5 Reasons for Chicago Cubs Fans To Be Optimistic About the Future

The Cubs are nearing the end of a simply miserable season and that ending couldn't come too soon for most of us. That said, changes are coming and how those changes are handled could make or break the team for the near term and beyond.

We know that owner Tom Ricketts is searching for the successor to Jim Hendry. What we don't know is why he thinks he can do it without the assistance of a knowledgeable baseball man.

But no matter how it's being done, at least things will start to look different around Wrigley Field, and I'm not just referring to the renovation of the ballpark. The front office shakeup could well cause other situations to change, such as the field manager.

That should be good news for Cubs fans who have suffered far too long. We all know that it's been forever since the Cubs have won a title, so I won't even go there. But at least to have some hope for the future is what most of us are longing for.

Indeed, there is hope. No guarantees, of course, but there are reasons to look forward to better days going forward.

Let me give you five, and you can add your own in the comments.

Starlin Castro

The young shortstop is only 21, and there's a lot of room for improvement. But even as he currently is, with all of his defense shortcomings, there is ample reason to believe that he will be a star for a long time.

At the plate, Castro has a lightening quick bat. Despite not having a lot of patience at the dish, he has good extension on his swing and puts the ball in play often enough.

Look, all this kid does is get hits. Lots of them. He's on his way to 200 this season, and I could see him reaching that total, or at least coming close, every year if he stays healthy.

I also see some power gradually developing as his body matures and he learns when to drive the ball.

We're already seeing signs of that home run swing. I just hope that he never strays too far from his sweet stroke that produces so many line drives up the middle and to the opposite field.

Now, defensively, he needs some work. He has a tendency to back up on balls, which often results in hurried throws off balance. He does throw better on the run, but needs to reduce the errors.

He also can get easily distracted, which sometimes results in embarrassing moments, like the time he wasn't ready to field his position.

Shortstop is too critical of a defensive position for this to continue. But he's young, has a strong arm and good range, so once he overcomes those problems, he should be a star for years to come.

And that gives Cubs fans something positive to root for.   

Matt Garza

It's easy to forget that Matt Garza is only 27 years old, as it seems he's been around forever. That is a good reason to think that this trade might work out just fine for the Cubs in the long run.

Sure, they gave up a lot of young talent in the deal with the Rays, something very curious for a club supposedly building through the farm system.

But with Garza being young and talented, he only needs to get his emotions under control and concentrate better, and he could be a star pitcher for years to come.

Sound familiar? While I sure don't want to conjure up a name we'd all like to forget, his problems are mostly in his head, similar to Carlos Zambrano.

Fortunately however, he is not nearly as crazy as Big Z, so I have more hope that he will be able to overcome those issues.

He is experienced enough to help keep the Cubs competitive, yet young enough to still be around when the team is ready to win.

And that gives us hope.

A New GM

As I have written before, I have deep reservations about the way Tom Ricketts is handling the baseball side of the team, re-signing guys to positions that the new GM should be allowed to determine.

That, along with the fact that Ricketts doesn't know baseball very well, gives me pause when considering how successful he will be in selecting the new Cubs boss.

But even recognizing all that, this could be a very good reason for fans to be optimistic. Not only did we get rid of Jim Hendry (a nice guy who was very old school and unwilling to consider new ideas and advanced statistics), but there are a lot of bright baseball minds out there.

I don't think we will see a Billy Beane, Andrew Friedman or Theo Epstein take the job, but that doesn't mean there aren't some really good candidates to consider.

My choice of the assistants would be the Red Sox' Ben Cherington, but there certainly are others who embody the criteria that Ricketts says he's looking for.

As long as it isn't a guy like Ned Colletti, this should give Cubs fans a lot of reason to expect better things for the ballclub going forward.

A New Manager

A new GM likely means a new manager, and I believe that many Cubs fans, like me, would welcome a change there.

Let's face it, a GM usually wants to hire his own guy, so regardless of how you feel about the job that Mike Quade has done, this is likely to be his only year managing the Cubs.

I am not a fan of the job Quade has done, so I welcome a change in this department. I know a lot of speculation centers around the possibility of Ryne Sandberg coming back to manage, but whoever it is, a new manager always brings some sense of excitement.

I just hope that the new manager is a guy who doesn't like to bunt, understands the importance of getting on base, is smart and knows how to handle a pitching staff and a bullpen.

Wrigely Field Renovations

If Ricketts can convince the city to help him with his Boston-style renovations, this is something that will be great for the fans, the players and should boost the team's winning potential.

The fans will get more creature comforts and, hopefully, a much better parking situation.

The players will get facilities more in line with what other ballparks offer, and those improvements will help pitchers and hitters be in position to utilize technology like other teams do.

Maybe they can play more night games, which might help the team's ability to win. While I don't' believe in excuses, playing mostly day baseball is a disadvantage. Of that I am fairly certain.

The problem, of course, is how to fund it. But assuming it gets done, it will bring more revenue to the club and allow them to put that money back into player development and contracts. It's win-win for everybody.

And it offers hope for the future. And we all know that I am all about hope.