Boy it’s a good thing the 2016 Chicago Cubs won the World Series. Just try to imagine how fans would feel if they’d lost that series to Cleveland proceeded to have the years they’re having right now. Depression and suicide rates would skyrocket. Nothing indicated just how far this team has fallen than watching the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team they owned last year, drill them for double digit runs in the first inning on July 9th.
It was a stark reminder of how fast the turnover in professional baseball can be. Making the playoffs two-straight years is hard enough, let alone winning back-to-back World Series. Keep in mind it hasn’t happened since the Yankees did in 2000. That year they won their third-straight. Since then there hasn’t been a repeat winner for 16 years. Based on how the Cubs are playing, that streak is more than safe.
The Cubs are 43-45 with the All-Star break mercifully two days away. Hopes are they can somehow snap out of this inconsistent funk they’ve been in the past few months. Then again it might be fair to say this isn’t the same team that finished last November on top. In fact they’re starting to resemble another former champion in this city.
2016 Chicago Cubs in danger of mirroring the 2005 White Sox
People still have fond memories of that 2005 Chicago White Sox team. From the epic string of tight victories down the stretch to their dominant run through the postseason, it was a treat to watch them work. A lot of people felt that this was a roster locked and loaded to win at least one more. Then reality set in. The Sox not only failed to repeat in 2006, they didn’t even make the playoffs. Their biggest highlight wasn’t a win but a brawl.
The Sox didn’t make it back to the playoffs until 2008 and by then the roster wasn’t recognizable to the one from three seasons ago. They were promptly brushed aside by the Tampa Bay Rays in four games and haven’t reached the postseason since. Cubs fans have to be afraid that their team is in position to do the same.
They have loads of young talent but an inability to maintain their edge or their pitching leads to missed opportunities. By the time they figure it out it’s too late. The window is closed. Chicago has seen this a lot before. Not only the Sox but the 1985 Bears might be the biggest example. A great team undone because they couldn’t maintain the formula.
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— Chris Boden (@CSNBoden) July 9, 2017
To be fair championship hangovers are a common theme in most major sports. Oftentimes a team gets over their disappointment and are right back in the thick of it not too long later. The Blackhawks fell out of relevance for two years following their 2010 Stanley Cup before surging back in 2013 for another. People forget the mighty New England Patriots didn’t make the playoffs in 2002 after winning their first title in 2001.
The 2017 Cubs aren’t out of it yet, but even if they are it’s not a doomsday scenario. They still have loads of young talent in place with a genius in Theo Epstein running the show. Smart money says they’ll rebound in due time.
