The Chicago Cubs championship season a year ago was nothing but a seven-month, emotional thrill ride.
From the beginning, they embraced the expectations that were heaped upon them — a team spilling over with pitching and hitting talent.
The Cubs went right to the front of the pack, spending all but three days of the season in first place in the National League Central. They won a Major League Baseball best 103 games, laughing off any pressure.
The postseason was more intense and competitive, but ultimately as fulfilling as it can get. In the World Series, the Cubs dramatically outlasted the Cleveland Indians, capturing the franchise’s first banner since 1908.
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A fan base, a city and a nation cheered. Who could top that?
No one, of course. Which may be the problem. Two months into the new season, Chicago are floating along at 25-21, treading water in the NL Central right alongside the St Louis Cardinals and the surprisingly inspired Milwaukee Brewers.
It may be a winning record, but it is beneath their grade. The Cubs’ roster is mostly unchanged, with only a few exceptions. Relatively young, the team should be a contender for years.
One could argue that this year’s version is even better equipped to dominate the league, since the weight of Chicago’s losing legacy has been removed from their backs.
Apparently, the Cubs need a new challenge. A year ago, manager Joe Maddon used their sorry history as fuel, telling his players to acknowledge it and to slay it, as if it was as real as a 100 miles per hour fastball.
Consider it slain. Now what?
“It’s going to be a different path this year,” Maddon said recently, addressing the emotional changes from 2016. “It just has to be.”
Certainly there is plenty of time to locate new motivation, even if it will be less compelling than last year’s mission. Some of their most gifted players, however, must find their grooves.
The starting rotation has been mysteriously off. Last season, as a group, Chicago’s starting pitchers produced a stellar 2.96 earned run average, easily the best in MLB. This year, not one of their starters is under that mark. Jake Arrieta (4.80 ERA) and John Lackey (4.82) have been particularly hittable.
The bullpen, meanwhile, has blown five of 16 save opportunities. Relief pitching was an occasional weakness last season, at least until the Cubs traded for elite closer Aroldis Chapman for the final two months. Chapman, of course, is gone, signed back to his former team, the New York Yankees.
Bullpen help will again be a priority for general manager Theo Epstein as the trading deadline approaches this summer.
The Cubs’ potent attack also has had its share of laggards. Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber have struggled.
At least their power couple — Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo — are still producing. Bryant, last year’s Most Valuable Player, has 11 home runs, 22 runs batted in and a .403 on-base percentage. Anthony Rizzo’s batting average is down, but he has a team-leading 28 RBI with 11 home runs.
Still, it’s a team that screams “Dynasty.” Anything less than an intimidating show of force will have people scratching their heads.
There are eight teams in MLB doing better, but that is only one measuring stick. The Cubs’ truest bar is the one they set for themselves last year. They were 32-14 at this point.
No one is panicking, of course, after a mere eight weeks.
“We know how good we can and will be,” Epstein said.
For now, however, as the giddiness of 2016 has waned, so have the Cubs.
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