April 20--The Cubs have made remarkable strides against the rival Cardinals since last September, but general manager Jed Hoyer believes the Cubs still have some significant steps to take.
Hoyer was an executive with the Boston Red Sox that saw their rivalry with the New York Yankees intensify dramatically, with the Yankees beating the Red Sox fo the American League title in 2003 before the Red Sox dethroning them in 2004 and winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007 before the Yankees winning the title in 2009.
"I feel like we come in here now and expect really good baseball games," Hoyer said. "I don't think there's any sense this is a team we can't compete with. We know we can compete with these guys. We played well against them the second half of last season, plus hopefully we'll keep that going to this year.
"They've been a great team for a long time. I think that's a testament to them. The steadiness of this organization is remarkable. We're absolutely trying to get to that point. At least when we come here we feel there are two good teams playing, and we have to execute our pitches, make plays and get hits. But it's not a sense we don't have that ability. We have that ability."
Hoyer said the challenge for the Cubs, who haven't won a division title since 2008, is getting to that level on an annual basis.
"They do it every single year, and we got to get to that point," Hoyer said.
