Chicago Cubs news: Jake Arrieta provides excu…reason for poor start
Since Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta‘s superhuman performance in the 2015 season, he’s struggled. He recently explained the reason behind those struggles.
The Chicago Cubs haven’t exactly set the world on fire this season the way they did last year. With a 36-34 record, they are just mediocre. A number of players experienced some tough times. One of them is pitcher Jake Arrieta.
Since Arrieta’s superhuman performance in 2015, he hasn’t been the same. At times, especially this season, he’s looked downright human. Since posting video game numbers with an ERA of 0.75 and a WHIP of 0.73 in 15 starts after the All-Star break in 2015, he’s posted average numbers. He owns an ERA of 3.53 and a WHIP of 1.15 in 45 starts. This season, those numbers are a 4.64 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP in 14 starts. That continued the trend from the second half of last season when he posted a 4.44 ERA.
Of course, with the Cubs winning games on their way to also winning the World Series, his performance wasn’t a big concern. Additionally, he helped the Cubs win games in the postseason so many figured he just turned it on for the bright lights.
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Behind the scenes, however, the Cubs have been trying to figure out what’s happening with Arrieta.
In an interview with FOXSports’ Ken Rosenthal last week, Arrieta gave an excuse, er, explanation, for his struggles.
"As much as we don’t want to say that it carries over from season to season, throwing almost 500 innings over the past two years, I think it did have some effect. I’m not hurt or injured. It’s just that I think my body has reacted accordingly and it’s taken a little bit longer to regain the form that I would like to be in."
I am a big Cubs fan, but this smells like excuse making. Remember when Arrieta talked so much about his training regimen? Pilates and weight lifting were supposed to help him endure the rigors of a baseball season. Now, however, it seems that the regimen hasn’t worked,
Additionally, Arrieta also used a thumb injury to explain his difficulties.
Command of his pitches is a big concern. He threw 16 wild pitches last season (which led the league), an increase of 10 from 2015. This season, he already has 12.
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What Arrieta should do is work on his command and stop giving excuses, err, reasons for his struggles. Don’t worry about talking about the problem and just fix it. If he doesn’t, he’ll miss out on a huge payday that was just a foregone conclusion just a season and a half ago.