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February 29, 2012, 7:23 pmMESA, Ariz. ? Paul Konerko is a cerebral player who speaks in full paragraphs, but one line stood out: This could be a very successful year without making the playoffs.
It doesn?t really matter if the White Sox are ?All In? or not, but the captain?s words went out into the echo chamber. Just like in political primaries, it?s all about managing expectations.
After a winter spent looking toward the future, the Cubs have changed the narrative in Arizona. New president Theo Epstein, first-year manager Dale Sveum and Pacific Coast League MVP Bryan LaHair have essentially said the same thing: This is a team that can win the World Series.
Perhaps the Cubs could be looked at in a different light with Wednesday?s reports that Major League Baseball and the players union are getting close to adding an extra wild card in each league.
But in listening to people around the team the past two weeks, you get the sense that things could immediately get better in 2012, not just in some hazy distant future where they?re selling ?The Cubs Way? books and ?Theo-logy? T-shirts out of the Triangle building/McDonald?s lot on Clark Street.
Privately, one player admitted that the Cubs are in a great position, simply because they can play loose and surprise everyone. If they?re bad, well, no one expected them to do anything anyway.
Several have said this is a team that will play for each other, that a clubhouse without Carlos Zambrano will be a better place and a distraction-free zone.
They point to how the Tampa Bay Rays have shocked the world. They remind you that no one expected the Cincinnati Reds to win the division in 2010, or the Arizona Diamondbacks to go from worst-to-first last season.
??Rebuilding? is one of those terms that the media uses, but every year you come to play to win,? new outfielder David DeJesus said. ?Baseball?s one of those things that if everyone comes together (and) fights for the same thing, it makes for a fun year. Who knows what can happen out there??
To be clear, Mike Quade promised to drive home fundamentals last year. And Lou Piniella didn?t enter the Hall of Fame discussion by stressing sloppy, careless play.
But maybe some of the details stick this time. Between Sveum and his new coaches ? Jamie Quirk (bench), Chris Bosio (pitching) and Dave McKay (first base) ? they have 101 combined seasons of experience as a major-league player or coach.
The Cubs also feel like they will have a credible starting pitcher on the mound every night, no matter who grabs the final two spots, and even if injuries hit the rotation again.
Jeff Samardzija ? who believes he belongs in the rotation ? understands how the hype can get out of control, as both a Chicago guy and a former Notre Dame football star. He?s probably in the minority, but he actually thought the Epstein coverage wasn?t over-the-top.
?I feel like everybody had their heads on straight,? Samardzija said. ?We need to understand as Cubs players and Cubs fans (what) we need to set our sights on. Saying that we?re going to win the World Series ? that?s cool and that?s all fun. But we need to look at having a strong start the first month of the season. (We) need to be clean early.
?That way the summer rolls around and we?re in position to be battling to get an opportunity to make the playoffs and go on from there. We (definitely have) the guys (and) the personalities to do it. We just need to take it one step at a time.?
You can wonder how some of these sensible, incremental moves would have been received on Chicago?s airwaves if Jim Hendry had made them, and just how patient the fans will really be with Epstein?s team after a couple of losing streaks.
?The track record these guys have is proven, so they?ll have some patience if there are some growing pains,? utility man Jeff Baker said. ?(But) I don?t think that learning curve or that window of having to be patient is going to be as big as people think. I know a lot of people are writing us off for this year.
?I don?t want to say not giving us respect, because we have to earn it. But you never know what can happen. I played on some teams in Colorado where we weren?t expected to do anything but finish dead last. It?s amazing what happens when you get 25 guys pulling on the same end of the rope, whether you?re the best (or) the worst player on the team.
?A lot of things can happen from doing the little things, running the balls out. I know it?s a clich? and everyone says that, but it really can change.?
There is a lot of time to kill here, with media personalities taking pictures of other media personalities taking pictures of spring training, and then posting it on Twitter.
It?s all just noise now, something to fill the air space until April 5 at Wrigley Field. It?s a brutal schedule, 162 games in 182 days, with the blur of constant travel. This game will find you out.
?What?s the point of playing if people are just going to decide where you finish?? pitcher Ryan Dempster said. ?We can talk about everything in the world, but at the end of the day we got to do it out on the field.?
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