Chicago Cubs: Zobrist says the “hunger is back” for the Cubs

The Chicago Cubs aren’t about to give the Houston Astros any advice about the “hangover” they might experience. But one thing is for sure; the hunger is back for the Cubs.

After the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016, the fans and players were content. At least for a little bit. Eventually, the Cubs had to “turn it back on,” and by then the fatigue and exhaustion caught up with them last year. They managed to win the division but ran out of gas in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs’ Ben Zobrist was part of back-to-back World Series teams in the Royals and the Cubs. And he’s very aware of what winning a title like that can do. 108 years without a title? Nobody knows what that was like. And on top of that, to be down 3 games to 1 and come back to win?

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It was good for a little while

"“I think everybody was pretty satisfied as far as Cubs Nation goes — at least for a little bit. As players, you have to find a way to turn it back on. It’s not easy to do. From the top to the bottom, it was a difficult road to get everybody back to the same frame of mind, the same hunger that we had in ’16. We just weren’t ourselves the whole first half of last year.” h/t Carrie Muskat, MLB.com"

The Cubs were far from the team they were the season before. Starting pitchers gave up a ton of runs. Hitters went weren’t producing.

They trailed the Brewers at the All-Star break. It took some effort–all they had–but they came back to win the division. But after all of that, the fell to the Dodgers in a series that they looked beat.

Ready to go

Now, the Cubs seem to have that fire back. Several of the Cubs–including Zobrist–have worked to get in better shape this season. The new faces on the club have given them a new drive, a new spark.

"“I can tell you this, the hunger is back for this team and we’re excited to get back at it and prove that we’re the best team again,” he said."

Next: Will Caratini get his shot at the bigs with the Cubs?

That’s good news for Cubs’ fans. I’m sure we’ll get a “we’ll see” from a good portion of them. But the excitement for this team in the middle of a championship window? In 2016, we knew that team would be good. But never could we have known how good. I feel that way about this team. #EverybodyIn