Whither the Cubs in 2018?

It probably speaks to how good the Cubs have become (who would have thought Cubs fans would ever be able to say that), that Thursday night’s game against the Dodgers felt so bad.  In 1998, the Cubs were swept in the NLDS by the Braves, but after an epic game 163 against the Giants¹ to win the wild card spot, Sammy’s 66 home runs, and Kerry Wood’s 20-strike game, it didn’t seem that bad.  In fact, after the Braves briefly celebrated their win, the Cubs came back on the field, to thank their fans, who had stayed around to thank the players in return.

And in 2015, when the Cubs were swept in the NLDS by the Mets (properly, “the Hated Mets”), the season didn’t feel like a failure, either.  We had the Jake Arrieta/Kyle Schwarber Wild Card game in Pittsburgh and the win in the NLDS over the Cardinals (whose fans, per Bill Murray, are “Satan’s messengers on Earth”) – and hope for the future.

But then there was Thursday’s game against the Dodgers.  I was really glad we did not get swept (that would have been worse), and it was probably better to lose 11 to 1 than the way the Nationals lost Game 5 of the NLDS.  (Game 5, along with the Home Opener at Wrigley Field, and the August 20 game against the Blue Jays may have been the highlights of the 2017 season.)  Still, after 2015 and then 2016, Thursday night was a bit of downer.

We clearly have some holes going into the 2018 season.  While the starting pitching was good in the playoffs, Jake Arrieta’s expected departure, and John Lackey’s probable retirement, leaves two spots open.  If you need at least six starting pitchers (for injuries, etc.), even with Mike Montgomery moving to the starting staff, we only have four.  That is a hole (or HOLE, as President Trump would say).

And our starting pitching is in good shape compared with the bullpen.  A lot of work, and luck, is going to be needed to rebuild the bullpen.

Finally, we have to hit.  In ten postseason games this year, we scored more than three runs once.  Excluding Game 5 against the Nationals, we scored sixteen runs in nine games.  With that kind of offense, it’s surprising we made it as far as we did.  Maybe some of these guys will be better as they get older (it is amazing how young the Cubs position players are).  In fact, they have to.  Especially since Theo and the boys may decide to trade one or more of them for pitching (see above).  Either that or payroll, and ticket prices, are going to go up big time (though the latter may happen anyway).

So, whither the Cubs in 2018?  Who knows, but as 2017 certainly shows, winning isn’t easy.  But then, we already knew that, even if we had forgotten it for a while.
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¹ Obviously, Dusty Baker was the manager of the Giants in 1998.  Dusty and the Cubs is a story that never goes away.