The Cubs Are Still Looking to Add Pitching and Other Bullets

Jan 08, 2012

It’s strange to be looking ahead to the Cubs Convention next weekend, and still not know what kind of mood the event will have. Are folks still excited about the front office? Bummed about not adding big pieces? Will Starlin Castro still make an appearance (no reports are yet willing to say more than he is “expected” to appear)? If so, how will he be treated? Will another few Cubs be gone come Friday? I’m just looking forward to having a good time and helping the wife see a little slice of my world.

Cubs GM Jed Hoyer wouldn’t comment on the sexual assault allegations against Starlin Castro, but did say that the organization expects players to “behave with the highest level of respect on the field, off the field and in the community …. Being a Cub carries with it a very high standard of conduct and responsibility. While an allegation like this is something we take very seriously, we don’t have enough information to make any further comment or answer any questions at this time. We’re hopeful that when the facts are brought to light, that Starlin will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

I wrote on Friday that “I don’t think it’s the right thing – for the alleged victim, for Castro, for me, or the fans – to share my completely uneducated thoughts on the subject.” Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way, and we’re left with columns like the one recently written by David Haugh. Haugh, so righteous and so smart, stands atop his soapbox and castigates Castro for things Haugh clearly knows to be true. Castro needs to grow up and not put himself in bad situations, Haugh says, while offering mealymouthed recognitions that “[w]e might never know details of what happened inside Castro’s apartment.” The facts, yet undetermined, don’t matter, of course, because Haugh knows best. This is a teachable moment, however damning Haugh’s teaching might appear. And yet, Haugh has the temerity to say this: “The Cubs wisely reserved judgment until team officials can speak directly to Castro.” If the Cubs are wisely keeping quiet, David Haugh, what are you doing?

Hoyer says the Cubs are still looking at starting pitchers, hoping to add depth. At present, the Cubs could go about eight deep without even dipping into the minors (Garza/ Dempster/ Wells/ Wood/ Volstad/ Samardzija/ Coleman/ Sonnanstine), which, to me, suggests that the Cubs expect one or more of those eight guys not to be here for much longer.

Cubs’ fans, on the balance, seem to be resigned to a tough 2012 season, and open to the kind of rebuild underway in Chicago. Obviously the moves aren’t done yet, but Paul Sullivan accurately notes that the last time a Cubs team entered a season with expectations this low was 2003. That’s not a sentence designed to instill foolish hope, but instead simply to say: surprising things do happen.

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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