You ever watch a sport that you love the most and think to yourself, “the league would be more fun if this team was good?” It does not have to be YOUR team, but just a team in general. For the game of baseball, certain teams being good and turning heads is great for fans all around. Of course you’ll have the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers among that list of big market teams that when they are good it is good for baseball. Well, another team joins that list.

The Chicago Cubs are off to a rocking start and it’s good for baseball. Seeing the Cubbies Faithful cheering while devouring a delicious Chicago Dog is great and seeing Wrigley Field have an electric atmosphere is good not just for the Cubs, but for baseball.

With that being said, this is a year where the Cubs should aim to go all in and do what means to be necessary. They are facing adversity with the injury bug and it could be quite a challenge to overcome.

The Adversity to Overcome

As everyone knows, I love pitching. I love analyzing pitching and I love tuning into games to watch certain pitchers. Seeing how they utilize their pitch mixes and how they attack batters is so intriguing to me. For the Cubs, that tends to be the case and this is also where the adversity part comes in.

It was a major blow last season, but it is an even major blow this season. Justin Steele is done for the year, which puts a damper on the season. Steele was hurt last year, but managed to finish the season strong with a 3.07 ERA. He is a very good pitcher and a very reliable one and losing him is a big blow. Welp, the bad news just keeps getting worse and this is where the true adversity will come in.

You lose Steele, yeah that stings. But at least you have Shota Imanaga, except he is now on the IL due to a hamstring injury. The Cubs two best starters are on the shelf and one is not returning. Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea have been pleasant surprises, but they aren’t banging down the door for a number one job. Ben Brown has the stuff, but his inconsistencies will need to dial down because he is new a player that will be relied upon. Javier Assad is not close to returning, so the Cubs have adversity to overcome. The Cubs bullpen already sits 21st in ERA (4.21), so the goal should be not to tax them further.

Given where the Cubs are at and the adversity to overcome, they should push their chips to the middle.

The Cubs Should Be Willing to go All-In

The Cubs are sitting in a good spot. Overall they hold first place in the NL Central, but do have the Cincinnati Reds breathing down their necks. The goal for the Cubs is not just to win the division and sneak into the playoffs, but to go on a run and show they belong among the rest. Let’s be real, everyone talked about the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies this last winter. The Cubs felt slept on and probably because of the division they play in and how the consensus is them winning it. But the rest of the NL is loaded and this is a year that the Cubs should not piss away. They have shown they can go all in before, so continue it.

Tip my cap to the Cubs front office because they made one of the biggest splashes this past winter. Sure, it’s a gamble, but it was a gamble worth taking and adding Kyle Tucker has been everything.

He is the spark plug that leads this offense and he’s been exactly what this team needed, especially at the plate. As an offense, the Cubs are third in home runs, first in RBI’s, first in runs, first in stolen bases, third in walks, first in average, and third in both on base percentage and slugging. The offense will give the pitching staff run support, which is great.

At the end of the day though, without Imanaga now the Cubs could have a tough time winning anything meaningful. Kyle Tucker is only in the Windy City for one year (for now) and if that’s truly the case, the Cubs should push their chips in and swing big for a trade involving pitching.

It may not be right now since it’s only May, but they should without question be willing to add and give this team arms to compete and contend further as the season progresses.