By the time spring-training visions of dynasties had given way to the real possibility of the Cubs becoming sellers at the trade deadline, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey were on the disabled list and the Brewers had opened a 5½-game lead in the National League Central.
‘‘We’re not looking back at the Cubs,’’ Brewers closer Corey Knebel said at the time.
Twelve weeks and 49 Cubs victories later, Knebel doesn’t have to look back to find them. The Cubs are headed to the playoffs for a third consecutive season for the first time since the dead-ball era.
Here’s how it happened and why the Cubs think another World Series might be in play as they open the postseason Friday against the Nationals:
Q and Answers to the starting pitching
Team president Theo Epstein said the front office was a bad road trip and homestand away from selling short-term veterans at the non-waiver trade deadline July 31. He also pounced on the chance to acquire short- and long-term asset Jose Quintana from the White Sox during the All-Star break, a move many in the clubhouse called an emotional boost.
‘‘Our ownership and front office, they mean what they say when they talk about an opportunity to win a World Series every year,’’ right fielder Jason Heyward said. ‘‘When that trade happened, that’s what they showed.’’
Quintana went 7-3 with a 3.74 ERA for the Cubs, pitching their two best starts of the season (8-0 in Baltimore in his first start and 5-0 in Milwaukee in his second-to-last one). Lackey returned from a sore foot and was a different pitcher, including a 5-0 run with a 3.06 ERA in his first six starts back. Hendricks returned July 24 and had a 2.19 ERA the rest of the way. Jake Arrieta got hot until a hamstring injury slowed him in the final few weeks.
And the rotation went from 29-33 with a 4.66 ERA in the first half to 35-14 with a 3.36 ERA in the second. The Cubs’ rotation was second in the majors to that of the Indians in victories and ERA after the break.
No star power
The Cubs got exactly one All-Star this season after landing seven in 2016, including the entire NL starting infield. That was closer Wade Davis, who didn’t endure the lengthy 2016 postseason and who had only 16 save chances (30 innings) in the first half.
‘‘I really think those few days at the break, with some of our guys not making an All-Star team, was probably one of the best things for this team,’’ veteran Ben Zobrist said. ‘‘Everybody came back refreshed and excited to change the whole point of the season and the way it was going. That definitely was the turning point.’’
The schedule eased
Fifty-three of the Cubs’ 74 games after the break were against teams that went into the break with losing records. The Cubs went 39-14 against those teams (and 10-11 against the others).
They went 14-3 in their first 17 games out of the break and won 15 of their last 19. They were 63-63 in the rest of the season.
Rest and patience
Between false starts and false hope throughout the first half, manager Joe Maddon preached patience and continued a liberal schedule of rest for his every-day players and rotation, acknowledging the toll of two seasons of deep playoff runs and the anticipation of another October.
‘‘As human beings, coming off of winning a World Series in Chicago — after a century — there’s a lot attached to that that’s really hard to evaluate,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘So you’ve got to try to be patient.’’
Said left-handed reliever Brian Duensing, who is in his first season with the Cubs: ‘‘Coming here for the first time, the way we started the second half really showed me maybe how tired mentally and physically the team was from how long the season was last year. . . . You could tell it was just completely a different energy on and off the field the second half.’’
Follow me on Twitter @GDubCub.
Email: gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
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