#cubs fans

[bryzzo]

[telesilla]

When you tell me that Ryan Zimmerman, who is playing for the second best team in baseball and who leads the majors in batting average, RBIs, slugging and hits, is an "under the radar ASG pick"...well, I've got to question your radar.

[dinosaurwithablog]

The beer snake...

Cubs fans are a fun bunch of people!! They are putting beer cups together to make a beer snake. It's getting quite long. I've never seen that before, but I love it. Cubs fans really know how to enjoy the game. Between the standing ovations for Anthony Rizzo and the beer snake, I'd love to go to Wrigley Field and watch a game with them because they are loyal, kind, appreciative, and fun!! I'm sorry, Cubs fans, but I've gotta say it... LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!!

[hatersneverwin]

[joaquin53]

Cubs Fans

Read more: http://imgur.com/gallery/g4DeYTP

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[charleymckelvy]

Baseball at the Bend

Baseball at the Bend

(South Bend, Indiana) Three friends and I motored on down to Four Winds Field on the last day of July to watch the South Bend Cubs fall 8-1 to the red-hot Hot Rods of Bowling Green on as delightful a summer evening as you could hope to find anywhere.  Baseball at the south bend of the Saint Joseph River with three friends who are as passionate about baseball as I am: now that’s livin’ easy.  Oh,…

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[yosefmeystel]

3 things the Cubs need to do to keep winning

Image courtesy of Ron Cogswell at Flickr.com

The Chicago Cubs finished 2016 as the greatest story in the sports world.  They were finally able to lift the championship trophy off their backs after defeating the Cleveland Indians in perhaps the best game seven baseball has ever seen.  Millions of fans, such as Yosef Meystel, witnessed what many generations of Cubs fans could never witness.  A hundred-plus years of loyalty, of being an occasional punchline finally paid off.  The Cubbies are the reigning World Series Champs and a new era has begun.  This new era brings forth many challenges and questions that need to be addressed.  Let’s see what some of them are.

1.    Was it a one-time thing or has the culture definitely changed?

This is the biggest question of all.  The Cubs finally put an end to all the talk that they could not raise the Commissioner’s Trophy.  No longer can people claim the Cubs can’t go all the way.  Now it’s time for Chicago to demonstrate that what happened the past season wasn’t a fluke.  It is now their duty to show baseball that the Cubs have a solid franchise put in place that can compete for years to come.  They must step up to the plate and prove that they will be perennial contenders to win the championship year in and year out.

The answer to the first question is that the Cubs championship was not a fluke.  It was the result of a process that began when the Cubs brought in Theo Epstein in 2011.  Three years later, Joe Maddon would join the team and the Cubs had two of the most important pieces to building a championship franchise: a brilliant executive and manager.  Together they would field a contender for the 2015 season and everything gelled in 2016.  The culture has definitely changed in Chicago, winning has taken top priority over “just make it to the playoffs”.

Image courtesy of Brandon Schatsiek at Flickr.com

2.    Will the disease of more hit the franchise?

Pat Riley once coined the phrase, “disease of more”, to describe how success can get in the way of further success.  What Riley means is that when an individual wins a championship, they can get to high on themselves and think that without them the team can’t succeed.  This leads them to make demands or behaving differently during the season.  One individual who believes they are worth more than the teammates can spread throughout the rest of the team.  The disease of more can be quite easy to catch if a team does not have the right type of personality and character in their players.  Winning a championship will end up showing who is really committed to the team as a whole and who really believes there is an “I” in “team”.

So, are the Cubs susceptible to catching the disease?  Absolutely not.  They have Epstein and Maddon to thank for this.  If anything has characterized the teams they helped build is that the players on the team think of the team first and themselves second.  There shouldn’t really be any danger of the players using their focus and becoming selfish while Theo and Joe are at the front of the helm.

3.    Will the key components leave or stay?

A franchise can only build long-term success as long as their core remains steady.  There are many cases of teams that won championships only to be gutted in the following years and not really making any moves that would help maintain the culture, effectively ending any chance of establishing continued greatness.  The Cubs have a shot at dominating the Central division and the National League for years to come.  Can Epstein leave the club? Of course, but he will not do so unless he is sure the team is in good hands.  Maddon will like stay as long as he feels the team stays motivated and the players feel the hunger and passion that he does.  As for the roster, it is full of players who are just stepping into their prime and who could play for championships for years to come.  Players will leave, there’s no doubt about that.  They’ll do so for a number of reasons; it’s the nature of the business.  It’s up to management to draft the right players and make sure the farm system has the prospects who can eventually step into the lineup and the team won’t miss a beat.

The Chicago Cubs have everything in place to have sustained success for years to come.  Theo Epstein will continue to field a championship roster that will compete year in and year out.  For his part, Joe Maddon will keep getting the most out of his players by letting them be themselves and holding them accountable for their performance on and off the field.  Finally, there’s a new culture in Chicago.  The Cubs know how to win and they know they can do it.  The Cubs will be on the radar for years to come.  Go Cubbies.

[silent-repose-blog]

CUBS championship parade today in chicago. Photos via AP.