Chicago Cubs: A dogfight in the National League Central

Chicago Cubs: Competition is good, right?

There is no denying that the 2016 season was a ton of fun. The regular season finish for the Cubs was the best in team history, culminating in a much-deserved championship. The other division rivals found themselves toyed with as the Cubs stood tall.

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Beginning last season, however, there was a shift in the division which has continued into this season. Despite winning the Central again, all of a sudden some of the other teams stood a chance, embracing that opportunity.

The St. Louis Cardinals, for example, have fallen on hard times. As the once dominant face of the National League Central, they have merely been cast aside as just another team in the division. The Milwaukee Brewers, however, are now finding themselves taking that spot the Cardinals once held.

Following the collapse in 2017, the Brewers saw themselves as competitive. It spurred them to go out and make moves for Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich to bolster the roster. The Cubs, to counter, nabbed Yu Darvish. So far, the former is working out more fortuitous than the latter.

Giving credit where credit is due, the Brewers are a good team plain and simple. They have found a way over the course of the past two seasons to become competitive. They are, to the Cubs, the annoying uncle we all have who shows up unannounced at Thanksgiving and hangs around.

That being said, they have created that competitive shift within the division, making it known that despite the Cubs possessing the better roster in every category, you still need to show up every day ready to play baseball.