Debate: Will the Cubs win the World Series?

IndyStar assistant sports editors Nat Newell and Matt Glenesk each explain their case for why the Cubs will or won't win theWorld  Series this year.

NAT NEWELL: NO

I will admit upfront I’m rooting against the Cubs, though not for the usual reasons.

I’m a huge fan of baseball history. The National League was created in 1876, long before basketball or football had organized leagues. But when the Cubs win a World Series – and they will, eventually – the last well-known link to baseball’s distance past will be gone. The year 1908 will no longer serve as a constant reminder of just how long baseball has stood the test of time. (And that heartbreak thing Cubs fans endlessly whine about.)

But it won’t be this season.

What makes the Cubs a great regular season team is what’s needed least in the postseason: depth.

Is Miguel Montero and his .631 OPS going to continue to catch regularly? Is Joe Maddon is ready to use Wilson Contreras (.797 OPS) every day behind the plate? Is Contreras ready for it?

Are Javier Baez (.758) and Matt Szczur (.789) going to play? Or Jason Heyward (.623)?

It’s the same with the rotation. Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey (if healthy), Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel are as good a rotation No. 1 through No. 5 as there is in baseball. But only four – and maybe three – starters are needed in the postseason. With Arrieta only an All-Star instead of super-human this season, the Cubs will be facing their equal (or better) at the front of the rotations for San Francisco (Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto) and Washington (Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzalez).

There’s also the overwhelming evidence that regular season performance is not predictive of postseason success.

In the last 10 seasons, the team with the best overall record has won the World Series twice -- Boston in 2007 and ’13. The team with the fewest wins that made the postseason has won three times – San Francisco in 2014, St. Louis in ’11 and ‘06. (Only the winner of the one-game wild card is considered when appropriate.)

The best record in your league is also no guarantee of making the World Series. In those same 10 years, the teams with the fourth-best record from the American and National leagues have made the World Series seven times. The team with the best? Six.

So, Cubs fans, enjoy the regular season. You’ve got a fantastic team that’s going to win a lot of games between now and the end of the season. But when the postseason gets here, try to keep everything in perspective. There’s nothing predictable about the playoffs, whether there’s a goat involved or not. (Or, just root for them to collapse, finish with the eighth-best record in the regular season and then turn it on in the playoffs.)

Should Cubs trade Kyle Schwarber in quest for World Series title?

MATT GLENESK: YES

"Wait 'til next year?"

Not this time. Or at least Cubs fans better hope not. Because if the lovable losers can't bury their 108-year title drought this year, then when?!?

Entering Friday's action, the Cubs were 36 games over .500. The Cubs haven't been 36 games or more over .500 since 1945. They're on pace to win 104 games. No Cubs team has won 100 games since 1935. The Cubs' run differential is a staggering +217. The next-highest is Washington at +139.

This Cubs team has to win now. And that might sound crazy considering how young the core of that All-Star-loaded lineup is, but it's true. Chicago's pitching staff will never be as good as it is right now. Cubs pitchers own the best ERA in the MLB – and by a wide margin (3.13 to 3.44). And their starters are even better, posting a 2.85 mark. The next highest? 3.53.

Three Cubs starters rank in the top five in ERA in the National League, led by Kyle Hendricks, who boasts an MLB-best 2.19 ERA. In a playoff series, I like my chances.

While Jake Arrieta hasn't been quite as good as he was in his Cy Young campaign, that's to be expected. He was unbelievable last year. So he's "struggled" his way to a 16-5 record with a 2.62 ERA. Jon Lester may not be able to throw to first base, but who cares as long as he continues to not let opponents get on base.

John Lackey (9-7, 3.41) and Jason Hammel (13-6, 3.07) have provided veteran depth, and are bullpen luxury items come October. And speaking of the bullpen, that's where Theo Epstein went to work most this season, making deals for Mike Montgomery, Joe Smith, and of course the big splash, Aroldis Chapman.

Chapman (1.42 ERA, nine saves, 21 strikeouts in 12-2/3 innings) is not only an upgrade at closer – one of the few factors that has been found to be statistically relevant to World Series success – but he pushes other relievers like Hector Rondon into new roles and an inning earlier. Kansas City showed what a lights-out bullpen can do in the postseason.

So, starters? Check. Bullpen? Check. Oh, and yeah, there's that lineup. The one that gushes with youthful exuberance, the likely NL MVP in Kris Bryant and carries a hunger from last year's abrupt end to its October run.

Wait 'til next year?

Nope. Not this time.