Cubs

Since the early part of May, I thought the Cubs roster had the pieces to get to the playoffs and likely even win the Central. I was not optimistic about getting deep into the playoffs and became even less optimistic of this with the lack of significant moves at the deadline. As the team leveled off (being polite) after the break and into the middle of August, I still believed the outcome would be about the same but I'll admit to being a bit more cognizant of how the Reds were playing. All that being said, I think the offense overachieved in the first half but I also did not think they are as bad as they were for the 30 game stretch after the break. I'm still in the same spot that I don't expect any deep run because the starting arms just aren't there. I like Imanaga and Boyd but I also think they might be overworked by season's end. Horton is a bit of a wild card. And it's really about who gets hot at the right time which is why I'm not overly bullish on the Brewers. Maybe that's just my hopeful and biased view as a Cub fan but I'm not sure it's a great think to peak in July and August. They certainly know how to win but they also picked up a fair number of heroic wins which probably is not what you will get against elite teams in the playoffs. In summary, a good year but this is exactly what Ricketts wants - good enough to bring in the $$ and interest while not having to spend like a big market team. For what it's worth, I thought this was where ND football was headed until about 2-3 years ago but it seems we are all in now.