Youngsters a ray of hope for the Chicago Cubs – MLB News
The Chicago Cubs might not have a very impressive run this season; but they are certainly building a combination that will have an intimidating presence for any team in the league in the coming years. They were full of experienced players when the season kicked off, but now things have changed considerably.
11 out of 25 players in the lineup are youngsters whom the team recently inducted. They are the players who were not with the Cubs when on the Opening Day game. The transition, therefore, has already started.
But there might well be some setbacks too when such a big number of veterans would eventually get traded. Had the Cubs braced themselves for the sudden changes that would sweep them once the players went?
The likes of Paul Maholm, Ryan Dempster, Jeff Baker and Geovany Soto were an important part of the team. But as soon as the Trade Deadline neared last month, all of them were traded as the Cubs brought in more of youngsters.
After the arrival of Theo Epstein as the president of baseball operations, the team general manager Jed Hoyer and Dale Sveum, changes were expected to come. But the induction of young players was probably not as expected as it eventually transpired.
Now that the likes of Brooks Raley, Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters have joined the team, there are hopes that the Cubs will be a tough rival to compete with in the years to come. Although the start might have been slow for these players, they hold the potential to turn the tides any time.
That is what the team manager also referred to when he spoke of the young players.
"The fans are probably curious to look at the guys who all the hype is about," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "I would think they're very excited to see all these guys. There's no mystery now as to what's going on with the team. As a fan myself, you're always like, 'I want to see that guy play.' I would think they're probably champing at the bit to see some of these guys, too."
The Cubs did not make any tall claims since the start of the season. Instead, they remained quite focused on improving their performance. The youngsters, guided by the experienced manager, pitching and hitting coaches, are utilizing every opportunity coming their way.
It is only a matter of time before these players start showing their real potential to not only improve their own record in their respective spots, but also bringing glory for the Cubs.
As the season nears end, the Cubs hope they will have a slightly better result compared to the one they gave the past season.
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