COVID-19 Free First Place Chicago Cubs

 

August 20, 2020

After their first 24 games, the Cubs (16-8) have soared to the top of the National League Central Division. Starting 3-2, they won 6 of 7 against the last place teams in their respective divisions, the Pittsburgh Pirates and K.C. Royals. This is what good teams do. They dominate the teams they’re supposed to and play a little over .500 against the rest. There will probably be some bumps in the road as the season progresses. However, looking at the other teams in the division, the Cubs should probably receive an automatic playoff berth.

The major reason for the good start was the pitching. I took a lot of flak from Cub fans when I said Kyle Hendricks was not an elite pitcher. Heading into the season Hendricks was 21 games over .500. Among current pitchers only the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, the Mets Jacob deGrom and the Red Sox Chris Sale have a better E.R.A. than Hendricks. So with apologies, I was wrong. Yu Darvish looks like he has regained his form from last year as one of the best pitchers in baseball. With a little run support and help from the bullpen, the Cubs will win a vast majority of their starts. When you look at both Central Divisions, only the Cleveland Indians Shane Bieber and Mike Clevinger pose as good of a dynamic duo at the front of the rotation.

To have a real good season other starters have to help. The most promising is Jon Lester. Although he doesn’t have the same stuff as in the past, he still knows how to get batters out. After him it’s a crapshoot. It looked as if Tyler Chatwood was going to work out. After two games his ERA was 1.60. In his next start he gave up 8 runs in two innings and currently is on the IL. Alec Mills started out with an E.R.A under 2.00, but has since been what was expected, getting hit hard. His ERA has skyrocketed.

Craig Kimbrel’s early season woes cost him his closer role. Former closer Jeremy Jeffress has taken over. However, the set-up men are a big question mark. The good news is Kimbrel has looked great as of late. He even got the save in the Cubs last victory as his fastball was clocked at 98-99 mph. Perhaps Kimbrel and Jeffress can solidify the back end of the bullpen.

It’s a good thing the Cubs have had good pitching because with the exception of Ian Happ, the hitting has been awful. Anthony Rizzo’s .239 average is the best in the top half of the line-up. Javier Baez is flirting with the Mendoza line.

It seemed like a good idea to have Kris Bryant lead off but that hasn’t worked out. The upside is all these players are proven hitters and should improve. The oft injured Bryant has been replaced by Happ in the lead-off spot and should remain there when Bryant returns. Bryant is looking for a big pay day as a free- agent. He has a history of injuries and is having a lousy season. Combined with the virus causing owners to lose money, I don’t believe he will offered the big deal he seeks.  If I were Bryant, I’d re-open negotiations with the Cubs and try to get a long term deal with financial stability.

Former catchers usually make good managers and David Ross is no exception. Keeping him around the organization was a great idea. It allowed a seamless transition in replacing Joe Maddon. He seems to have lit a fire into this team. You can tell he has full control. He had no problem demoting high paid, free-agent acquisition Kimbrel. He is very adept at handling pitching changes. The hope is, it won’t be long before he realizes Bryant should not be the lead-off man.