If there is any one player who has earned the right in 2018 to say whatever the heck he wants – and later back it up – it’s Javy Baez.
The Cubs’ shortstop/second baseman/magician will not win the MVP thanks to Christian Yelich’s Bondsian September, but it’s incredible to think that Baez was even in that conversation. So strong was his breakout this year.
So, then, if he wants to have some belief in himself and his teammates in advance of tonight’s Wild Card Game, I say good. Go. God bless.
“We’ve got to go out there and have fun,” Baez said this evening, per NBCS Chicago. “We’ve got to go out there and compete. If we do that, there’s no team that can beat us, and they know that. So that’s why they run their mouth a lot, because they know we’re the best.”
Javy Baez calls out Cubs' critics: “That's why they run their mouth a lot, because they know we're the best” https://t.co/9CW0KtAteH pic.twitter.com/MdFI4zuj6D
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) October 2, 2018
Javy Baez sounds a bit angry: "They know we're the best." pic.twitter.com/PBOg19hynT
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) October 2, 2018
On that last part, I think it’s possible Baez meant they were *IN* the heads of everyone, and he’s totally right about that. In the National League for the past few years, the Cubs carry the conversation. Going to the World Series has literally meant going through the Cubs in the NLCS for three straight years. If the Cubs aren’t a little extra in the heads of their opponents, then their opponents are catatonic.