They did lose their edge. Not sure exactly why, but something needs to change. Not asking for mass head to roll, or mass turnover, but something went really wrong the last half.
I don't think being pissed at a team who lost two home games in must win situations, means fans are insufferable losers. The team shit the bed at the most crucial time. Just because we were lovable losers for so long, doesn't mean we embrace collapse.
They have the best analytical mind in the game running their team to figure it out and try to fix it.
I said insufferable winners. The insufferable losing is past. The Cubs now are the Red Sox a few years back. There were a lot of Cub fans pissed for months while they had the best record in baseball. They won 95 games. Think about where this franchise was 5 years ago. Ten years ago.
The Cardinals have smart people running their team and they fired the idiot in the dugout. The Brewers have smart people running their team and made a run at it. It paid off. They were not going to lay over and let the Cubs run amok for a decade in the Central. This ups the stakes a bit, and if you want to poke the Theo Bear, go on. This might be just what they needed to win another championship or two.
For this fan base, it is the Golden Age of Chicago Cubs baseball. This is the most successful stretch in the club's history. They have very smart people in charge and lots of resources, i.e. money. It sucks they aren't playing in October, but from a big picture perspective, things could be and have been a hell of a lot worse.
Too many pundits got carried away after 2016 and started using the "D word" about the Cubs. It's hard to win a championship in baseball. It takes a lot of things to go right and some luck. They had some things go wrong this last month. It happens, but it doesn't necessarily have to be called a collapse or a choke.
