Chicago Cubs: Positives and negatives from series sweep vs. Cardinals

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Yu Darvish continues to walk batters at an alarming rate.

The Chicago Cubs had a great weekend against their bitter rivals, so there’s not a lot to be negative about. However, there should start to be some level of concern regarding Yu Darvish. I was willing to give him a handful of starts this season to get back on track after making just eight starts last season.

Darvish really struggled with his command on Saturday as several of his pitches bounced into home plate. He continues to give up walks and home runs at an astronomical rate, 17.8 percent and 2.20 home-runs per nine innings (both career highs). He is getting batters to strike out at a career worst 24.3 percent this season (via Fangraphs).

I do not have a lot of confidence in Darvish right now as he failed to record an out in the fifth inning. He has completed six innings just once this season. It’s not exactly comforting considering how much money he is making, but applause should be given to the bullpen for pitching five shutout innings.

I am also not sure what Tyler Chatwood’s role is on this team anymore. He came into the ninth inning on Sunday with an 11-run lead just to get an inning of work in and gave up back-to-back home-runs. He has been an awful signing and it is probably best to move on from him at this point.