Chicago Cubs: Five reasons the team’s dynasty isn’t over just yet

Despite a rough 2019 season and inconsistent results since winning it all, the Chicago Cubs have the pieces in place to make a run at another title.

If you stopped The Lion King halfway through, would it be a happy ending for Simba, Nala or Pride Rock? The answer is unequivocally “no.” What does this prove? Not much, in and of itself, but extrapolated out, it means that you can’t always judge something when you’re in the middle of it. Whether good or bad, it’s impossible to see the forest through the trees when you’re in the middle of a dense bramble of vines and thorns.

Replace Simba from The Lion King with the Chicago Cubs and you might just have an idea where I’m going with this. The Cubs could make the postseason in 2020, win the World Series or struggle to another 84-78 mark. As much as we’d like to believe pundits, media personalities or even us lowly bloggers, a lot can happen on the way to October 2020. My take it a bit more optimistic than most, but for good reason.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, I believe that “reports of the Cubs’ death have been greatly exaggerated.” Whether or not this era of Cubs baseball will go down as a dynasty or just a blip on the radar depends on where you choose to settle in with your perspective. Looking back at the last five years from one perspective, it’s impossible not to be disappointed in the way the last couple years have gone.

That being said, from a general standpoint, they were extremely successful years where the Cubs made the playoffs four out of five seasons, including four in a row. Every single Cubs fan was was also ecstatic in November 2016. The end of 2019 was clearly disappointing for all, but if the Cubs are able to make the playoffs the next three seasons and win another World Series, wouldn’t history define that as an extremely successful run.

Perhaps, some would even throw out the word “dynasty” the way it was being tossed around in the winter of ’16. Here’s how it will be possible.