MLB Chicago Cubs

Current Chicago Cubs Have A Different Feel To Them

Chicago Cubs

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I was born and raised in the Chicago area. That means I was bestowed the blessing and curse of being a Chicago Cubs fan. Through good times and bad (and let’s be honest, mostly bad), I supported the team the whole way just like any small child would. Then came 2003.

I was in third grade during the Bartman game and it was devastating. It was a rite of passage in many ways. The heartbreak associated with that game and the following 2008 and 2009 playoff sweeps have somehow made my love for the Cubs even stronger. And I’m not alone.

However, something fundamental about the “old” Cubs changed when the Ricketts family bought the team in early 2009. While the Cubs have a record of 429-542 during the time the Ricketts have owned them, their purchase of the Cubs changed the course of the franchise for the better.

When the course of the franchise really began being mapped out was when the Ricketts then hired Theo Epstein as President of Baseball Operations and Jed Hoyer as general manager. All those two have done is assemble the largest grouping of young talent the Cubs have ever had.

With players like Javier Baez and Jorge Soler already in the big leagues and Kris Bryant and Addison Russell right on the cusp, the future is extremely bright for the Cubs. Of course, the additions of players like Jon Lester and Miguel Montero this offseason have people thinking 2015 is the year. That’s not the case.

This team is still at least a year away from seriously contending, but unlike in the past, their championship window should last several years once they arrive on the scene. Most of all, this franchise now has a different culture. You no longer get the sense that players on this team are aware of the curse of the Billy goat. You now get the sense they want to end it.

Growing momentum should help the Cubs field a competitive team in 2015, even if it doesn’t result in a playoff berth. In the coming years, the Cubs, for the first time in nearly a decade, should be World Series contenders. Of course everything still has to fall into place, but they’re set up to succeed.

There has certainly been optimism about the Cubs in the past from fans that are notoriously overly optimistic, but based on how this current regime is handling this franchise, it finally seems justified.

Only time will tell if more heartbreak is on the way, but for the first time in a long time, Cubs fans should feel comfortable dreaming about that elusive World Series title once again.

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