After losing to the Dodgers in 5 games in the NLCS, it’s time for the Cubs to rest and reload After losing to the Dodgers in 5 games in the NLCS, it’s time for the Cubs to rest and reload (John L. Alexander)
The Los Angeles Dodgers brought the Cubs defense of their 2016 World Series title to a screeching halt after a whooping 11-1 Game 5 win last Thursday night. The win closed out the NLCS and gave the Dodgers their first National League Pennant in 29 years….remember Kirk Gibson?
Let the record show that I’m one of those guys who lives under the “championship or nothing” act. However, in this case, even though the club fell short of the overall goal–it wasn’t a lost season. It showed the grit and fight that it takes to play baseball into October for three straight years. The season started off very slow, going into the All-Star break with a lackluster 43-45 record and down 5.5 games to the first place Milwaukee Brewers. But after they shook the cobwebs off, they made a huge turnaround in the second half and were playing like defending Champions. The Cubs ended up going 49-25 to close the season and finished 6.0 games ahead of the second place “Brew Crew.”
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he purposely kept his foot off the gas early in an effort to keep players fresh so they wouldn’t catch those end of the season blues. Those guys played more baseball than anyone over the last 3 years and it was evident in the Washington Nationals NLDS series. It took just about everything they had to muster a 3-2 series win and they left it all on the field in D.C. When Kris Bryant admitted to the series being draining and some of the guys being tired, I knew it was all but over. The Dodgers came in and handled their business accordingly and here we are. SHOW FULL ARTICLE
