My 2012 Bold Cubs Predictions

Each season I enjoy making off-the-wall predictions that may or may not come true. Here are my results from my 2011 predictions.

• Mike Quade will lead the team to the division title and be named the NL Manager of the Year. Way Wrong, Quade was let go after leading the team to a fifth place finish


• Starlin Castro will win the NL batting title.Wrong, he finished sixth.


• Aramis Ramirez will have a bounce back season with 30 homers and 100 RBIs.Wrong, barely. He drove in 93 runs and launched 26 homers.


• Carlos Marmol will only blow two saves all season.Way wrong, he blew ten saves and had many other bad outings.


• Carlos Zambrano, Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster will combine for 55 wins.WRONG, try 29 combined wins.


• Darwin Barney will join Starlin Castro and Tyler Colvin to form a trio of young talented players that carry the offense.Not so much.


• Reed Johnson's glove work will make several appearances on Sports Center's Top 10 Plays.Not sure if that happened or not, I'll go with no.


• VCU will win the NCAA tournament... wait- how did that get on this list?Nope.


• Welington Castillo will take Koyie Hill's job by the end of May.Should have happened but didn't.


• Marlon Byrd, Ryan Dempster and Starlin Castro will represent the Cubs in the All-Star game.Well, I got one out of three.


• The NBA champion Bulls will sing the 7th Inning Stretch at Wrigley in July.Wrong again.


• Jim Hendry will pull the trigger on a blockbuster trade in July to help put the Cubs in position for their playoff run.Playoff run? Wrong


• The Cubs will wear their #10 patches all the way to a World Series title.Well, half of that came true.

My 2011 score: 0-for-13, let's see if I can make some improvements with my 2012 bold predictions, some of which I hope do not come true.

• The Cubs will play meaningful games in September because of the extra Wild Card spot.


• Marlon Byrd will be traded by the deadline.


• Brett Jackson and Anthony Rizzo will make their big league debuts by the end of June.


• Bryan LaHair will be sent to Triple-A or benched by the end of June and never heard from again.


• Jeff Samardzija will hold onto his rotation spot all year and win at least ten games.


• Carlos Zambrano will pitch very well and pick up the W against his former team.


• Carlos Marmol will be removed from the closer's role by season's end.


• Joe Mather will be a bust after his hot spring, he will be replaced on the Cubs bench by the end of May.


• The Florida Marlins will reach the World Series.


• Kerry Wood will have at least two stints on the disabled list.


• James Russell will have the best ERA on the team.


• Starlin Castro will be the only Cub in the All-Star game once again.


• Matt Garza will toss a no-hitter.

Feel free to comment with your thoughts!