Red-hot Cubs quickly becoming a national attraction
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is seemingly comfortable answering any question, usually with aplomb.
During Sunday's workout at Wrigley Field before Game 3 of the National League division series, Maddon was caught off guard by this one: "Do you feel like you've become America's team?"
"Become a what?" Maddon asked back.
Giving the question a little more thought, Maddon wasn't biting.
"Well, hum, I don't know," Maddon said. "I never even thought about that. I know that we get a lot of support. I just like the way we're playing. If people are interested or really getting involved with us, obviously a lot of it has to do with our young players. I think we have a lot of charismatic young players that are attempting to play the game properly."
People are very interested in the Cubs, given their infectious young talent, likable manager and long history of futility.
The national media was out in full force Tuesday when the Cubs beat the Cardinals at Wrigley to win the NLDS in four games.
Here is what some of them were saying afterward:
"Talent wins out above all else. And by series end, the Cubs just had more of it than the Cardinals - even if a lot of their key contributors, by baseball's standards, are still wearing diapers."
- Jonah Keri, Grantland
"The quick end to the 2015 Cardinals season was unacceptable. If a season is judged in a binary way - failure or success - yes, 2015 was a failure. One hundred wins. They are just so talented. And they were embarrassed."
-Benjamin Hochman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Like it or not, Cardinals fans, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant and Jake Arrieta are very young and very good. They're going to be around for a long, long time. And as the Cardinals brass ponder their off-season decisions, the National League Central is going to be an interesting and more challenging place to play for years to come."
- Joe Ostermeier, Belleville News-Democrat
"Major League Baseball's fantasy continued unfolding at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night. Not only are these Chicago Cubs advancing to the National League championship series after dispatching their archrivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, they're doing so with the sort of young, lovable non-losers that even the most avuncular and grizzled fan can't help but embrace."
- Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports
"The Cubs used to be America's lovable losers, failing with spectacular charm. You used to sit at Wrigley, drink a few Old Style beers and understand that the 'W' flag probably wouldn't fly that day. You hoped that maybe the wind would be blowing out and somebody would hit a home run onto Waveland or Sheffield Avenues."
- Michael Rosenberg, Sports Illustrated
"This is a team that believed in itself since spring training and never stopped, winning 97 games. The Cubs might have finished third in the NL Central but certainly proved they're the best in the division, knocking off the Pittsburgh Pirates in the wild-card game and now the Cardinals."
- Bob Nightengale, USA Today