North: What can we expect from baseball in Chicago this season?
I am hoping the Chicago baseball season is great on both the North and South sides of towns, but the win total in Las Vegas for the White Sox is 73 games - which means Vegas thinks the Sox will be losing 89 games this year.
Somehow I'm thinking they can do better than 73 wins.
Why that number?
Why not 69,72, 76 or 79? That's what Vegas thinks, and even though I like the Sox to win more, sadly, I can also see them winning less. Does that make any sense? Well if you are a Sox fan, probably yes.
People don't know what to expect from this team yet, but having a real manager like Rick Renteria in the dugout can only help.
He will definitely have a better clubhouse than last year, but I don't know if it will be a better team. With a star pitcher like Chris Sale gone, and center fielder Adam Eaton traded, it might be tough for the Sox to be relevant this season - though they are in a relatively weak division.
We will be keeping an eye on the prospects they acquired in the Sale trade. The names don't mean a whole lot to us yet - Yoan Moncada, a highly touted infielder; pitching prospect Michael Kopech; and two minor leaguers, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz - but hopefully they will. Now we also need Jose Abreu to get out of the gate early because 3-run home runs can cure what ails a team fast. I'm going to go with a better-than-expected total of 77 wins, and hope they are interesting to watch.
Expect a repeat
Does it matter what the win total (95.5) is for the Cubs in Vegas for 2017?
Not really, because I fully expect them to repeat! They seem steady-as-she-goes, and Cubs President Theo Epstein recently said the team has the character to get it done again. Who can doubt what he says after such success?
The infamous curses can now become part of folklore, while the Cubs can play loose and free since the weight of 108 winless years has been lifted.
Divisional rivals St. Louis and Pittsburgh both appear to have their arrows pointing downward, making a repeat performance for the Cubs even more possible.
Sorry, but the Cubs are prime rib, while the Cardinals and Pirates are more like ground chuck.
But a few question marks remain: Can Jon Jay fill Dexter Fowler's shoes in center field? Who will be the leadoff hitter? Will Javier Baez continue to develop into a star infielder as expected?
How much will they miss closer Aroldis Chapman?
I do think Joe Maddon will be an even better manager after the harrowing playoffs he experienced and managed to win even after some questionable moves.
But in fairness. let's not forget that Maddon has been to the World Series with the Cubs and the Tampa Bay Rays. Enough said!
• Follow Mike on Twitter @north2north. Check out his podcast Monday-Friday at podcastarena.com, iTunes or audioboom. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald. For more, visit northtonorth.com.