2020 -  Chicago extended its above .500 streak to six in '20 with their third

Division title during that span. The Cubs lost the Wild Card to Miami.

Unfortunately, as the decade opens, the Bruins appear to be getting

farther and farther away from being the elite team that they  were in the

first four years of the run ('15 thru '18). The pitching is still elite, but the

hitters, who are still in their prime in '20, have mysteriously gone from elite

to below average. What started out looking like a potential dynasty led by

a bunch of young talented hitters is slowly fizzling out.

□  Thomas S Ricketts has owned the club since 2009 and, after a rocky start,

has presided over a successful organization. He showed great management

savvy in hiring away superb GM Theo Epstein from the Red Sox organization.

Epstein, who rose to President of the club, was reluctantly let go because

Theo wanted an ownership stake in the club which Ricketts wasn't interested

in providing. Coincidentally or not, the club's good fortunes on the field have

left right along with Epstein.

□  Jed Hoyer was Cubs GM from 2011 thru 2020. He was kicked upstairs

to team President when Epstein resigned. Hoyer had previously worked with

Epstein in Boston, briefly moved to San Diego and then reunited with Epstein

in Chicago. Now that Epstein is about to depart, we'll get a chance to see how

good Hoyer is, flying solo.  Carter Hawkins took over as GM a year later in '22.

.

□  David Ross took over for legendary Joe Maddon in '20 and the club

improved. An infusion of young blood. That being said, the hitters continued

to decline which is a problem for Ross moving forward.

2021 - The mini-run is over. The Cubs crash and burn to a 71-91 mark.

The offense, which had been declining from the halcyon days, stayed pretty

much the same in '21 as it was in '20. However, the pitching went from giving up

four runs a game to over five. No bueno.

The big loss was the Cubs jettisoning ace Yu Darvish's contract, which had

two years remaining, in a trade with San Diego for righty Zach Davies

plus others. Starters Adbert Alzolay, Davies and Jake Arietta went a

combined 16-36 with an ERA approaching six.

2023 - The Cubs improve nine games in the standings to move to 83-79

and above .500. Chicago underachieved in '23 as their runs totals

indicated a 90-72 mark and a nineteen game improvement runs-wise.

Generally, when that occurs, it's the bullpen that's blowing the close ones and

that was the case in '23. The team also faltered, big time, down the stretch.

If they fix the bullpen, they are not far from being a legitimate contender

The biggest contributors to the improvement were free agents star shortstop

Danby Swanson from the Braves and outfielder Cody Bellinger from

the Dodgers and the emergence of Lefty Justin Steele as an ace.

2024 - The Cubs sign manager Craig Counsell away from the Brewers.

Definitely a coup. Forty million does a lot of persuading

2024 - Chicago underachieved big time in '23 based on their runs totals

and based on the fact that they collapsed down at the end.

The team definitely is in the hunt for the Division title. The rest of the

Division is competitive, but no standout teams. It should be a close race.

Offense:

The Cubs were above average offensively in '23 and should be again in '24

Plus there are several intriguing youngsters who could be difference makers

if they break out this season. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong is the best of them

Also 3B Matt Shea and OF Owen Caissie.

The team has good power with five guys topping 20 homers and

2B Nico Hoerner is a force on the basepaths.

Ironically, the two weak offensive positions are DH and 1B with the loss

of FA Jeimer Candelario.

□ C Yan Gomes, 36,  '23 journeyman FA from A's, 10 63 .267

□ 2B Nico Hoerner, 27, '18 1st round pick, 9 68 .283

□ SS Dansby Swanson, 30, '23 star FA from Braves, 22 80 .244

□ 3B Christopher Morel, 25, '15 IFA, 26 70 .247

□ OF Ian Happ, 29, '15 9th overall pick, 21 84 .248

□ OF Seiya Suzuki 29, '22 FA from Japan, 20 74 .285

□ OF Cody Bellinger, 28, '23 star FA from Dodgers, 26 97 .307

What will potentially hold the Cubs back is their pitching. Lefty Justin

Steele came out of nowhere last year to be an ace. Can he repeat?

They may need righty Cade Horton, 22, the seventh overall pick in the

22 draft to step up this season. Lefty Drew Smyly, 34, Righty Jameson

Taillon, 31, and Righty Kyle Hendricks, 34, are not an awe inspiring

rest of the rotation. Losing Marcus Stroman to the Yankees hurts.

The bullpen was decent last year but not deep.

2025 - The arrow is up for the Cubs despite their stalling at 83-79 in '24.

Chicago had a huge acquisition in the off season picking up star OF

Kyle Tucker in his contract walk year for for 1st round pick Cam Smith in a

trade with the Astros. According to Tucker's WAR over the last few years his

acquisition should translate to six more wins for the Cubs in '25.

Other than that, it's a group where their 83-79 record was appropriate

for the talent at hand. That all would project them to 89 wins in '25.

2025 Pitching:

The Cubs have a solid group of starters. A cut below championship callibre

but enough to get them to sneak into the playoffs.

□ LHP Shota Imanaga 31,  '24 FA from Japan, 15-3 2.91

□ LHP Justin Steele 29,  '14 draft 5th round pick, 5-5 3.07

□ RHP Jameson Taillon 33,  '23 FA from Yankees, 12-8 3.27

□ RHP Javier Assad, 27,  '15 IFA, 7-6 3.73

□ RHP Tyson Miller, 29,  '15 IFA, 5-1 2.15

□ RHP Porter Hodge, 24,  '15 IFA, 3-1 1.88

2025 Hitting:

Just like the pitching, outside of Tucker, it’s a solid, but not a spectacular

group. Most of the guys you wouldn't be surprised if they ended up with

around a .700 OPS. And closer to 800 for guys like OF Ian Happ, OF Seiya

Suzuki, SS Dansby Swanson and 1B Michael Busch.

They've got three youngsters that they hope will bolster the lineup:

C Miguel Amaya, 25, 3B Matt Shaw, 23, and OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, 23.