The Cubs, it seemed, were too young, and the Mets, it seemed, were too unbalanced. This figured to be a bridge year. Going into Spring Training, PECOTA's projections had each of these clubs going 81-81, which would have been a marked rise for the Cubs (they won 73 the year before) and a miniscule-but-still-meaningful improvement for the Mets (79). Our preseason poll of dozens of experts from MLB.com and MLB Network not only totally whiffed on the entire American League postseason field (ugh) but didn't have either of these clubs reaching the postseason (and if you're a Nationals or Mariners fan, please don't torture yourself by clicking on that link).
Cubs, Mets ahead of schedule in return to glory
