The two faces of Chicago baseball

May 11, 2018

The Cubs remind me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not to worry. The Dr. Jekyll will be the dominant personality of this team that will make the post season. The pitching has been solid. The starters are doing their jobs. The acquisition of Morrow as your closer has worked out very well. That being said, the pitching gave them a five game winning streak with little help from the bats. Aside from Darvish, the pitching was good, just not good enough to avoid a five game losing streak as the hitters continued to struggle. The Cubs may not be playing their best, however their fortunes have changed. The bats awoke in the three game sweep of the Marlins. They should win three more in row against the lousy White Sox.

The only thing to worry about is this team has never hit good pitching. In the 2015 divisional playoffs, they lost four straight to great pitching of the Mets. Playing the what if game; do they win the World Series if the Indians had both Kluber and Carasco?  In 2017, do they get past the Nationals if Scherzer is healthy? You saw what happened when the bats were colder than April weather against the Dodgers. Alas, these are things you don’t have to fret about until October.

For Cub fans, here’s the dream: when trade season starts, obtain and sign Machado. You have the cash, so make sure you sign free agent Bryce Harper. You’ll have the most potent offense in baseball. 

   
You’ve heard the slogan, "Ricky’s boys don’t quit." You've also heard the White Sox give you 27 outs. The problem is they give the opponents 30 outs. This is probably the worst defense in baseball. Look around, balls bouncing off catcher's mitts; back handing pitches in the dirt. They say Castillo can throw but doesn’t get the chance. The stolen base has, for the most part, become a lost art. The first man is adequate, the second baseman is learning and third base has been pretty good. Shortstop Anderson made 17 errors last year and hasn’t gotten any better. To compensate, he has to do a lot better with his hitting.

Nicky Delmonico is the worst defensive left fielder since Ralph Garr. Ground balls are consistently over run or bobbled. His routes on balls to his right are terrible. At least Garr hit .300 and has stolen bases. By trading Saladino you would be hard pressed to find someone worse. Say hello to Trayce Thompson. Thought to be a good defensive outfielder, you see bad routes and catchable balls bouncing off the outfield fence. His batting average is less than Adam Engel’s .167, the only really good defensive player.

For Sox fans, the call up of Eloy Jimenez can’t come fast enough. He may need development but is still better than any outfielder they have.  Meanwhile, Michael Kopech lingers in the minors. With Rodon coming back and Dylan Cease on the rise, has there been any thought given to making Kopech a relief pitcher? This is something they clearly lack and Kopech has closer stuff.