CUBS WORLD SERIES HYPE VIDEO FULL

The Cardinals will tell anyone who wants to listen that they may have the finest bullpen in the National League, anchored by Trevor Rosenthal.

Really, our expectations are high as ever.’’ “Just because people don’t expect us to be good,’’ Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said, “we expect ourselves to be good. The Cardinals swallowed their pride, put their money back in their wallets, and instead wound up with starter Mike Leake, backup catcher Brayan Pena, Japanese reliever Seung Hwan, and infielder Jedd Gyorko. They offered Heyward $200 million only to be rejected when he went to the Cubs. It would have been different if ace David Price didn’t turn down their $180 million and head to Boston.

CUBS WORLD SERIES HYPE VIDEO FULL

Yet, they now feel like a rusted mini-van in a parking lot full of Mercedes Benzes. “They won 100 games,’’ Cubs president Theo Epstein said, “and probably lost another 15 wins to injuries.’’ And they did it with outfielder Randal Grichuk missing 45 games with two DL stints.

They did it with Adams missing 102 games and driving in 24 runs. They did with left fielder Matt Holliday missing 89 games and hitting just four home runs. The Cardinals won 100 games it in spite of Wainwright making only four starts. It barely fazes them, not after what they endured a year ago. The Cardinals will tell you they’re better than a year ago, too, even after the season-ending loss of starter Lance Lynn (Tommy John surgery), and shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who could miss the entire first half with a torn thumb ligament. “I’m going to stay out of that, and just talk about the Cardinals.’’ “Those Cubs’ fans love to have me put words in (their) mouths, so they can send me mean tweets and stuff. “I’m not going to even think about the Cubs,’’ Wainwright said. But whether people pick us there or not, it makes no difference.ĭoes he share some of his teammates’ views that the Cubs could crumble under the weight of surreal expectations, leaving them as the next Washington Nationals? “But now it comes down to going out and play, and seeing what happens. “The Cubs have rightfully earned their hype,’’ Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright said. Manager Joe Maddon’s creative spring training antics only earn more attention. The Cubs won 97 games last year, and after stealing outfielder Jason Heyward and starter John Lackey from the Cardinals and signing second baseman Ben Zobrist, they may even be better. They ended the Cardinals’ season when they knocked them out in the playoffs for the first time in storied rivalry. The Cardinals certainly understand the hype surrounding the Cubs. “Now, we get a chance to do some hunting.’’ “All I know is that we feel great about ourselves. But it will be interesting to see how the Cubs handle that expectation. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve always been the team to beat. “It’s unchartered territory, at least for me,’’ Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter said. They’ve had just one losing season since the turn of the century. They’ve earned postseason berths five consecutive years, won three consecutive NL Central titles, and reached the World Series four times in the last 12 years.

Most of these Cardinals have no idea what it’s like to play a regular-season schedule and immediately head home. “We’re going into this like every other year, preparing to play deep into October.’’ “The Cubs can have all of that hype,’’ Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams told USA TODAY Sports. Yet, instead of being angry, or inspired to cite their four National League pennants since 2000 or their 100-win NL Central campaign of 2015, the Cardinals appear almost amused by it. No one in baseball is garnering more attention this spring than those lovable Cubs, who not only are heavily favored to win the National League, but capture their first World Series championship since the Theodore Roosevelt administration in 1908. Their friends and family talk about them, their fans curse them, and you can’t get away from them this spring. Louis Cardinals see the enemy every time they turn on the clubhouse TV.

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Cubs world series hype video