Quantifying Hope: Cubs Projected to Win 95 Games

Is it weird to be disappointed to see that FanGraphs has projected the Cubs to win only 95 games during the 2017 season? I mean, that would represent their “worst” regular season in the last three years. A team that lost something like five million games in the handful of seasons prior to 2015 now has a legit shot at racking up three hunj in the Kris Bryant Era.

This is cool and all, but it’s important to remember that — unlike what all the nerds would have you believe — the game is still played in real life and not on spreadsheets. Real men care little for these silly advanced metrics, preferring to allow grit to sand away the rough edges over the course of a season. I hope you’ve read that last bit in a mumbly voice because your tongue was in your cheek, as I was having a little goof there.

It goes without saying that a projection in December is worth a whole lot less than the super-sweet beer-lover’s gift crate I just had delivered to my door Friday afternoon.

That said, it’s still fun to see that the Cubs could finish 10 games ahead of the Cards and 12 games ahead of the team that couldn’t manage to trade Andrew McCutchen. And seeing the Broors projected at 63-99 certainly doesn’t make me mad. And there at the top sit the Cubs and Dodgers, tied for the best record in baseball and well ahead of any other teams in the NL. Sounds about right.

When it’s all said and done, while I’m sure the Cubs would love to put up triple digits wins again, their regular-season mark doesn’t really matter. All they really care about is adding 11 more in the playoffs.






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