Chicago Cubs: 4 things that can stop their World Series aspirations

The Chicago Cubs have a solid and determined team headed into the 2018 season. But there are a few potholes that could derail them.

The Chicago Cubs are an excited group, one year removed from their World Series championship. Last offseason was punctuated by a constant amount of appearances on TV, commercials and such, and seemed to leave little time to get ready for the coming season. Now the Cubs have a full-year to prepare. And as Ben Zobrist has said, the hunger is back.

So while the Cubs are out to prove that they’re the best team in baseball, there are plenty of roadblocks that could hinder them. With a team built to win now, the Cubs are looking to get it done–but what could stop them? We take a look at the possible roadblocks that could slow down or derail the Cubs hope of returning to the World Series.

Injuries to the starting staff

This is one that hit the Cubs last year, and it’s prevalent to all teams every season. The Cubs have assembled a strong staff, with Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood added to the mix of Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana. Mike Montgomery may see some time as a No. 6 starter, which could work out well if a player should miss any time with an injury.

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What the Cubs can’t afford is to lose two of their starters. Pitching depth is not the Cubs strong suit in the minors, at least not yet.

And by chance, if the Cubs were to lose a starter and have to go get another one due to the injury, it would take away from whatever else they might need. The reason that the 2016 staff was so dominant was they missed very few starts.

John Lackey was the only one to not start at least 30 games, and he missed only by one. Continuity within the rotation was critical.

Last year, just three of them hit that 30 start plateau, with a group of pitchers being needed to fill in. It’s something that no team wants to battle, especially if you’re the Cubs.

Lack of a leadoff hitter…again

Just like last season, the Cubs enter this year without a clear leadoff hitter. We here at Cubbies Crib as much as anybody has pondered who the Cubs could use in that spot. From Jason Heyward, Javier Baez, Albert Almora Jr. to Kyle Schwarber–we’ve looked at each of them at their qualifications. But what if they go through the same battles like last year, with nobody getting on base in front of Kris Bryant?

Last year, the Schwarber experiment failed miserably. Jon Jay was a solid fill-in at the spot, but he’s no longer here. Anthony Rizzo was one of the best the Cubs had, but he’s needed elsewhere in the lineup. Almora seems to be a favorite, at least among fans. But he’s struggled to hit left-handers. So it could be a platoon of Ian Happ and Almora–but even that’s simply taking a stab.

No “true” closer

The Cubs will turn the ball over to Brandon Morrow in the ninth. While he had an excellent 2017, he’s no Wade Davis. With minimal closing experience, can the Cubs count on him to get the final outs of a game? And if he can’t, there where do the Cubs turn?

If there’s one place the Cubs could “survive” and issue, it might be here. The Cubs have a couple of former closers on the team on Justin Wilson and Steve Cishek. Please, hold your “Wilson sucks” comments for another time. He was a good pitcher coming in and hopefully will return to that guy that he was before. Cishek’s closing days seem to be behind him, but he could fill-in in a pinch.

And then there is always Carl Edwards Jr. Once thought to be the “closer of the future,” that seems to have been put on hold after some struggles in the late innings last season. But it’s a new year, and it’s possible that Joe Maddon could turn to him if all else fails.