One thing I think the Cubs will likely improve on is...now hear me out here...luck. I found these interesting numbers the other day: Last year, the A's as a team had an OBP of .330. The Cubs had a team OBP of .324. (obviously a DH is responsible for some of the difference here). Additionally, the A's had a team OPS of .737. The Cubs had one of .764. Who had more runs? The A's by 69. I find it hard to believe that a team with an OPS of almost 30 less than another was really nearly 70 runs better. Now, were the Cubs that unlucky or were the A's overly lucky? Or a little of both? Interesting numbers nonetheless. And maybe an indication that if the Cubs really did improve their team OBP, even by 5 points or so, they will be in for a lot more runs.