SPRING IN THEIR STEP
Cubs head to camp as unlikely favorites to win World Series
That the Cubs will have the proverbial target on their backs every time they take the field this season is clear to everyone from the clubhouse to the front office. It’s a challenge manager Joe Maddon plans to embrace.
But the biggest fight the Cubs might have on their hands when spring training opens Friday is living up to the magnitude of expectations in and out of the organization. The Cubs won 97 games and beat the Pirates and Cardinals in the playoffs last season before pulling off $276millionworth of acquisitions that havemade them the favorites to win the 2016World Series.
Can this season be considered successful if the Cubs don’t win it all? That has been one of the most common conversations about the team on social media and among talking heads since the Cubs ‘‘won the offseason’’ with their $184 million signing of outfielder Jason Heyward.
‘‘On paper’s one thing,’’ said right-hander John Lackey, another Cubs newcomer. ‘‘We’ve got to go out and get it done.’’
Lackey, who has won World Series clinchers for two teams, knows the fragile nature of baseball expectations as well as anyone in the clubhouse. He was part of the Red Sox’ epic September collapse in 2011 and a leader in their odds-beating championship in 2013. That’s part of why he was signed.
Cubs president Theo Epstein certainly didn’t set out to win anything during the winter.
‘‘It is an unbelievable dynamic the last few years how the winners of the offseason tend to be miserable the following September,’’ he said before the Cubs’ flurry of moves in December. ‘‘I look forward to one day when we might lose the offseason altogether because it’ll probably mean that we had so many different options internally to address whatever needs arose during the previous season. We’re not in that position yet.’’
But they are sitting on an enviable lode of talent and potential and are one of the biggest national storylines in baseball as they chase their 108-year-old ghost.
The only certainty at this point is how foolish it would be to count on expectations to unfold according to plan for 162 games, much less to make the only measure of success a title in a sport in which many of the best teams often fall short.
Injuries? Ask the 1985 Cubs, who had four starting pitchers on the disabled list at the same time and failed to live up to their magical 1984 season.
Wrong division at the wrong time? Ask the 1993 Giants, who won 103 games and missed the playoffs.
Face a hot pitcher in a short series? Ask anyone who faced the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner in October 2014.
Catch the dreaded hot team in October? Ask the favorites who were beaten by the 1973 Mets, 1987 Twins or 2006 Cardinals.
Epstein used a lot of resources this offseason to take advantage of the deeper market of available players, as well as what looks like a strong window of immediate opportunity for the Cubs.
But he also is the first to admit the tenuous nature of best-laid plans in his business.
‘‘Our goal all along is to win the World Series,’’ Epstein said when asked about what seems to be an accelerated timeline for a title. ‘‘But you have to prioritize shorter-term goals in order to get there.
‘‘The first goal is just to come together as a team and grind through the season, knowing there’s going to be a lot of adversity along the way, knowing we have to connect as a unit in order to play well and persevere.
‘‘We’re unified by that common goal. It’s the most important thing in the lives of a lot of people— fans, players, front office alike. And we’re out to reach our goals this year and make a lot of people happy, knowing that there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs along the way.’’