Levine: Cubs Have A New Motto -- 'Embrace The Target'

By Bruce Levine--

MESA, Ariz. (CBS) -- As their pitchers and catchers officially reported for spring training Friday, the Cubs aren't afraid to accept the pressure of other people's projections. The Cubs won 97 games and advanced the NLCS last season, and now many experts are predicting this team's first World Series championship in 108 seasons.

President of baseball operations Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and manager Joe Maddon handled questions about the team on the first day of spring training. Maddon was asked about Vegas making the Cubs the odds-on favorite to win it all, and he didn't back down.

"My main point of focus is to 'embrace the target,'" Maddon said of the lofty expectations. "That's the thing I am going to talk about. I don't want us to become outcome bias or outcome based. Yes, we want to talk about the playoffs. Yes, we want to talk about winning the division. Yes, talking about playing the last game of the season and winning it. You don't want to get caught up in that thought. How do you do that? That is where we will really be focused. To embrace the target -- what does that mean? We will talk about the expectations and the word 'pressure' that is attached to it. I believe they are really positive words. The process needs to be our anchor."

Maddon's famous philosophical sayings are well documented. The difference between Maddon and other motivators in coaching is his message rings true most of the time. The old "Don't let the pressure take away from the pleasure" Maddon-ism has is part and parcel to the new '"embrace the target" theme.

"You are going to hear all of this noise coming from without to within," Maddon said. "They are really nice things we are hearing. There is nothing to really be upset about. People saying really nice things about us is good. At the end of the day, we have to take care of our own business. That is about utilizing the process on a daily basis. The message of course is going to be to play the last game of the baseball season and win it. How do you win? That is to get our guys to think appropriately on a daily basis."

There's no BS from Maddon. This is all a catchy way to get his players' attention and concentration. For their part, Epstein and Hoyer aren't going to couch optimistic views of the team on their end.

"I don't think we are too concerned about all the pressures and being overconfident," Epstein said. "Fundamentally, we trust the the players we have. Beyond that we are proud of and trust the culture of the organization. That transcends the circumstances you find yourself in any one year. That includes if you're picked to finish first or picked to be last. This is a special place and special time to be in this place.

"We have a very connected organization and terrific, stable ownership. We have a great manager and coaching staff. We have a really united front office. Everyone feels connected. That culture has taken a few years to build and now that it is here, we are going to lean on it.

"We have an appropriate amount of respect and confidence for the journey ahead. We know we haven't done anything yet and that the work begins today. We know a lot of things can go wrong, and we look forward to dealing with them together, with the culture that we are lucky to be a part of."

Epstein, Hoyer and Maddon, along with scouting and development guru Jason McLeon, have created that aura and atmosphere to be successful, so they're going to embrace it.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.