MESA, Ariz. – A team that barely understood the symbolism of goats and black cats – and a front office known for busting curses – won't suddenly believe in the hangover effect from winning the franchise's first World Series title since 1908.
The Cubs play with flair and passion, but they try to take the emotions out of the decision-making process, so let's start with this: The projected Opening Night 25-man roster features 24 players who have already received World Series rings or will be getting one during the April 12 ceremony at Wrigley Field.
Of those 25 players who are supposed to be introduced on Sunday at Busch Stadium, 11 have been All-Stars before. The non-All-Stars include: last year's major-league ERA leader (Kyle Hendricks); a National League Championship Series co-MVP (Javier Baez); and a World Series legend (Kyle Schwarber).
"This is a way different animal, because we're so much younger," said old-school pitcher John Lackey, who already got some jewelry from the 2002 Anaheim Angels and 2013 Boston Red Sox. "Those were more veteran teams that I won with the last couple times, so I think the youth is really going to help us.
"They still have energy. They're still trying to prove themselves. They're still trying to go to arbitration. They've still got a lot in front of them."
If Bryce Harper becomes a $400 million player after the 2018 season – or Manny Machado lands the record contract as part of that winter's spectacular free-agent class – imagine what Kris Bryant might command on the open market three years later.
But until then, a franchise once synonymous with dysfunction should be remarkably stable. The Ricketts family has talked about owning the team as a generational asset. The top of baseball operations – Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod – is under contract through the 2021 season. Last year Joe Maddon – a three-time Manager of the Year – wrote out a World Series Game 7 lineup that featured seven players between the ages of 22 and 27, plus Hendricks (26) as the starting pitcher.
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"Last year, it was this entire focus on doing something bigger than yourself, breaking this curse," Hoyer said. "All these guys signed for less money to come here to do it. This year, to me, it's got to be the same thing. We've got to put team above the individual. I think once the players feel entitled – or once the front-office people feel entitled – that's when the problems seep in.
"How do we nip that stuff in the bud and make sure that our entire focus is on repeating? I think if we focus on just coming together as a team – like we did last year – it'll be fine. We're very talented. We have great guys. But when those entitlements sneak in, you get in trouble, and all of a sudden it becomes about individuals here and individuals there.
"If it becomes about the individuals the following year – or if people feel like they're not getting their due for what they accomplished or whatever it might be – that's when the problems can seep in."
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Lackey's competitive fire will have him throwing his arms up in frustration when the game's best defensive unit doesn't make a play. But he's also consistently seen these young players act as professionals and work with a sense of purpose, even as the endorsement deals pile up and the off-the-field distractions multiply.
"Yeah, super-impressed with that whole situation," Lackey said. "These guys prepare well. They work hard. Obviously, the talent and the performance on the field speaks for itself. But the behind-the-scenes stuff, the maturity level, is very impressive, for sure."
That homegrown core, clubhouse culture and big-market resources allowed the New York Yankees to build a dynasty in The Bronx, winning championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. No team has won back-to-back World Series titles since that Yankee three-peat.
"It's a hard thing to win one, let alone do it two in a row," said Jon Lester, a three-time World Series champion.
Lester pitched for the 2008 Boston team that lost an American League Championship Series Game 7 to Maddon's Tampa Bay Rays – and later got traded off the first-to-worst Red Sox at the 2014 deadline. That set the stage for a $155 million megadeal, the chance to make history in Chicago and another Opening Night start against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Every year is just so different," Lester said. "I don't think you can really put a blueprint out there and say: ‘Hey, this is how you repeat.' I think we just have to prepare and go out and play like we did last year. Obviously, that's hard to do, because defensively we set records, offensively we were pretty amazing and then we had the best pitching staff in the league.
"I hope everybody has the same year that they did last year. That would be really, really awesome, but that's not baseball. There's going to be some ebbs and flows and we just got to stay healthy.
"That's probably the biggest (factor) of all: Everybody stay healthy again and we have a really good chance."