: Five bold predictions for 2020 and beyond

With a new skipper and a talented core, the Chicago Cubs are still in a position to make big things happen in 2020 and beyond- here are five predictions about what the future might hold.

As Alexander Pope once wrote in his An Essay on Man, “hope springs eternal.” This optimism may seem a bit trite if you’re a Marlins or Mariners fan, but it shouldn’t be if you’re a Cubs fan. Yes, even with the seemingly unproductive winter and lack of free-agent signings. Yes, even with the inauspicious rollout of the vaunted and much-ballyhooed Marquee Network.

Baseball season is finally upon us, and if a little Cubs baseball or a Willson Contreras bomb to center didn’t do the trick for you yesterday, perhaps the smell of freshly-cut grass and the sound of leather-popping fastballs will make it happen in the near future. The 2020 version of the Chicago Cubs may not seem a whole lot different than the 2019 version, but Davis Ross is no doubt feeling a swelling of optimism in his breast that appears to have instilled new life in a team that hasn’t changed a ton over the last couple years.

Now that Ross has taken over for now-Chicago legend Joe Maddon, things are different. Maddon may have been more likely to wax philosophical about Pope, but Ross seems hellbent on going out and making it happen. That can only bode well for this season and beyond. So, without further ado, here are five bold and optimistic predictions for this year’s club and future of the Chicago Cubs.