The Cubs' exceptional, stellar, historic defense: An appreciation

Elias SteinYou can't huck a paper airplane in Wrigley Field without hitting something the Cubs are the best at. They have the NL's best offense (by OPS+), the NL's best pitching (by ERA+), the NL's defending Manager of the Year and, since the trade deadline, arguably the NL's best bullpen. Their baserunning -- well, their baserunning is only average, which is hardly enough for the Giants to build a battle plan around.

To really appreciate the Cubs, though, background all those bests and focus on their defense. This will not be easy. Most great defense is of the slow-and-steady-wins-the-race variety, a ragout of positioning, lineup decisions, first steps and fundamentals. It's body awareness,…