How many games will the Cubs win?

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

100ish so I went with 100-104. If Bryant, Soler, Baez and Russell all improve, they have the ability to be a monster team even without Schwarber. Their rotation is extremely solid. I'm not sure how their bullpen is, but that's the easiest part to fix. All in all, they're a complete team with a plus plus offense and plus rotation. Defensively, I know Russell is good/great at SS and Heyward is obviously amongst the best in the OF. Bryant is probably a negative at 3rd, though I don't know that for sure. Rizzo iic is average. Same for Montero. Fowler is pretty decent but Soler is probably a bit negative. Zobrist is a bit of a positive. All in all, what, an above average defensive team....due mainly to Russell, Heyward, and Zobrist?

[davhern]

100ish so I went with 100-104. If Bryant, Soler, Baez and Russell all improve, they have the ability to be a monster team even without Schwarber. Their rotation is extremely solid. I'm not sure how their bullpen is, but that's the easiest part to fix. All in all, they're a complete team with a plus plus offense and plus rotation. Defensively, I know Russell is good/great at SS and Heyward is obviously amongst the best in the OF. Bryant is probably a negative at 3rd, though I don't know that for sure. Rizzo iic is average. Same for Montero. Fowler is pretty decent but Soler is probably a bit negative. Zobrist is a bit of a positive. All in all, what, an above average defensive team....due mainly to Russell, Heyward, and Zobrist?

Rizzo is a very good defensive 1B. Fowler is an average-ish OF in a good year but probably a decent amount below average generally. Zobrist was bad last year, so we'll see if that was his injuries or his age. Montero is one of the better framers in the game but isn't exactly great at the rest of catching. And Soler is very bad in the field.

[ManEatingTarp]

Over 110.
They're going to play well over 60 games against franchises actively trying to lose as many games as they can.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

100ish so I went with 100-104. If Bryant, Soler, Baez and Russell all improve, they have the ability to be a monster team even without Schwarber. Their rotation is extremely solid. I'm not sure how their bullpen is, but that's the easiest part to fix. All in all, they're a complete team with a plus plus offense and plus rotation. Defensively, I know Russell is good/great at SS and Heyward is obviously amongst the best in the OF. Bryant is probably a negative at 3rd, though I don't know that for sure. Rizzo iic is average. Same for Montero. Fowler is pretty decent but Soler is probably a bit negative. Zobrist is a bit of a positive. All in all, what, an above average defensive team....due mainly to Russell, Heyward, and Zobrist?

Rizzo is a very good defensive 1B. Fowler is an average-ish OF in a good year but probably a decent amount below average generally. Zobrist was bad last year, so we'll see if that was his injuries or his age. Montero is one of the better framers in the game but isn't exactly great at the rest of catching. And Soler is very bad in the field.

Thanks. What about Russell, he showed signs of greatness last year, right? What's the scouting report on him?

[Cheddar Tom]

The could even eclipse Seattle's 116.

I doubt they could get that far.....they would have to post a run differential around +350 and score nearly 1,000 runs. Even with all the bad teams competing in 2016, I don't think that's within reach.

[davhern]

100ish so I went with 100-104. If Bryant, Soler, Baez and Russell all improve, they have the ability to be a monster team even without Schwarber. Their rotation is extremely solid. I'm not sure how their bullpen is, but that's the easiest part to fix. All in all, they're a complete team with a plus plus offense and plus rotation. Defensively, I know Russell is good/great at SS and Heyward is obviously amongst the best in the OF. Bryant is probably a negative at 3rd, though I don't know that for sure. Rizzo iic is average. Same for Montero. Fowler is pretty decent but Soler is probably a bit negative. Zobrist is a bit of a positive. All in all, what, an above average defensive team....due mainly to Russell, Heyward, and Zobrist?

Rizzo is a very good defensive 1B. Fowler is an average-ish OF in a good year but probably a decent amount below average generally. Zobrist was bad last year, so we'll see if that was his injuries or his age. Montero is one of the better framers in the game but isn't exactly great at the rest of catching. And Soler is very bad in the field.

Thanks. What about Russell, he showed signs of greatness last year, right? What's the scouting report on him?

Yeah, Russell has graded out very well and that matches the scouting reports on him.

[JoeMcKim]

Whatever the number is that the Cubs win, it'll be at least 1 less than what the Cardinals win.

[JL21]

105-109 is a ton.

I think they are in the 95-99 range. Probably the high end of that.

Very much agree that 105-109 is a ton....but this season is shaping up to be an outlier with several NL teams tanking*. And lets not forget they already won 97 last year without several key additions this year. Plus guys like Russell and Baez will get many more at bats they they received last year.

* I hate the word "tanking". No team is intentionally trying to lose. But the word itself has its own connotation in the sports world, so I will use it like everyone else.

They also had a lot of things go right for them last year. Which I don't say to disparage how good they were- they were very much a legit 90+ win team. It's just that I don't think their true baseline entering the off-season was 97 wins. I think all of their off-season acquisitions basically insulate them against regression, which puts them right back in that 97 win territory, maybe a little bit better.

[GeddyWrox]

All this hype... I just hope they crash and burn in the playoffs. The fans' butthurt value over replacements seasons (BHVoRS) will be spectacular!

[Radbird]

I said 95-99. Having 2 other contending teams in the division will make triple digits difficult but possible again. (although I do think it'll be Cubs/Pirates/Cards in the standings).