|
So what’s happening with the — as they once (but only once) said in Brooklyn — Woild Champeens?
The best team in MLFB from start to finish last season is chugging along at .500 with a run differential (+2) that says that’s pretty much what they deserve and, in their early June matchup against one
of the elite teams of the 2017 season, they had to pull out a win on Sunday to avoid getting ‘bageled’ in a four-game set vs Colorado. They got out-scored 18-5 in the first three games.
In 2016 they were *By Far* the best team in the NL at preventing runs and were second only to the Rocky Mountain High totals of Colorado when it came to scoring them. That near double coup has
fallen to where they’re right around league average in scoring and only a shade better than the norm in preventing them this year.
So what gives?
Pitching: In 2016 they had just Ten games started by someone other than their main five and most of them were late season choices they made to give regular starters a rest rather than
something they were forced into by injuries, iow, their rotation (Lackey, Lester, Arrieta, Hendricks, Hammel) stayed intact all season.
But Hammel went FA to KCR over the winter, Hendricks in currently on the DL, Lackey is older still, and whatever magic Arrieta found that turned him from a Baltimore bust to a three-year (2014-16)
run with the Cubs which produced a CY and a 2.42 ERA during that span, has now deserted him to the point where he’s merely ordinary right now.
Closing is former KCR Wade Davis, he and set-up guys Carl Edwards Jr. (is he a racecar driver or a hamburger joint?) and 89 y/o Koji Uehara have all been good so that, unlike the Nats, when the
Cubs are losing games it’s usually not through late blown leads.
Offense: Dexter Fowler left both the top of their lineup and the city itself; the clamor to declare Kyle Schwarber as the next generation of super weapon has turned out to be, at best, premature;
their young middle infielders are both OBA’ing at sub-.300 levels; and really only Rizzo & Bryant (the Bryzzo Corp as they’re called on the commercials) are hitting to an OPS+ of over 100
Lineup - although you always have to keep in mind that Maddon likes to mix and match … A LOT!
C - Willson Contreras gets most of the starts although Miguel Montero has been the better hitter
1B - Rizzo, started REAL slow but is back to normal since mid-May or so
Middle IF - Javier Baez at 2nd has given way lately to more Ben Zobrist with Baez shifting to SS in place of the slumping Addison Russell
3B — Kris Bryant plays everyday
OF — Awww who the hell knows? Some combo of Schwarber, Heyward, Zobrist, Almora, Jay, or Happ
Four different guys have started double-digit games in CF, lately it’s been recent call-up Ian Happ, their 22 y/o former 1st round draft pick (#9 overall in 2015)
Heyward's not been as bad as in recent years (87 OPS+ as opposed to last year’s 70) but is still dragging that contract around CF & RF like an anchor
Former StL Cardinal Jon Jay has the best offensive numbers of all the OFs but only plays part-time
Monday 7:10 — deGrom vs Lackey
Lackey is now 38, isn’t pitching that well [4-6; 5.12; 1.37] And, besides that, he’s funny looking and always comes off like an angry asshole.
Tuesday 7:10 — Wheeler vs Jon Lester (L)
Probably been the Cubs best pitcher this year but, like another team I could name, that’s a bit like being the best hockey player in Ecuador [3-4; 4.13; 1.35]
Wednesday 7:10 — Harvey vs Mike Montgomery (L)
A former 1st round pick of the Royals, Montgomery came to the Cubs via Seattle late last season and made five starts for them. He’s been in the bullpen mostly this season as this will be just
his 2nd start of the year.
| 
