The Cubs don't feel the need to apologize to their fans for not winning the World Series again in 2017.
When it takes 108 years to win just one, Cubs' fans shouldn't be too greedy.
But as they go about their business of trying to get back to the Series, the lackluster start of 2017 still hangs over the Cubs' heads with the new season only a couple of weeks away.
What can they do to avoid the pitfalls of last April, when the World Series hangover seemingly was in full effect?
"We had a pretty dang good season last year, considering a lot of the flaws we had individually and as a team," third baseman Kris Bryant said. "I think we've added so much this year in terms of coaches and players and personalities that all the new stuff will take over and improve (areas where) we didn't do well last year."
Despite a poor showing against the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series last October, the Cubs were still the first defending World Series champion to return to the playoffs the next year since the 2012 Cardinals won a wild-card spot.
They also became the first champion to both win the division and reach 90 victories the next year since the 2008 Phillies went 93-69 and took the NL East in '09. Before that, the last champ to win the division after winning the World Series was the 2001 Diamondbacks, who captured the NL West in 2002.
After being asked about the hangover all spring last year, the Cubs started out 13-11 in April, then fell to 12-16 in May.
"It was just different intensity," Anthony Rizzo said of the rough start. "It's hard to match the intensity of a Game 7 World Series, or being down 2-1 to the Dodgers (in the '16 NLCS) and coming back and beating (Clayton) Kershaw.
"To have the same intensity in April on a weekend series against the Red Sox, a Sunday Night Baseball (game) in Fenway Park, it was like night and day difference."
Now the hangover effect is the problem of the Astros, who won Game 7 of the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers and hope to avoid the dreaded Series hangover.
"I'm not expecting any World Series hangover," general manager Jeff Luhnow told me after the season. "But any time you have a great season and play all the way until the end, there's a chance you're not going to get off to a great start the following year, and everyone is going to be trying to beat you.
"We're going to do everything we can to prepare and hope it doesn't happen to us. But I'm not sure I'd call it a hangover when the Cubs went to the NLCS."
Whether the Cubs' hangover was real, Astros starter Dallas Keuchel isn't concerned about Houston following their blueprint. When the Washington Post recently asked him about the World Series hangover, Kuechel shot back: "We're not the Cubs. I firmly believe we have better players."
That may or may not be the case, though Rizzo said he's looking forward to seeing how the Astros get through the early part of the season.
"It'll be interesting," he said. "On paper they're the team to beat, no doubt. They've reloaded even more and have another year of experience. It's just a different mentality that has been proven year after year.
"We were one of only a few teams in recent years to get back to the playoffs after winning the World Series. It says a lot about who we are, because it's not easy in today's game."
Bryant agreed that fans often overlook the Cubs' three-year run of being in the NLCS because they expected a repeat in '17.
"Getting to the NLCS three years in a row is really hard to do, let alone get in the playoffs three years in a row," he said. "As a fan, you're a die-hard. Once you're coming off the World Series with the core we have and the players we have, I guess it can be seen as a letdown.
"It was a bit in our minds. We want to win a World Series every year, and we feel for them. We're out on the field every day trying hard to get to that point again."
Without a hangover effect, there's no excuse for this year's team not to get off to a running start and keep the heat on the Brewers and Cardinals to keep up with them.
"We've talked about getting off to a hot start," Kyle Hendricks said. "Two years we did a really good job at that. Last year, not so much. I think a lot of it, with these position guys, they play so many innings man, throughout the year. You can see it in their legs already. There's a lot more life, a lot more energy even here in spring. They've already got their legs underneath them.
"That's a very good sign and I just think that's going to do us wonders starting off the season."
