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Going into 2015 after making some key acquisitions including Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler, the Chicago Cubs knew they were going to be better than in the past several years. Just how much better was the question.
Sitting at 39-30 and winners of four straight games, it sure seems like the Cubs should be competing for the playoffs over the course of this season. What they do in the next three weeks will show them exactly how they stack up against the most talented teams in the National League.
They still have two more games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom they’ve already taken the first two games of a four-game set from. Following that series, they will take on the rival St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game weekend set. They will then take on the surprisingly competitive New York Mets.
Along with some other series, they will take on the Cardinals four more times before the All-Star Break. There’s no doubt this upcoming stretch will allow the team to evaluate themselves. With such a young team, these measuring-stick stretches are important.
When a team has a lot of young talent like the Cubs have this season, confidence is the most dangerous thing they can have. If the Cubs can perform well heading into the All-Star Break, they will have even more confidence than they already have.
They can either parlay that confidence into a great second half and reach the postseason or they can accept they’re a young team that may still be overmatched by the league’s best.
Or they can realize they’re among the league’s best themselves.
