Chicago Cubs News: This is what a playoff team looks like

It’s been a little while since the Chicago Cubs made the playoffs. For a lot of fans, it may be difficult to convince themselves that this is what a playoff team looks like, but Jed Hoyer and the front office just showed everyone that they believe that and we need to think so as well.

In order to be successful in a playoff run you need to have a handful of things:

1. You need a rotation of at least four guys you feel extremely confident handing the ball to on the biggest stage.
2. You need a bullpen that has at least three arms that you can go to in high-leverage situations to get you out of a bind.
3. You need exceptional (specifically infield) defense. You can’t give up runs on plays that should have ended an inning.
4. You need a lineup of guys that don’t waste pitches, let alone whole at-bats. The strike zone is expanded in the playoffs, so you need guys that don’t chase and wait for the right pitch.
5. You need veteran leadership, but you also need a youthful spark that comes from guys that don’t even know how big the moment is. 
6. Finally, you need a little bit of luck.

This Chicago team has all of the things from this list.

Rotation

In a situation where the Cubs win the division and spend the NLDS playing the Giants, we’d likely see the following pitching matchups:

Marcus Stroman vs. Logan Webb

Justin Steele vs. Alex Cobb

Kyle Hendricks vs. Anthony DeScalfani

Jameson Taillon vs. Alex Wood

There’s not a matchup in that series that doesn’t favor the Cubs. Marcus Stroman pitches best in big moments as he proved in the World Baseball Classic years ago and I would look forward to giving him and Justin Steele the ball in a giant moment like this. Add in Kyle Hendricks with his World Series pedigree and Jameson Taillon as a fourth starter with some junkyard dog in him, I like what we have. 

The Cubs have the fourth highest starting pitcher WAR in the NL at the time of writing. This is what a playoff team looks like.