These Cubs are exactly who we thought they were

It’s probably time for a reality check, folks. Our beloved Cubs are 8-17 at home. Sure, they are 12-12 on the road but most fans come to watch them at Wrigley.

Some time ago I postulated that the current team the Cubs are fielding is more or less a return to the ‘Lovable Losers’ of previous years. Winning the first series of the year against perennial division power Milwaukee was a false flag. Cubs fans have, by now, realized it’s going to be a long summer on the North Side.

This is Jed Hoyer’s five-year plan. He has laid out the theory that we will not be able to adequately evaluate his actions until the 2027 season. I doing not know about how others feel about this but I’m not willing to wait that long.

Paul Sullivan, writing in the Chicago Tribune, gives a somewhat ’tongue-in-cheek’ assessment of Hoyer’s actions. His decision comes because he’s not sure he’ll be around to evaluate them in 2027. At 71 years old, I can sympathize with this reasoning. His evaluation is more generous than I would be, given the same platform.

Realizing that Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant are gone forever, my biggest complaint is his inaction on the looming free agency of Willson Contreras. Contreras’ outstanding start to this season is one of the few bright sots in an otherwise frustrating season. The man deserves a decision one way or another.

At least some exciting debuts have given us a bit of excitement this year

Other brief rays of sunshine at the Friendly Confines have been the debuts of several new players. Christopher Morel, in particular, is an old Cubs fan’s delight. Almost unbelievably, Chicago may have finally found that elusive lead-off hitter its been seeking for years now.

Number 16-rated prospect, Nelson Velasquez also debuted and managed to leg out an infield hit. A few demonstrations of his potential power is something we can look forward to.

Rookie right-hander Matt Swarmer gave David Ross a solid performance this week, scattering four hits and giving up only one earned run in his six innings. It is highly likely that we will see more debuts, both in pitching and in the field as we go forward (euphemistically speaking) this season.

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Attendance is still strong, for now, over 30,000 average. I, for one, will continue to watch every minute of every game in 2022, no matter how painful it may be. But, like I said, it’s going to be a long summer.