When the Stars Align

Dear Jake

The Cubs have been doing everything right lately.  The problem is, they are still the Cubs.  I would like to think that being the Cubs isn't really a thing.  I'd like to think that the inability to maximize talent when it hits the actual ball field is just a figment of our imagination.  I would like to like the Cubs even.

Look at the best teams in the three biggest American sports right now.  When I say best, I really mean, current champions in out of season sports and leaders of in season sports.

Baseball = Giants
Basketball = Hawks and Warriors
Football = Patriots

I don't follow basketball as closely as I do baseball and football, but I have followed it closer this year than ever before.  I am starting to come to conclusions that the Cubs need to figure out if they are ever really going to be taken seriously in the "next year" conversation.

The best teams do not start with the talent they have.  They start with a system that works.  The system then, creates talent.

Take the Patriots.  At the top they have Robert Kraft.  He then has Belichick.  They then have Tom Brady.  They then have Gronkowski and crew.  They win a lot of games.  I think we too often jump to the conclusion that the majority of their wins are because Tom Brady and company is just that good.  I think that those first two mentioned are the largest part of why the Patriots win.  I think that there is an environment within that organization that holds itself to a higher standard and demands wins.  I think it demands an entire lifestyle that has a common goal.  If you want to play on that team, you buy into that system.  If you don't buy into it, they get rid of you, no matter how talented you are.  Those who buy into it suddenly become better at what they do.

The Seahawks this year fell into rhythm after they got rid of Percy Harvin.  He wasn't buying in.  They ditched him and boom, they got good again.  Percy Harvin is good.  Really good.  Four weeks ago if I said the name Chris Matthews, you'd think of the journalist that has the show Hardball on NBC.  Do you remember him?  Yeah, neither does anyone else because NOW when I say Chris Matthews you think of the guy who recovered and onside kick and then tried to become Superbowl legend in the first half on Feb 1.  It's teams that have the "organization before self" philosophy that win championships.

The Giants do it.  I'm not scared about losing Panda to the Red Sox.  Why?  The team makes the talent.  The talent does not make the team.

The Cardinals do it.  You waxed eloquently the other day about David Eckstein.  Talented?  Yes, but I think he can credit a fair amount of his success to an organization that expects the unlikeliest to perform better than everyone else.

The Atlanta Hawks had no one voted into the all-star game.  Yet they keep winning and winning and winning.  It's almost comical because the analysts don't really know what to talk about with them.  No one really stands out.

Dez Bryant wants a raise.  So does Murray.  It's quite the quandary if you are the Cowboys.  I believe some of that decision gets a bit easier if you have a system in place that doesn't need the best at every position to be the best team on the field.  Personally, I think that the Cowboys shouldn't fear losing either of them.  I think they have a stellar offensive line and if Romo is what he was this year, he'll make a decent receiver look like Dez Bryant. 

The Cubs have been doing everything right.  Their front office has had some inside changes too.  We'll see if that translates to on field performance.  I would like to believe it will.  Every Cubs fan in America would swear that it already has.  You have to constantly remind them that the season hasn't started yet.  They drive me nuts.  I think I'd love the Cubs if I didn't have to put up with the la la land fan club that they cart around.  I give them credit for loving a team that doesn't win, but I'd love THEM if they could talk about baseball with reality goggles.  Instead they have rose colored glasses permanently adhered to their face.

So I want to come back to baseball in a bit, but I have to know your thoughts on the Superbowl.  I have my own but I want to hear yours.

What's your take on the Seahawk's play call on the 1 yard line?
Is Tom Brady in the conversation for best QB?
What did you think about the game in general?
And if you aren't sick of it, what are your beliefs about deflategate?

I look forward to hearing from you on Thursday.

Sincerely,
Joel