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CHICAGO (AP) — After four consecutive playoff appearances and the 2016 World Series title Jesus Aguilar Jersey , the Chicago Cubs are way past playing for Joe Maddon’s future.They also know what’s going on, too.Maddon is entering the final year of his contract after the team declined to offer an extension to its 65-year-old manager. While president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has said he thinks the relationship will continue past this season, the situation with Maddon hovers over the Cubs as they try to bounce back from last year’s disappointing finish.“I love Joe. He’s created a culture here that can’t be beat anywhere in the league,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “I’m obviously biased. I think Joe, when he talks everyone listens. He has so much knowledge. When he talks he is like a father figure. He gets it, and he understands it.”Maddon took a more hands-on approach during spring training after the Cubs blew a five-game lead in the NL Central last September and were eliminated by Colorado in the NL wild card game. He joined new hitting coach Anthony Iapoce for extensive work with the team on situational hitting, looking to help an offense that was plagued by inconsistency last year.Chicago hit an NL-best .258 last season and scored 761 runs, fourth in the league. But it also managed one run or less in a whopping 39 games.The remedy for the Cubs’ offensive issues might be on the roster, or at least they hope so after they failed to make any major moves over the winter.Kris Bryant is healthy again after he was hampered by left shoulder inflammation last year. Ian Happ stumbled in his second major league season, and Willson Contreras is looking to return to form after he hit just 10 homers and struck out 121 times in 138 games.“A lot of times as a player you try too hard http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey ,” Contreras said. “You fail and you step up. Last year was a learning year for me, my second full season in the big leagues. This year is going to be a little bit easier.”The Cubs open the season March 28 at Texas.IN NEED OF RELIEFThe bullpen has potential, but health is a major concern at the moment. Closer Brandon Morrow will miss the start of the season while he recovers from elbow surgery. Pedro Strop has been hampered by right hamstring trouble, and Tony Barnette and Xavier Cedeno also are dealing with injuries. Steve Cishek, Carl Edwards Jr. and newcomer Brad Brach could get plenty of work until reinforcements arrive from the injured list. The 32-year-old Cishek had a 2.18 ERA in a career-high 80 appearances in his first year with Chicago. Brach had 12 saves and a 3.59 ERA in 69 games for Baltimore and Atlanta last season.NEW FACESThe Cubs are hoping Daniel Descalso can provide some additional veteran leadership after he agreed to a $5 million, two-year contract in December. The utility infielder hit .238 with a career-best 13 homers and 57 RBIs in 138 games with Arizona last season.LOOKING GOODJon Lester, Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana form what could be baseball’s deepest rotation. Lester went 18-6 last year with a 3.32 ERA. Darvish missed most of his first season with Chicago because of injuries, but looked much better this spring. Hamels provided a big lift after he was acquired in a July trade with Texas Travis Shaw Jersey , and Hendricks and Quintana also are consistent performers.JAVY TIMEJavier Baez is coming off a breakout season , becoming one of baseball’s biggest stars. The slugger hit .290 with 34 homers and an NL-high 111 RBIs while playing his usual stellar defense all around the infield. Producing a similar year could be a tough task.WORTH WATCHINGAlbert Almora Jr. played in a career-high 152 games in 2018, and the results were mixed. Almora, who turns 25 on April 16, batted just .234 in September. The sixth-overall pick in the 2012 draft could help strengthen Chicago’s lineup with a better all-around performance this season. Here's a rundown of all 30 MLB teams and where they stand in relation to their preseason over/unders.The 2018 MLB regular season has come to an end so let’s see how all 30 MLB teams did in reference to their preseason win total.How did your bets do?MLB Win Total TrackerMLB Opening Win TotalsHouston Astros: 97.5 | Los Angeles Dodgers: 95.5 | New York Yankees: 94.5Cleveland Indians: 94.5 | Chicago Cubs: 93.5 | Washington Nationals: 93.5Boston Red Sox: 92 | St. Louis Cardinals: 86 | Arizona Diamondbacks: 85Los Angeles Angels: 84.5 | Milwaukee Brewers: 83.5 | Minnesota Twins: 83New York Mets: 82.5 | Seattle Mariners: 81.5 | Colorado Rockies: 81.5Toronto Blue Jays: 81.5 | San Francisco Giants: 79.5 | Philadelphia Phillies: 78.5Oakland Athletics: 75.5 | Atlanta Braves: 75 | Texas Rangers: 75Tampa Bay Rays: 74 | Pittsburgh Pirates: 74 | Cincinnati Reds: 74Chicago White Sox: 72.5 | San Diego Padres: 72.5 | Baltimore Orioles: 72.5Kansas City Royals: 70 | Detroit Tigers: 67 | Miami Marlins: 63.5Odds and EndsThe 2010 San Diego Padres eclipsed their preseason win total of 71.5 in the 119th game of the year, the quickest to cash in the past decade. The Padres won 90 games that year for the first time since 1998, but failed to make the playoffs.In the past five seasons, seven different teams have had their preseason win total decided on the final day of the regular season, including the Los Angeles Angels and St. Louis Cardinals last season.No team entered the 2018 MLB regular season with more than two consecutive seasons going over their preseason win total. Seven different teams were at two straight. On the contrary, the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds entered 2018 with the longest streak of consecutive years finishing below their preseason win total 鈥?a total of five seasons http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , since 2013.If you are going to win it all, you’d better go over your preseason win total. Since 2004, only two of the 28 eventual World Series participants went under their preseason win total. The 2012 Detroit Tigers were one. They got swept by the San Francisco Giants after winning 88 games, 4.5 games below their preseason win total (92.5). The other was the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Tigers in five games after winning just 83 games in a weak NL Central, 11 games below their preseason win total (94).