Da Windy City
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Chicago Cubs: Weak division is a blessing in disguise

By Brandon Hinrichs

May 18, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez (9) slides safely at home plate as Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart (16) waits for the throw during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
May 18, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez (9) slides safely at home plate as Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart (16) waits for the throw during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /
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Heading into Sunday’s matchup against Colorado, the Chicago Cubs find themselves once again struggling on all cylinders. Despite their below .500 record to date, their weak N.L. Central Division gives the Cubs no reason to panic.

Nobody expected the defending World Series Champions, the Chicago Cubs, to be playing mediocre baseball as they hit the early portion of June. Unfortunately, that’s the mystery of competitive sports. What looks good on paper doesn’t always translate to live, game action.

The Cubs were supposed to once again be the favorites to win the World Series heading into 2017. Led by their platoon of young, star hitters, along with their dependable starting pitching, how could they not be?

Player-regression: something Cubs’ management probably thought wouldn’t seize to exist with this current team, is the problem. Players like Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, John Lackey, Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo…might as well name every player on the roster to date, have all regressed in their respective performances from just a season ago.

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While there is still plenty of baseball left to be played to get the defending champs back on track, their saving grace is the division they play in. Out of all the current division leaders to date, the N.L. Central leading Milwaukee Brewers have the worst record heading into Sunday. They currently sit just three games above .500 for the season.  Every other division-leader is at least six games over .500.

Despite owning a 30-31 record, the Chicago Cubs don’t need to go into full crisis mode anytime soon. Not when they’re just two games out of first-place.

If the Cubs were playing in any other division, they would be facing a clear uphill battle to get back into playoff contention. Given their record to date, if it weren’t for the rest of the N.L. Central, the Cubs would likely be vying for one of two wild-card spots. A task more daunting than winning their division, given all the great non-division leading teams out there in the National League.

Because the Cubs can still afford to struggle mightily, while barely losing any more ground in their division, this allows them to potentially resist trading away promising young prospects, in exchange for impactful, ready-to-contribute now, rental players.

The Cubs want to be competitive in the long-haul, not just in the present. While the goal is to win the World Series each year, the last thing the Cubs need is to make a drastic, panic-based move just to fight their way back into playoff contention.

Related Story: Chicago Cubs: Is Kyle Schwarber continuing to fool us all?

That’s why the Cubs are lucky to still be in the position that they’re in. Struggling, yet still very much in striking distance. The Cubs could theoretically finish with a .500 record and still win their weak division. All without giving up any premier talent along the way.

And that, is a blessing in disguise, to say the least.

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