1. The Dominant Pitching Staff:
The Cubs have four guys in their postseason rotation who each in their own right could be considered an “ace”. Lester, Hendricks, Arrieta, Lackey. When you have last year’s Cy Young award winner as your #3 starter, that’s a very good sign that you’re doing well.
2. Weak Competition in the NL:
The Cubs are already up 2-0 on San Francisco, on the verge of advancing to their second consecutive NLCS, yet the Giants were probably the Cubs fiercest competition from the start. While both Los Angeles and Washington have dominant aces and a solid offense from top to bottom, neither team should pose much of a threat to Chicago at all.
3. Home-Field Advantage:
By virtue of posting a league-best record of 103-58, the Cubs guaranteed home-field advantage through the NLCS (World Series home-field advantage goes to the winner of the All Star Game, which was one by the AL this season). The Cubs have been absolutely unstoppable at The Friendly Confines this season, winning another league-best 57 games on their home field. While they won’t have home-field advantage in a potential World Series, they are a great ball club on the road (46-34 record).
4. Kris Bryant:
In only his second full season, Bryant is the front-runner to win the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award this season. He hit .292/.385/.554 with 39 home runs, 102 runs batted in, and a league leading 121 runs scored. He is the face of this franchise for year’s to come.
5. The Curse:
It has to end sometime, right?!?! Their 108 year drought without a World Series championship is a mark that no other professional sports franchise has even come close to. In fact, they haven’t even been in the Fall Classic at all since 1945! This is one of the best Cub teams in franchise history, and it just seems like this is finally the year that they win it all. This team has virtually no flaws and has been playing incredible baseball all season. In just a few weeks, Chicago may be having its biggest celebration of all-time.