Cubs Coffee Talk: Can the team win 40 or more games?

Are the Chicago Cubs capable of winning 40 games in this type of environment?

It was another early morning at the office as I turned on the lights and made my way through an office cubicle-maze toward my work cubicle. Although I’m not a big fan of the ‘office cubicle’ as it were, as a former office manager, I understand their function while still providing the bare modicum of separation, which in this day and age is pretty crucial with all the social distancing concerns.

Drudging down the aisle between sets of cubicles and past cubicle doors makes me feel like I’m in a pet store passing all the pet cages. Needless to say, I reached my cube, took off my jacket, and hung it behind my ergonomically correct chair.

The greatest thing about the cubicle is there are four sides with shelves just screaming for tons of Chicago Cubs trinkets and stuff that I like to buy from Ali Babba online. There are apparent limits of course;  I can’t just hang a jersey in my cubicle without some planning and thought, although I’m sure some moron will write me now and tell me how I can do it.

One of the treasures in my inner sanctum cubicle is a foul ball I snagged at Sloan Park watching a minor league Cubs game. Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner was in the stands with Cubs outfielder and 2018 draft pick Brennen Davis. Both players were cool enough to sign my ball, and now it sits as the Holy Grail encased forever in the maze called ‘Cubicle-Pet-Land.’

As I jumped into my morning routine generating reports, I began to think more about the Cubs’ specific dilemma of trying to win 40 or more games in the upcoming short season when they don’t really have that type of record to stand on. I couldn’t wait to hear what the geniuses in the office had to say about this topic today.

Several of the guys on the staff have been die-hard Cub fans their entire lives and have an opinion about everything in Cubs-world. Sometimes they can be a bit nutty, but usually, there’s something productive that comes out of our coffee talks. Hey, even the smoker gives up his cigarette at 8:45 a.m. for Cubs Coffee Talk.

The group consists of Howard, Russell (the smoker), Kris (yes- spelled like Kris Bryant) and me.  I would introduce each of them to you, but trust me, you’ll never get that time back in your life again. Although I generally discount anything the stooges have to say as relevant, there are times that they make sense, and typically I have to admit that they do know a lot about the Cubs franchise.

My eyes glanced quickly down to the corner of my monitor screen to see it was 8:44 a.m. and time to head to Cubs Coffee Talk with the stooges.

Chicago Cubs: Coffee Talk- Can the Cubs win 40 games?

As I got up from my ergonomically correct chair and made my way down pet aisle one with my Cubs coffee thermos in tote, I could hear the squeaks of chairs as the stooges were also getting up. Then there was the inevitable shuffling sound of feet as they raced to get to the break room for the last drops of coffee from the first-morning pot of Joe.

As I entered the break room mere seconds behind the stooges, everyone was standing in their usual spot socially distanced; wearing masks and Howard, as usual, was making the coffee.  He was sure to cheers me with his mug, letting me know he got the last gulp in the pot.

“Did you see the game format for the Cubs 60-game season?” asked Kris.

“Old news,” said Russell, who often said ‘old news’ to anything anyone said.

I already knew that this was going to go on for five minutes, a meaningless diatribe about who saw what in a Tweet about this one and posted it on Instagram. I could see the precious minutes of Cubs Coffee Talk being flushed down a TMZ rant. So before it could go any further, I brought up the day’s subject.

“Hey guys, do you think the Cubs can win 40 games in the upcoming 60 game shortened season?” I asked out loud as they immediately took the bait.

“How many did they win in 2016?” asked Kris.

“The Cubs actually won 42 of 60 games in 2016, “said Howard, who was great at remembering all kinds of dates that no one else thought were important.

“Old news,” said Russell. “Can they win now is the question? And who’s going actually to step on the field and play? Is everyone playing, or are some players sitting out for the virus?” asked Russell.

“Russell! Tick-tock buddy – back on topic…” I interrupted.  Russell could go on a rant if I let him continue, and we had issues to discuss like offensive production. “I think the Cubs have great bats in Rizzo, Baez, Bry…” I said.

“Bryant!” Kris jumped on top of my words. I gave him the stink eye and imagined shaving his head into a Mohawk. For some odd reason, I have this almost lack of respect for Kris as he didn’t become a Cubs fan until 2016 at the age of 30. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with becoming a fan of the Chicago Cubs in your 30’s, Kris has not suffered like long-time Cubs fans and felt the pure joy of that beautiful 2016 championship because of the life-long wait.

“Rizzo, Baez, Bryant…” I continued giving young Kris the stink eye look again.

“Contreras and Schwarber seem to be the most consistent batters. Yes, they have moments, like Schwarber, but for the most part, that’s five consistent batters. Then you have Heyward, Hoerner, Happ and Almora, who can all kill the ball but have got to get more consistent if the Cubs are going to project any type of offense. In this short season, the rest of the boys have to step it up, “I stated.

“They all don’t have to get hot, they just need to get hot when it’s necessary,” said Howard. “The Cubs are always out of sync. One guy hits a home run, and the next guy gets a double and the next three are fly-outs. They never take advantage of that guy on second or set up the home run to clear bases,” explained Howard.

“Old news,” said Russell. “That’s why they brought in Boss-Ross to manage the game. The lineup is his job now. I think we are forgetting to discuss a crucial aspect to the Cubs winning 40. Do the Cubs have the arms to win more than 40 games?” asked Russell.

I looked over at the clock on the coffee pot to see we had seven minutes until the break was over and had not even delved into pitching.

Chicago Cubs: Do the Cubs have the stable of pitchers to win 40?

The group often discussed how Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, was trying to put together crazy combinations of pitchers that he saw in his mind as necessary to the team. I even joked recently in an article that Epstein was more like the X-Men mentor Professor X, putting together superhuman pitchers when the Cubs’ recent fourth-round draft pick threw 105 mph at practice; maybe they’ll be called, ‘The Eps-Men.’

“We may just have the perfect combination of pitching personalities to pull this off in a short season, “said Howard. “Our starters are seasoned and smart like Lester and Hendricks but we also have crafty pitchers – like Darvish and Chatwood. Then we have finesse and power with Mills and Cotton. I would add Quintana to that power list as well, but he just had surgery on his thumb this week, “Howard said.

“From washing dishes!” interrupted Russell. “All the Cubs need caretakers; you know like Alfred was the butler for Bruce Wayne’s Batman.  Remember Morrow?  How does anyone hurt themselves putting on their pants? We’ve got great pitchers on the Cubs, but they can’t do everyday things like drive a car, iron a shirt or…”

“Make the coffee?” Howard asked. Sort of a slap at Russell, who never seemed to be around when coffee needed to be made.

More from Chicago Cubs News

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

“I used to think our relief pitchers weren’t so hot, “said Kris. “But now I look at the lineup and it’s awesome! Do you realize the talent we have now? Seriously!  Jeremy Jeffress, Kimbrel and Wick coming back…”

“And that’s about it,” said Russell. “The rest of these guys are not proven winners. Some of them we had last season and they were terrible. Now they’re supposed to be much better in one and a half seasons? I don’t buy it.  Duane Underwood Jr., Maples and Norwood all have a lot to prove this season,” Russell added.

“What about Casey Sadler?” I asked Russell. “I think he was a great addition for the bullpen, and don’t forget we also have Trevor Megill,” I said.

“Old news,” said Russell.  I hated it when he did the ‘old news’ to me. “Those boys are unproven Cubs, “the all-knowing Russell added, but I wasn’t about to be shut down with his ‘old news.’

“For a longer season, you may be right, Russ, “I admitted. “But this is going to be a race to 60 to see who can get the most wins. The Cubs can afford to put in their best in this short season, and you and I know – their best is pretty darn good these days, “I added. “Don’t forget that Danny Hultzen is also out there, and my favorite, C.D. Pelham is just down the road in Iowa,” I added to throw some salt on Russell’s wounds.

“I thought your favorite relief pitcher was Brandon Morrow?” asked Kris. Why was Kris counter-attacking me? Obviously trying to be funny as he knows Morrow is on my crap list for blowing my kid off for an autograph in Los Angeles.

“Yeah, why don’t you do another article on him? The Stumbler!” giggled Russell, obviously being sarcastic and realizing Kris had saved him with the Morrow comment.

I gave another stink-eye look to Kris for making me lose the argument to Russell. I decided to give it one last shot and say precisely what I thought the major obstacle was going to be for the Cubs winning 40 or more games out of 60.