The hype about the 2015 Cubs is leaving Las Vegas and entering the mainstream, national media.
Sporting News announced Thursday night that it was picking the Cubs as the 2015 World Series champions.
Why? Starting pitching, relief pitching, young hitters and Joe Maddon.
Frankly, it’s hard to argue with that logic.
It’s not just because of Back to the Future 2, when the Cubs were a 100-1 shot, and Marty McFly got the idea to go back in time and bet on sports results for which he already knew the outcome. In reality, the Cubs are much better than a 100-1 shot. At 12-1, they are tied with the Tigers as the bettors’ fifth choice behind the Dodgers, Red Sox, Angels and Nationals. [snip] Maddon does well with young teams because he does not put pressure on the players. He allows them to be themselves. There will be a lot of opportunities for the Cubs to feel pressure, including being picked by certain national outlets to win the World Series. Having a manager who is as cool, calm, and collected as there is in the game should make a difference. The Cubs have the talent in place to make a quick jump in the standings. Once playoff time comes, it’s just about making the right plays at the right times and getting good pitching performances. Several teams are capable of winning the World Series this year — as the Giants and Royals both showed last year, if you get into the playoffs, you can make some noise. The Cubs are the pick to win the 2015 World Series because, after 107 years, they’re good enough to get there and, honestly, aren’t they due a couple of breaks?
A couple of breaks? Obviously Sporting News doesn’t know the Cubs as well as I thought.
