The over/under for Cubs’ wins in 2012 is 73.5. The Cubs were 71-91 in 2011. Unless David DeJesus, Ian Stewart and Bryan LaHair have big seasons in 2012, the Cubs are going to have a hard time scoring runs. The Cubs should have a pretty solid starting rotation and back end of the bullpen in 2012, but they aren’t going to win many games if they can’t score. I don’t think the Cubs are any better than they were last year, so I would have to bet on the under.

The Chicago Cubs are in a rebuilding mode and that is why they chose 48-year old manager Dale Sveum to lead them. Dale Sveum is going to be learning on the job himself. He managed the Brewers for 12 games back in 2008 and he was 7-5 (58.3%). It will be interesting to see if Sveum can coach up his roster in 2012, as he will be going into a gun fight with a plastic knife on most nights.

The Cubs have acquired 19-year old righty swinging 1B Jair Bogaerts from the Red Sox as the player to be named later in the Theo Epstein deal. Bogaerts played in 47 games in Rookie-ball last year and he was 45 of 156 (.288 avg, .791 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers and 27 RBIs. He has now played in 93 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 73 of 321 (.227 avg, .641 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 4 homers, 47 RBIs and a shocking 96 whiffs. Bogaerts is a long way from helping the Cubs, so they will be patient with him.

The Cubs signed 32-year old lefty swinging RF David DeJesus with the hope that he will rebound in 2012 after an off year in 2011 for the A’s. DeJesus played in 131 games for the A’s last year and he was 106 of 442 (.240 avg, .698 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,007 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,077 of 3,797 (.284 avg, .776 OPS) with 561 runs scored, 71 homers, 436 RBIs and 51 stolen bases. DeJesus played in 116 games in RF for the A’s last year and he had 6 assists and 4 errors while showing off good range.

29-year old righty swinging Joe Mather played in 36 games for the Braves last year and he was 16 of 75 (.213 avg, .578 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 126 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 61 of 268 (.228 avg, .667 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 9 homers, 30 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Mather played in 21 games in RF for the Cubs last year and he had 1 error and 0 assists while showing off terrible range.

Reed Johnson and Tony Campana can also handle RF defensively. Johnson played in 44 games in RF last year and he had 2 assists and 1 error while showing off excellent range. Campana played in 5 error-free games in RF for the Cubs last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2012: B-

34-year old righty swinging Marlon Byrd heads into the 2012 season as the Cubs’ starting CF. He played in 119 games for the Cubs last year and he was 123 of 446 (.276 avg, .719 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 9 homers, 35 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Byrd has now played in 271 games in his first two years with the Cubs and he is 293 of 1,026 (.286 avg, .751 OPS) with 135 runs scored, 21 homers, 101 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Byrd has played in 1,056 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,037 of 3,692 (.281 avg, .759 OPS) with 515 runs scored, 81 homers, 436 RBIs and 49 stolen bases. Byrd played in 118 games in CF for the Cubs last year and he had 8 assists and 3 errors while showing slightly below average range there. Byrd’s name has been swirling in trade rumors, so he might not be the Cubs’ starting CF when the 2012 season begins.

25-year old lefty swinging Tony Campana made a good first impression for the Cubs last year. He played in 95 games for the Cubs last year and he was 37 of 143 (.259 avg, .603 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Campana didn’t have any errors or assists in 29 games in CF last year but he showed pretty poor range there.

35-year old Reed Johnson can also handle playing CF if the need arises for the Cubs. He played in 24 games for the Cubs in CF last year and he had 3 assists and 1 error while showing off pretty good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2012: B-

36-year old righty swinging LF Alfonso Soriano still has a lot of lightning left in his bat, but his speed is long gone. He played in 137 games for the Cubs last year and he was 116 of 475 (.244 avg, .759 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 26 homers, 88 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Soriano has played in 645 games in his first five years with the Cubs and he is 659 of 2,480 (.266 avg, .818 OPS) with 354 runs scored, 132 homers, 367 RBIs and 54 stolen bases. Soriano has now played in 1,606 games in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 1,750 of 6,382 (.274 avg, .829 OPS) with 978 runs scored, 340 homers, 927 RBIs and 264 stolen bases. Soriano played in 128 games in LF for the Cubs last year and he had 8 assists and 7 errors while showing terrible range there. The Cubs will forgive Soriano’s D as long as he provides them with some power.

35-year old righty swinging Reed Johnson will likely be the Cubs’ top backup in LF in 2012. Johnson played in 111 games for the Cubs last year and he was 76 of 246 (.309 avg, .816 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers, 28 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 285 games in his first three years with the Cubs and he is 219 of 744 (.294 avg, .783 OPS) with 108 runs scored, 15 homers, 100 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Johnson has now played in 997 games in his first 9 years in the show and he is 857 of 3,029 (.283 avg, .753 OPS) with 451 runs scored, 59 homers, 349 RBIs and 39 stolen bases. Johnson had 1 error in 27 games in LF for the Cubs last year but he showed poor range there.

25-year old righty swinging David Sappelt came over from the Reds in a deal over the winter. He played in 38 games for the Reds last year and he was 26 of 107 (.243 avg, .607 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Sappelt also played in 74 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 93 of 297 (.313 avg, .834 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 7 homers, 29 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He played in 31 error-free games in LF for the Reds last year and he had 2 assists while showing outstanding range.

25-year old Tony Campana can also handle playing LF if need be. He played in 35 games in LF for the Cubs last year and he had 1 error and 1 assist while showing off excellent range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2012: B-

The Cubs have signed 36-year old righty reliever Shawn Camp to a minor league deal. Camp pitched in 67 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 6-3 with 1 save, a 4.21 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He has now pitched in 432 games (0 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 25-26 with 10 saves, a 4.40 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Camp will have the next two weeks to impress the Cubs if he’s going to make the opening day bullpen.

The Cubs have claimed 28-year old righty reliever Frankie De La Cruz off waivers from the Brewers. De La Cruz pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last year and he was 0-0 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has now pitched in 26 games (1 start) in his first four years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 8.16 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP. The Cubs hope that De La Cruz is a late bloomer, because he’s always had a good arm.

The Cubs have dealt 21-year old righty reliever/starter Aaron Kurcz to the Red Sox as the player to be named later in the deal for Theo Epstein. Kurcz pitched in 32 games (12 starts) in A-ball for the Cubs last year and he was 5-4 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has now pitched in 58 games (12 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he was 7-5 with 9 saves, a 2.95 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. This hurts the Cubs a little for the future as Kurcz is a legit prospect.

The Cubs are banking on a rebound year for 26-year old lefty swinging 3B Ian Stewart. Stewart played in 48 games for the Rockies last year and he was 19 of 122 (.156 avg, .464 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 432 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 293 of 1,242 (.236 avg, .751 OPS) with 178 runs scored, 54 homers, 187 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Stewart has whiffed 396 times already in his major league career, so he has holes in his swing along with his big time power. Stewart had 6 errors in 42 games at 3B last year for the Rockies and he showed slightly below average range. The starting job at 3B will belong to Stewart if he has a semi decent spring.

26-year old lefty swinging Blake DeWitt is going to have to fight his way back into the Cubs’ good graces. He played in 121 games for the Cubs last year and he was 61 of 230 (.265 avg, .718 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 homers, 26 RBIs and 1 stolen base. DeWitt has now played in 174 games in his first two years with the Cubs and he is 107 of 414 (.258 avg, .705 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 9 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. DeWitt has now played in 404 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 283 of 1,087 (.260 avg, .714 OPS) with 117 runs scored, 21 homers, 134 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. DeWitt had 5 errors in 14 games at 3B for the Cubs while showing out of this world range.

30-year old righty swinging Jeff Baker played in 11 error-free games at 3B for the Cubs last year while showing terrible range. Most of his P.T. in 2012 could come at 1B for the Cubs in 2012.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2012: C-