Chicago Cubs’ Season On The Brink At All Star Break
The Chicago Cubs are limping into the All Star break. They lost three in a row going into Sunday’s game against two of their biggest rivals. They need this break to recharge and regroup, as their season may be on the brink.
Chicago Cubs
After dropping their third game in a row Saturday, frustration is building on the north side of Chicago. The pitching continues to impress, but the offense continues its struggle.
These statistics show the reason for the frustration.
Since June 24, in a span that covers seventeen games, the pitching staff has been brilliant. They have a 2.88 ERA over that period. eight time in those seventeen games Chicago Cubs’ pitching allowed two runs or less EIGHT TIMES!
The record has not reflected the great pitching, however.
Over the past seventeen games, the Cubs are just 10-7. What is their record in those eight games in which they allowed two runs or less? That would be 5-3.
The offense is in the middle of a slump that is threatening a good season so far. In the same period of time that the pitching has been outstanding, the offense has a paltry .215 batting average, and is scoring just 2.5 runs per game.
“I think there’s an overall team frustration,” Jon Lester said Saturday after the Cubs’ loss on Saturday.
“I don’t think you can point fingers at anybody. I think we all accept blame at different times. I don’t like to single out anybody or single out a side of the baseball. Guys are grinding, they’re prepared. That’s all you can ask. The effort is there. The preparation is there.
“It’s a funny game. You square a ball up, the guy catches it. You hit a bleeder, and it goes through a hole. It goes the same way as pitching. We have to continue to do the things and the ball will fall our way eventually.”
After a rough start to the season, Lester has started to get back to the pitcher the Cubs paid a fortune for. In his last six games, he has a 2.35 ERA to go with a minuscule 0.94 WHIP, and batters are hitting just .190 against him. He has not won a game in that period, though, going 0-3. The Cubs are 3-3 in his starts.
Lester is not the only starter who has suffered because of the offense. Jake Arrieta has a 2.80 ERA with just a 9-5 record. Jason Hammel has a 2.86 ERA and has just five wins. Kyle Hendricks has a 3.55 ERA, and has only four wins. In fact, the 3.34 ERA for the staff ranks fifth in the major leagues, yet the team is stuck playing a “win three, lose four, win five, lose four” type of baseball.
The Cubs are now nine games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, and holding a tenuous one game lead over the New York Mets for the last Wild Card spot.
If the Cubs do not heat up and rack up some wins quickly, would Theo Epstein use some of his prospects for a one-game playoff? I know it’s been awhile since the Cubs played in the playoffs, and, of course, even longer since they won a World Series, but Epstein is looking to build a yearly contender, not just a one-year wonder.
If the Cubs are just Wild Card contenders the way they are now, we may not see any blockbuster trades coming out of Wrigley. Maybe some smaller deals. It would be a shame, because the Cubs have been oh so close to being a real contender.
They may still end up winning a Wild Card, but the real fireworks for the Cubs may come during the upcoming offseason.
Next: Chicago Cubs Trade Rumors: Targeting San Diego Padres Starting Pitchers
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