2015: The Back To The Future Season

[R-V]

RV still want to stick up for Jason Hammel or can we all agree this guy can go fuck himself?

I will concede that Hammel sucks if you'll agree to a one tweet per inning cap for the rest of the season.

As always thanks for voluntarily subscribing to my thoughts on twitter dot com.

You're welcome and thank you for taking my desipio dot com backslash messageboard posts seriously.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, 2001.  Also a shitty bullpen.

Not getting my hopes up but I'm also not looking to settle.  Once you're in, anything can fucking happen.

[Eli]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

[Saul Goodman]

RV still want to stick up for Jason Hammel or can we all agree this guy can go fuck himself?

I will concede that Hammel sucks if you'll agree to a one tweet per inning cap for the rest of the season.

As always thanks for voluntarily subscribing to my thoughts on twitter dot com.

You're welcome and thank you for taking my desipio dot com backslash messageboard posts seriously.

it's a forward slash and I'm sorry

[Yeti]

Basketball season starts in November. The closer they can get me to that point, the better.

World Series ends Nov. 4, so figure the parade for November 6, Friday. Ride the party through the weekend, take Veterans Day and the preceding Monday and Tuesday off, and you have some early NBA games, Blackhawks, college basketball, important college football games, Peyton Manning's last pantsing of the Bears at Soldier Field (actually I think he's only 1-1 here lifetime, 1-2 vs. the Bears in the regular season and 2-2 lifetime), some high school football championships, early high school basketball tournaments, the Christmas season, Dead Pool season, New Years, NFL Playoffs, the Iowa Caucus, Waste Management Open, Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Game, and then we have the Cubs reporting to Mesa to begin their defense of their World Series Championships.

Truly the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

I'm worried about the existence of the runner of said pool

[SKO]

Basketball season starts in November. The closer they can get me to that point, the better.

World Series ends Nov. 4, so figure the parade for November 6, Friday. Ride the party through the weekend, take Veterans Day and the preceding Monday and Tuesday off, and you have some early NBA games, Blackhawks, college basketball, important college football games, Peyton Manning's last pantsing of the Bears at Soldier Field (actually I think he's only 1-1 here lifetime, 1-2 vs. the Bears in the regular season and 2-2 lifetime), some high school football championships, early high school basketball tournaments, the Christmas season, Dead Pool season, New Years, NFL Playoffs, the Iowa Caucus, Waste Management Open, Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Game, and then we have the Cubs reporting to Mesa to begin their defense of their World Series Championships.

Truly the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

I'm worried about the existence of the runner of said pool

Has anyone checked to see if there's a weird stench coming from the Photo Hut?

[Quality Start Machine]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

[InternetApex]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

Yeah, Eli.

[SKO]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

And significantly flawed teams can win 11 of 19 games fairly often, even against top notch opponents.

[Eli]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

I feel like you're not getting the crapshootiness of the postseason. It's entirely possible for this year's team to win the World Series and it's entirely possible that they'd shore up every hole next year and still get bounced in the first round.

Ask Nationals fans what it's like to be a talented young team with a seemingly long window of postseason contention yawning ahead of them.

[Tonker]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

I feel like you're not getting the crapshootiness of the postseason. It's entirely possible for this year's team to win the World Series and it's entirely possible that they'd shore up every hole next year and still get bounced in the first round.

Ask Nationals fans what it's like to be a talented young team with a seemingly long window of postseason contention yawning ahead of them.

Jeez, Eli.

[Eli]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

I feel like you're not getting the crapshootiness of the postseason. It's entirely possible for this year's team to win the World Series and it's entirely possible that they'd shore up every hole next year and still get bounced in the first round.

Ask Nationals fans what it's like to be a talented young team with a seemingly long window of postseason contention yawning ahead of them.

Jeez, Eli.

My point isn't, "Oh, the Cubs are going to fail, too!" it's to stop acting like teams follow some neat, linear pattern of improvement for several years before they're perfectly ripe for a World Series.

[Tonker]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

I feel like you're not getting the crapshootiness of the postseason. It's entirely possible for this year's team to win the World Series and it's entirely possible that they'd shore up every hole next year and still get bounced in the first round.

Ask Nationals fans what it's like to be a talented young team with a seemingly long window of postseason contention yawning ahead of them.

Jeez, Eli.

My point isn't, "Oh, the Cubs are going to fail, too!" it's to stop acting like teams follow some neat, linear pattern of improvement for several years before they're perfectly ripe for a World Series.

Oh, okay, fair enough.  Still, you made me cry a little bit.

[Quality Start Machine]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

I feel like you're not getting the crapshootiness of the postseason. It's entirely possible for this year's team to win the World Series and it's entirely possible that they'd shore up every hole next year and still get bounced in the first round.

Ask Nationals fans what it's like to be a talented young team with a seemingly long window of postseason contention yawning ahead of them.

I get all that, I'm just fine with whatever the outcome is.

Besides, if I'm wrong it means the Chicago Cubs are the world champions of baseball.

I can live with that.

[InternetApex]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

Not with the starting pitchers not named Arrieta and Lester, they aren't.

This season has been and will continue to be fun, but they aren't winning everything. The fact that they have to use Arrieta against Pittsburgh makes it that much more difficult to beat the Cardinals.

I'm just going to enjoy whatever happens, knowing all this goat/Bartman jinx shit is coming to an end fairly soon. No point in getting butterflies over it this year.

Quick, name a Giants pitcher not named Madison Bumgarner that they used last year that is better than what the Cubs will throw out there (also the Giants had to use MadBum in the WC game). Or name the great Royals starting pitchers that they had to carry them all the way to game 7 of the WS last year.

If they are in, they have as good a shot as anybody. This is just dumb.

If they are in, they have to outhit their inept bullpen, something they couldn't even do against the Phillies. I'm just happy they're getting in.

Why are you happy they're getting in if you don't think they can win it? What the hell is the point?

Because this team is getting their first taste of the postseason, but there are still some susbstantial flaws, mainly the bullpen and back of the rotation. So it's good to see the parts without flaws are good enough to get them in. Next up is getting the pieces this winter to get them over the top.

I feel like you're not getting the crapshootiness of the postseason. It's entirely possible for this year's team to win the World Series and it's entirely possible that they'd shore up every hole next year and still get bounced in the first round.

Ask Nationals fans what it's like to be a talented young team with a seemingly long window of postseason contention yawning ahead of them.

Jeez, Eli.

My point isn't, "Oh, the Cubs are going to fail, too!" it's to stop acting like teams follow some neat, linear pattern of improvement for several years before they're perfectly ripe for a World Series.

I don't think anyone's saying that. Even Fork. I think he's saying that this year's team looks better than we thought it would on paper. And on paper, next year's team should look better. Therefor, they should be able to compete again with the other two elite teams in their division, which is necessary if you want to go to the dance. And I think we're happy about that and not yawning through our gaping hurt butthole instead.