Waiting 100 Years
Cubs fans have lived full lives and died since the last time the Cubs won the World Series. Yet, pick any year and talk to a Cubs fan in March and they will say "This is the year!" Talk to them in mid-April and they say "Wait for next season!" It's a fun mix of optimism for the future and self-deprecating pessimism at the current season.
This year is different. I'm sitting quietly in the shadows watching the games fly by with win after win, but I'm afraid to point it out for fear of what might will probably happen. At this point, the Cubbies have a 98.8% chance of making the playoffs and an 88.7% chance of winning their division. That leaves me fairly confident that the Cubs will enter the playoffs but what will happen after that? This season seems too good to be true. It probably is. I can't help but be more than a little suspicious.
But let's say that the Cubs actually do make it all the way. Who will they face off against? I'm sticking with Tampa Bay. They continue to look strong. The Angels look good too but their division is pathetically weak. The AL East and the NL Central are the two toughest divisions this year and two teams are shining in each. It makes sense that they would meet. The Sox are starting to come on strong too, but I feel my head starting to asplode just thinking about a Cubs vs Sox World Series. Chicago would have a civil war.
The stat that continues to impress me is the run differential of the Cubs. They have never been able to mix run production and pitching like they have this year. The result is a +184 run differential which is 64% higher than Boston in second place in that category.
It's now late August. There is still plenty of time for this all to fall apart. It's hard to hold my dreams in check!
[All stats accurate as of 4pm EST on 8/26.]