August has been very hot and humid, but that pales in comparison to the status of baseball’s best team, the Chicago Cubs. At 81-45, the lovable losers are seven games clear of the rest of the MLB and 13.5 ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the division.
They are currently an MLB-best 28-10 since the All-Star break and continue to provide a ton of excitement to the North Side of Chicago. With just over one month left in the regular season, I wanted to take a look back at what got the Cubs to this spot.
Pitching Staff
In my opinion this is the biggest difference from a season ago. Sure, the staff was solid during the regular season, but on the biggest stage they crumbled under pressure in the NLCS. Even Jake Arrieta who had an historic second-half seemed to wear down in late October v.s. the Mets.
Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer made the conscience decision to add veteran experience this offseason in the form of John Lackey. Lackey, a proven playoff performer with the Angels, Red Sox, and Cardinals, figures to be a huge part in how the Cubs fare in two months time. He is currently on the DL, but is expected back for the start of September.
The rest of the staff features Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Jason Hammel. All five guys have an ERA under 3.50 and everyone has double digit wins except for Lackey. Hammel struggled mightily down the stretch last year but he seems to be getting stronger with each start this time around.
Lester and Arrieta have been so consistent that you can basically expect at least 7 innings and two or fewer runs just about anytime they step on the hill. That leaves us with Kyle Hendricks. If you told me at the start of the year that he would be a Cy Young candidate I would have probably laughed in your face. But that is exactly what he has become by pitching late in games and leading the league in earned run average.
With this embarrassment of riches, one of the main topics of conversation amongst fans has been what the rotation should look like for a playoff series? This could go a number of different ways, but if it was up to me, I would go Lester game 1 then Hendricks for game 2 just because of how much better he is at Wrigley Field. Sending Arrieta and Lackey for games 3 & 4 on the road is ideal due to their playoff experience. Then that leaves Lester for a game 5 if necessary with Hammel being the odd man out.
We will see how it plays out but don’t be surprised if Joe Maddon looks to conserve his starters by pulling them earlier in these games. Having such a huge divisional lead allows him to do this.
Starting Line-up
Opposing pitchers must dread facing this team mainly because there are no breaks in it. One thru eight can all hit and a lot like the pitching staff, their depth allows Maddon to play around with different line-ups. Fowler is a great leadoff hitter who continues to set the table for the power hitters.
Then you get to MVP (and should be presidential candidate) Bryzzo. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo have been the best two players in the National League in 2016 and both bring more than just power. They both have great eyes at the plate drawing a great number of walks. Bryant does strike out a lot, but his totals are down from last year and even still he more than makes up for those K’s with his defense and baserunning. Having two guys on pace for over 30 HR’s and 100 RBI’s is such a luxury to have.
Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward were the big offensive acquisitions this offseason and they have not disappointed. Heyward hasn’t had the year at the plate that he wanted to, but he is the best defensive outfielder on the team and that alone is good enough to keep him in the line-up most nights. Zobrist has cooled off since hitting .350 earlier in the season but make no mistake, he has still been very productive.
Then you look at the top infielders on the Cubs: Addison Russell and Javier Baez. Probably my two favorite players on the team, they are the present and future middle infielders for this organization. Russell, the starting shortstop in the All-Star-Game was widely criticized for his “pedestrian” first half numbers, but has quickly shut up those doubters early in the second half of the season. He has 19 HR’s and 80 RBI’s (By the way, he’s 22 year’s old!). Baez will never hit for average, he strikes out a lot, and isn’t very patient at the plate, but he gets on base, brings a lot of pop in his bat, and makes the kind of defensive plays that will make your jaw drop. I full heartedly think he’s the best fielder I’ve ever seen.
With Miguel Montero struggling and David Ross serving as a backup who catches on Lester starts, the organization has given the catcher reigns to Willson Contreras. The 24-year-old from Venezuela was called up this year and has played exceptionally well. Everyone knew what he could do at the plate and the power he has, but now people are starting to see what he does behind the plate and as a Cubs fan, I’m giddy to see this young stud for the next decade plus.
Sure, this team is more than capable of getting to the World Series this year, but they are set up to be in contention with this core of talent 10 years down the road.
In conclusion, I’ll leave you with one little tidbit that I find simply amazing. My 23rd birthday is on Monday, October 31st. Game 5 of the World Series is the night of Sunday, October 30th, hopefully in Wrigley Field. Talk about potentially the best birthday present ever!
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