They don't hand out trophies in early May.
No one understands that truism better than the average Chicago Cubs fan. A 107-year-and-counting championship drought is bound to feature more than a few hot starts.
But after finishing a four-game sweep of the Washington Nationals in dramatic fashion with a 4-3, 13-inning victory Sunday at Wrigley Field, the Cubs solidified their status as the best team in baseball.
Sunday's win, which came on a walk-off home run by Javier Baez, moved Chicago to 24-6. That's the Cubs' best 30-game start since 1907, when they won the first of two consecutive titles, as SportsCenter highlighted:
That early win tally is even more impressive considering the Cubs got there by taking four straight against the Nats, who entered the series with a 19-8 record, second-best in either league.
None of the Cubs' wins against Washington were blowouts. Their largest margin of victory was three runs, and Sunday's game looked like a tussle between two worthy, playoff-quality opponents.
The fact remains, however: If the Cubbies wanted to make a statement, they couldn't have roared much louder.
Here's the part where we'd normally hit you with a litany of eye-popping stats, sprinkled with a dusting of sample-size salt.
But for the moment, let's focus on one number: 102.
That's the Cubs' run differential entering play Monday, the best mark in baseball. The next best? The New York Mets at 44.
If the Cubs can sustain that pace, they could do something not seen since the Teddy Roosevelt administration, per Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Chicago was supposed to be good. After winning 97 games and advancing to the National League Championship Series in 2015, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein added key pieces over the winter with an emphasis on chemistry and experience.
Jack-of-all-trades Ben Zobrist reunited with manager Joe Maddon from their days with the Tampa Bay Rays, fresh off a World Series win with the Kansas City Royals.
Right-hander John Lackey joined his old Boston Red Sox rotation-mate, Jon Lester, and brought 127.1 postseason innings and two rings with him.
And, of course, five-tool outfielder Jason Heyward jilted the archrival St. Louis Cardinals to join the party on the North Side.
That augmented an already-impressive core led by reigning NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant and reigning NL Cy Young Award-winner Jake Arrieta.
In an era when baseball is increasingly defined by parity, particularly in the wide-open American League, the Cubs look like a legitimate juggernaut, built to win now and for years to come.
It's easy to slip into hyperbole when discussing this club. Take this snippet from Rob Arthur at FiveThirtyEight: "Tabbed in spring training as a potential 100-game winner by nearly every projection algorithm, the Cubs are somehow exceeding even those lofty expectations. Now the benchmark is quickly shifting to whether they can become one of the best teams in baseball history."
Yes, he went there. On May 4. And you know what? While it's a premature question, it's not an entirely laughable one.
At the very least, the Cubs look like a team playing on a higher level than the contemporary competition. We don't know how they'd stack up against the '27 New York Yankees. But we just saw what they did against the '16 Nats.
They're also 3-0 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and 2-1 against the Cardinals, their only legit challengers in the NL Central.
They've yet to play the New York Mets, who swept them in the 2015 NLCS. Circle your calendar for June 30, when the two clubs meet for a four-game set in Queens.
Cubs hitters have cut back on their strikeouts after leading the league in that category last season. So it should be popcorn-popping entertainment to watch their potent, patient lineup battle the Mets' stable of power arms, led by bolt-hurling demigod Noah Syndergaard.
Is there an element of good fortune to what the Cubs are doing, an unsustainable mojo that could melt in the dog days of summer?
Nationals outfielder Ben Revere suggested as much Saturday, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
"Everything is just falling the Cubs' way right now," Revere said, per Janes. "To the folks back at home in D.C. and wherever, know that everything is going well for them, but we're still right there."
He's right. No one should write Washington off, not with NL MVP Bryce Harper crushing baseballs—and drawing a record-tying six walks Sunday—and contract-year Stephen Strasburg fronting the rotation.
Likewise, the Mets and even-year San Francisco Giants could prove formidable foils.
Then again, the Cubs have already weathered adversity, losing sophomore slugger Kyle Schwarber to a season-ending knee injury, and they didn't miss a beat.
This is the club Epstein has constructed: deep, young and ludicrously talented. Every test that's been thrown at them so far, they've passed with honors.
They don't hand out trophies in May. But long-suffering Cubs fans can be forgiven for dreaming of the one they do hand out in November.
All statistics current as of May 8 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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