Chicago Cubs: Despite the frustrations, it is time to embrace the journey

Chicago Cubs: R-E-L-A-X

The heightened aspirations of the 2018 season came in strong after a flurry of excitement in the offseason with bringing in Brandon Morrow and Yu Darvish. Cubs fans had just one thought: could this be the team to win another title?

So far, despite the daily grumblings, a bevy of injuries and a lack of contributions form Darvish, the Cubs find themselves in first place as we head down the stretch here in August.

Manager Joe Maddon has been a huge proponent of the idea that it is a long season, that ups and downs will occur and that people need to enjoy it. For instance, on Sunday, the team finished a series with the San Diego Padres ending in a split. Despite the air of frustration which seemingly found its way into many Cubs fans, the manager brought up something important this weekend.

"“Lighten it up a little bit, folks. You get right now, you keep playing these very difficult games, tight race, and so you start losing your mind a little bit. So just relax, play baseball, have some fun with it. I’m sure we’ll play our better brand at that point.”"

It is not the first time the Cubs manager has taken a nonchalant approach to the apparent seriousness the season needs to be each day. After being asked if he was poking fun at the game by allowing Anthony Rizzo to pitch in a blowout, Maddon had this to say:

"“So relax, folks, it’s a baseball game. It is not life and death. I want people to understand that,” he said. ” Yes, (that’s) a typical, perfect example that it is a game. People  who say things like that don’t understand how each day is connected.”"

Needless to say, like Joe Maddon, many people need to understand that feeling overwhelmed, living and dying by every single game, make the game, and therefore the Cubs, hard to enjoy.