CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs have the best defense in baseball. It might be the best team defense we've seen in some time -- quite some time.
Historically, so much of defensive evaluation has been anecdotal and, therefore, inconclusive. Even now, with rivers of data flowing into our collective hardball consciousness, we haven't reached the point where we can make specific judgments about defense with any real certainty. Still, I am more or less certain that the Cubs are playing unusually special defense.
"Just through a natural progression, maturity-wise, some guys have just gotten better," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Because they're good. We're making the routine play routinely. We've made some pretty spectacular plays all over the field."
The anecdotal evidence of those is all over the place, and the evidence mounts with each game. The Cubs have young, elite, versatile athletes everywhere on the field, even behind the plate, now that rookie Willson Contreras is getting more of a workload. They can run, they have excellent instincts and terrific technique, and they are usually well-positioned by the Cubs coaching staff. They make plays both routine and spectacular.