The Cubs are in a place that they haven't been in for over a century: defending World Series champions.
Everyone knows that things change once you reach the pinnacle of the sports world and the question always comes up, "can they repeat?" There are a myriad of issues facing defending champions of any sport and the Cubs are no different.
The team had an almost perfect 2016 season with very few speed bumps along the way. While I won't argue that the Cubs had a little bit of luck along the way, an MLB writer was stretching pretty far to give Cubs fans reasons not to believe they could do it again in 2017.
So I felt obligated to respond.
Phil Rogers of MLB.com wrote an article yesterday giving fans five reasons to believe that the Cubs will not repeat as World Series champions. To his credit, he also gave fans 5 reasons to believe that the Cubs could repeat but after I read his reasons why he thought the team couldn't do it again, I was left a little bit puzzled.
Phil first argues that the loss of Dexter Fowler will greatly hamstring the Cubs offense in 2017. While I won't argue that I'll miss Fowler in the lineup, I also have another reason to believe that the Cubs offense will be just fine without Dex batting first...
Kyle Schwarber.
Cubs skipper Joe Maddon threw the idea of Schwarber batting lead-off during this season at the Cubs Convention.
https://twitter.com/CubsNationCHI/status/819544040182059008
While Schwarber is anything but your typical lead off hitter, he still has the ability to get on base at a relatively high percentage. In a much smaller sample size, Schwarber's OBP is .353 while Fowler's is .366 and of course Schwarber brings a little bit more thunder in his bat. His career OPS is .831 compared to Fowler's .788. No, Schwarber will not be a threat to swipe a bag and probably won't be able to score from first on a double but Fowler only swiped 13 bases last year so let's just keep that in perspective as well.
Rogers second and third reasons pretty much go hand in hand. He argued that the Cubs stayed ridiculously healthy last season and they got outstanding starting pitching (because their pitchers were always healthy.)
I've always hated this argument with ANY sports team. You can't argue a team staying healthy as a reason why they succeeded. It's the same thing as the dude that said that "Kris Bryant is an easy out if you pitch him properly. He can’t hit good pitching."
Well no shit buddy. NOBODY can hit good pitching.
Point being is that the Cubs health was exceptionally good last year and I don't see a reason why that won't happen again. Even if they do get bit by the injury bug (remember Schwarber?) the Cubs are built on flexibility. Starting pitching depth will be an issue without a doubt, but why assume that players will begin to succumb to injury?
Roger's next reason, to me, was more of a positive thing than a negative thing. He said that the Cubs would not be major players at the trade deadline this year. If you recall, the Cubs gave up a handful of prospects at last year's deadline to get Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees and it turned out to be a bittersweet deal.
The Cubs gave up their top prospect, Gleyber Torres, in exchange for Chapman who was a key figure in the Cubs World Series run. Nobody can argue with me that without Chapman, the Cubs don't win it all so yes, it sucks that we had to give up Torres but that shiny World Series trophy makes losing him hurt a bit less.
I think Rogers was insinuating that the Cubs are running out of prospects to give up in the event that they DO have to pull the trigger on a mid-season deal. I'd be shocked to see them deal the "next big thing," Eloy Jimenez, but the Cubs farm system is still chock full of prospects the Cubs could potentially deal in a pinch.
Rogers last reason why the Cubs wouldn't repeat was actually the reason why I wrote this entire article. Rogers compared the 2016 Cubs to the 2004 Red Sox who were fresh off breaking their own curse and had a disappointing 2005. He said,
"The mood at Fenway Park was different that season, with fans satisfied wearing their championship gear. That figures to be the scene at Wrigley Field this season. The sense of urgency won't be the same."I can't speak for Cubs fans everywhere but I'm pretty confident most fans would agree with me from here on out. I do not foresee there being a "championship hangover" at Wrigley Field in 2017. Players spoke at the Cubs convention this year and kept reassuring fans that one championship wasn't enough. Even though that's the scripted answer that everyone wants to hear, I have to believe they meant what they were saying. These are all young guys that in no way will be satisfied with one ring and behind some good veteran leadership, they should be poised to make another run in 2017.
