The remedy for Cubs? More playoffs

Maybe it's as simple as the Cincinnati sickness.

How could the Cubs have advanced past Milwaukee and into the NLCS? A healthy Cade Horton is one possibility.

The Cubs lost this series in Games 1 and 2, when poor starting pitching put them in a bad spot. They needed better options than a short-rest Matthew Boyd or home run-prone Shota Imanaga. They needed to win one early to give themselves a chance to close out the series at Wrigley Field.

At the same time, the offense was disappointing. Four hits in the decisive Game 5 wasn't going to get it done, unless they were all home runs.

So is the answer for the Cubs to get players as good as Andrew Vaughn and Brice Turang, who hit the go-ahead homers for Milwaukee? Well, no. The Cubs do have better players, they just didn't deliver.

The two times the Brewers used a complete bullpen game in this series, they won, while surrendering a single Seiya Suzuki home run. So Milwaukee's bullpen was better, too.

Really, the answer is to increase the opportunities. The Cubs need to make 92 wins a baseline. Then in the course of making annual playoff appearances, maybe one year they can avoid bad luck like Horton's cough-induced rib fracture. Horton got sick while the Cubs played the Reds in late September, creating the poorly-timed injury.

“We won 92 games this year. You'll take that every single year,” manager Craig Counsell said after Saturday's 3-1 loss. “The playoffs are a different animal. It's completely different from the season, totally different.”

“Ultimately, the reason why you want to win 92 games is because you want to win a World Series. And we should have those expectations. We should have them every year.”

Looking ahead to next season, Horton has shown he has the talent to be one of the best pitchers in MLB. Boyd could be even stronger after completing his first full season since 2019. Justin Steele will be coming back from Tommy John surgery. Top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins could become a factor.

The Cubs had two huge success stories in the bullpen with Brad Keller and Daniel Palencia. The problem is, they haven't had much consistent production among relievers. Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather and Porter Hodge are examples of past success stories who came and went, though Hodge could conceivably bounce back next year.

One frustrating part of this season in retrospect is the Cubs could have put more resources into building the bullpen. Reports had the Cubs making a run at Tanner Scott, who wasn't great for the Dodgers. For whatever reason, the Cubs didn't make a serious run at free agent Carlos Estevez, who signed for two years, $22 million with Kansas City and led MLB with 42 saves.

Offensively, the Cubs delivered 12 home runs in eight playoff games, but three players did almost all the damage. Michael Busch (4 home runs, 1.128 OPS), Nico Hoerner (.419 batting average) and Suzuki (3 home runs, .863 OPS) were the hitting stars. Pending free agent Kyle Tucker got most of his hits in Games 3 and 4 against the Brewers.

Beyond that, it was rough. Ian Happ smashed a huge home run in Game 4, but hit just .100 (3-for-30) in the postseason. Pete Crow-Armstrong finished at .185, Carson Kelly .179, Dansby Swanson .154 and Matt Shaw .118.

That's 56% of the starting lineup below .200, not a blueprint for postseason success.

Crow-Armstrong seems to be key to igniting the offense. He delivered one of the greatest performances in franchise history, becoming the first Cubs player with 30 home runs, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases. But he could have been much better at the end of the season.

Nothing is predictable in baseball. PCA might be even better next year. Or the advance scouts might collectively find a way to neutralize his bat.

Everyone in the Cubs clubhouse talked about how much they enjoyed playing for this team. Most of them will be back next year. The goal is to keep the 92-win seasons coming and hope to find some playoff magic.

Pitcher Jameson Taillon may have delivered the best take on Cubs camaraderie.

“It's interesting, I've been on teams where you love being around everyone,” Taillon said. “I've been on some teams where it's cliquey. I've been on some teams where you're walking on the road for coffee and you see someone and you turn down a different street so you don't have to see them more outside the field.

“This team is one of those where you're just so excited to see everyone every single day. Everyone's so unique and different. I didn't get tired of a single person in here. It's been a joy.”