CINCINNATI – If you had any lingering doubts about Jake Arrieta’s swagger – or how much the Cubs wanted to get these meaningless games over with – just listen to his answer to this question: Mets or Giants?
“Who gives a s---?” Arrieta said. “Who cares? Now the fun starts.”
Welcome to “TRY NOT TO SUCK-TOBER,” where this team will either live forever as the 2016 World Series champs or cause massive heartbreak for Cubs fans all over the world.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Suffocating pressure? Unfair expectations? Random crapshoot? The Cubs signed up for all this and put the bull’s-eye on their chests, beginning with last year’s joyride into the National League Championship Series – where they got swept by the Mets – and an offseason spending spree on free agents that zoomed toward $290 million and a spring-training circus that featured mimes, zoo animals and karaoke.
Ringmaster Joe Maddon will now lead the Cubs into what they believe will be a parade down Michigan Avenue. Assuming they can stay focused and healthy, get a little lucky and perform at the optimal level needed to win 11 postseason games. After Sunday’s 7-4 comeback victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park, the best team in baseball left Cincinnati understanding that they are now the hunted.
READ MORE AT CSNChicago.com