Now that the Houston Astros are starting the defense of their first World Series title, the question will be whether the team suffers a hangover from its remarkable run.
But staff ace Dallas Keuchel said he does not expect a dip in the Astros' form in a declaration that might ruffle a few feathers at Wrigley Field.
"We're not the Cubs," Keuchel told The Washington Post when asked about the Chicago Cubs' returning almost the same team from their 2016 championship and winning 11 fewer games. "I firmly believe we have better players."

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Another Sux fan with Cubbie on the Brain. Still no known cure.

I hope those 7 less games will make Jon Lester less tired this year.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

maybe I have 'stros on the brain

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Keuchel can talk after 3 straight (and counting) ALCS appearances.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

So do Championships or LCS appearances matter more?

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This would mark the 3rd year in a row the Cubs have lost a month of offseason due to playoffs. #firstWorldProblems.

38 playoffs games and counting during that span, that's not nothing.

Well right now, as it relates to Keuchel's statement, it is one to one in Championships so we're looking for natural tiebreakers.

I've already posted my point system of judging the success of an organization over a period of years. Cubs are currently winning that, also.

The Cubs have been the most successful team in MLB over the last 3 years. #Fact

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

That really doesn't answer the question.

Anyway, the reporter asked a really stupid question and Keuchel responded that he thought his team was good. What was he supposed to say, "Yeah we're probably going to suck the first 6 weeks of the season?"

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I agree it was a stupid question setting him up for a gotcha.

I also love to hear that Cubs now have the gold standard of title hangovers. 92 wins and playing for a world series birth is considered a disappointment. Oh what lofty expectations this team carries.

Got swept once and almost got swept a second time. They were, however, competitive with a depleted Dodger team in that one lucky year.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Almost doesn't count dumb ass! Not even in Horseshoe and hand grenades!

"What hangover? It is difficult for any team to win a World Series - this is why we work so hard to perfect our craft. But I like our team...we have a great clubhouse... everyone here in Spring Training is ready for the season to start and we plan on having a very good year. The World Series is definitely our goal again, as it is every year."

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Last I saw this guy he was getting removed in the 4th inning of a World Series game after getting knocked around by legends of the game Logan Forsythe and Austin Barnes.

Maybe he was already hungover.


We'll see. The Cubs had the best season of a World Series Champ in a while didnt they?

Probably, but the Royals winning the pennant then the WS in back to back years is the best consecutive seasons we have seen since....2000-2001 Yankees?

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ive always considered CHAMPIONSHIP HANGOVER? to be an issue purely for lazy journalists to get at least 3 articles at 800-1000 words per. these guys have been playing more or less non stop in their respective sports since probably the age of 12. and Ive yet to hear an athlete that agrees. not that they would. but still. no one has ever agreed with that assessment when asked by a reporter.

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'Your AT&T Universal Card has arrived'? Oh God, Kick-fucking-ass, I got a Master Card! I don't believe it, man. Life is kinda cool sometimes.

The postseason does wear on teams. A team plays roughly 30 games in spring training then 162 games in the regular season and then another 12 to 20 high pressure games. The season for a playoff team goes from February to November. Altogether it's more than 200 games a season. Baseball is not like the other sports. It can be mentally draining and there is no clock for how long a game can take. On a good week during the season a baseball team gets one day off. You put all that together and a championship hangover is realistic. After a team wins it's hard to have the same drive. Baseball in the playoffs is totally different than the regular season. Winning in the playoffs is all about timely hitting and solid pitching. It's nothing like the regular season. It's very hard to repeat because it's a long season and the playoffs are so unlike the regular season.

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God is the uncaused cause of the universe. He had no beginning and has no end. He is not bound by the laws of the universe he created.

I always took the "hangover" part more literally. Championship teams party a lot.

It isn’t the extra games. You win in November so you party til the holidays and then party extra hard during the holidays. You have a ton of extra media requests. Ed Fuckton Chevy wants you to do ads for them. Sports N More has a special autograph signing. Next thing you know, it’s spring training and it takes you the whole time to get into spring training shape and the first month of the real season turns into your spring training.

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