Here we are folks, right in the midst of that 2016 Chicago Cubs dynasty that everyone was talking about at the end of 2015. ESPN was fawning over them. Cubs fans were falling over themselves to be as vocal as the Brewers and Cardinals.
Yet, here we are in what should be year 5 or 6 of that dynasty, and it’s all over. Kris Bryant? Gone. Anthony Rizzo? Gone. Javier Baez? Gone.
The 2016 Chicago Cubs “Dynasty”
The only remnants of the “Cubs dynasty” are Kyle Hendricks and Wilson Contreras. Why Chicago didn’t at least send Hendricks to a contender as well is beyond me.
The team that was supposed to be a contender for years to come after their 2016 title is now 52-69 and have lost 12 straight. Losing 12 straight is rather impressive. It’s nearly impossible in the MLB, and they have made it look easy.
According to the OlyBet official website, the Reds are favored by 1.5 to beat the Cubs for their 13th straight loss. With Kyle Hendricks on the mound tonight, the Cubs may have their best shot of winning at least one game in this Reds series.
KB is Blowing Up in San Fran
Kris Bryant marked the Cubs’ biggest loss of the season. A player the Cubs should’ve been actively building around for years. Instead, KB always seemed to take a backseat to Rizzo and Baez, who are nowhere near as talented. It really isn’t close at all.
Since joining the Giants, Bryant is slashing .321/.377/.571 for an OPS of .948. He has more RBIs than strikeouts, 8-7. 8 of his 18 hits since joining the Giants have been for extra bases including 3 homeruns.
Chicago deserves to see Bryant thrive somewhere else. This is a franchise player who should’ve been given a long-term deal already. Instead, all he got from Chicago was manipulated service time and a trade.
Even though Anthony Rizzo is currently on the IL with COVID-19, he also experienced a surge in production after he was traded to the Yankees. Not only that, but the Yankees were 8-1 in his 9 starts before he headed to the IL.
His slash line for the Yanks is .281/.400/.563. Yankees stadium may be the perfect destination for Rizzo’s bat. Even more so than Wrigley Field.
Javier Baez isn’t seeing the same surge as the other two have since being traded. Which completely checks out. We’re talking about one of the most wildly overrated players in baseball. It’s insane that there was ever even a thought to build around Baez instead of Bryant.
Baez also finds himself on the IL at the moment. If the Mets want a shot at the NL East pennant, they need the version of Baez that was almost good for like a month that one time. It’s doubtful that Baez returns. But damn, he sure can tag people.
It’s assumed that Cubs will now build around catcher Wilson Contreras. Contreras has already said that he’s willing to hang out while the Cubs build around him. While Contreras is nowhere near as overrated as Baez, he also remains wildly overrated.
That’s Cub
Of all people, this is the guy the Cubs chose to build around. Now, that’s Cub.
Chicago is looking at a shorter rebuild this time, but there is no way that they can turn this around in only one season. This is very sad for 2022 Field of Dreams game attendees since they are set to play the Reds in next year’s game.
What a terrible decision by the MLB. Unless the Cubs are the most active team on the 2022 free-agent market, they have no shot at competing next season. In other words, they have no chance of competing next season.
So Cubs fans, say goodbye to the shortest-lived dynasty of all time. Next time, listen to fans who have been fans of the game for more than 2 years when they tell you it will not be a dynasty.
The Cubs had the only fan base in the NL Central that actually believed they had something here. I’m sure those same fans think they can compete next season. Wrong again.
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