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Epstein proud of how Cubs have handled expectations
- Updated: September 16, 2016
CHICAGO — This season is Theo Epstein’s fifth as the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, and it’s been a blast.
The Cubs went 61-101 in 2012 in Epstein’s first year at the helm, and this season, they have the best record in the Major Leagues, and are on pace for more than 100 wins.
“This year is really different from last year, because of all the expectations we had coming in,” Epstein said Thursday. “Last year, we were able to sneak up on people and go on a joy ride in the second half of the season into October. It almost felt like the only thing that mattered was what was going on in the clubhouse.
“This year, before we even reported to Spring Training, there were all these expectations and that kind of crept into the clubhouse and the guys handled it incredibly well and embraced the challenge and didn’t back down from any situations.”
In 2015, the Cubs won 97 games, secured a National League Wild Card berth, then ousted the Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game before beating their rivals, the Cardinals, in the NL Division Series. But the ride ended when they …
