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The Indiana Daily Student

sports baseball

Cubs success gives fans hope for postseason

There seems to be something different in the Windy City air this August.

In previous years about this time, one would find Chicago Cubs fans sitting alone at bars, patiently counting down the days until football season starts down the street at Soldier Field. This year, people are wearing their Cubs jerseys a little more proudly.

This is because the Cubs are playing meaningful baseball for the first time in 
almost a decade.

The team has come a long way in just one season — last year it ended with a record of 73-89 and was 17 games behind the division lead. Currently, the Cubs have won 15 of its last 17 games, jumping the team into the fourth spot in MLB’s most recent power rankings. Its record of 67-49 would be good for first place in all but two divisions: the AL Central and the NL 
Central.

A large component of the Cubs’ successful season is newly acquired manager Joe Maddon. His unusual tactics, like taking batting practice once a week and having the pitchers bat in the eight-spot, show a knowledge of baseball Cubs fans haven’t seen from a coach in recent years. The hiring of Joe Maddon as manager adds to the excitement and hope for a Cubs journey to the postseason.

The NL Central is the most dominant division in baseball this year, as three of the top four teams in the MLB are in the division. Therefore, even though the Cubs hold the fourth-best record in baseball, it is only good for third place in the division, as the Cubs sit behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and just the second NL wild card spot.

It is frustrating for Cubs fans to see the rival Cardinals have success year in and year out, but it is even more frustrating to see the Cubs finally having success and still not competing in the division.

According to Business Insider, the Cubs have been given a 5.4 percent chance of winning the World Series. However, any Cubs fan would be satisfied with seeing a playoff game, even if it were only a one-game wild card series.

It would be the first time the Cubs were in the playoffs since 2008 and would look to end a nine-game postseason losing streak.

The hope for October baseball is enough to keep Cubs fans — and all baseball fans — interested in what is taking place on the north side of Chicago.

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