After averaging everything according to various projections, the Cubs\u2019 season record came out to approximately 87-75 after a little consideration of our trusty napkins and some minor mental gymnastics. Reality was kinder to our Cubs and their final record was 92-70, good enough to get the Cubs into the postseason, where they dismissed the San Diego Padres and were outshined by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.<\/p>\n
Gone are Kyle Tucker and many others. The Cubs signed Alex Bregman to a spendy deal and traded for Edward Cabrera, steps toward assembling a deeper and higher-floor squad.<\/p>\n
This particular edition of the annual profiles isn\u2019t results-driven, as last year\u2019s was. I just wanted to see if the predictive \u2018data\u2019 would hold up. Some people\u2019s stats were \u2018in the ballpark\u2019 but most of them weren\u2019t even in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
I will provide predicted stats for everyone if you want to compile for your own reasons.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs are a team that is built around \u2018chemistry\u2019, more so than most squads. A lo of them have bonded over their religion and have been quite open about that. A good few have their own social media presences. Ian Happ has a popular podcast \u2014 we feature it here often, as it\u2019s very good. Dansby Swanson<\/a> and Justin Steele<\/a> have YouTube channels. PCA is seen about town \u2014 he and Caleb Williams were seen to be having a great time at the Blackhawks game<\/a> Monday night. Alex Bregman looks to be an up-front kind of leader, which should aid in that chemical experiment.<\/p>\n Something didn\u2019t click with Tucker. I never had the feeling he wanted to be back. I suspect he told the Cubs early that he wanted to test the market, and I also think that his personality didn\u2019t mesh, for whatever reason.<\/p>\n