Da Windy City
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Chicago Cubs: The unbiased opinion of a White Sox fan

By Rob Schwarz Jr

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 05: Stephanie Magnuson, 8, of Nevada holds a sign before an exhibition game between the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox at Cashman Field March 5, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS - MARCH 05: Stephanie Magnuson, 8, of Nevada holds a sign before an exhibition game between the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox at Cashman Field March 5, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Cubs, Yu Darvish
Chicago Cubs (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

No Cubs No

Just as I did with the hitting stats, we need to look into some of the more advanced stats. xFIP is an important stat to consider for pitchers. This stat measures a pitcher’s expected run prevention independent of the performance of the defense. xFIP is actually a better indicator of performance than just ERA. This stat is somewhat telling for the Cubs.

As a whole, the Cubs pitching staff is 12th in the league with a 4.35 xFIP. Remember, they were 6th in ERA. Breaking down the pitching staff, the starters are 9th with a 4.28 xFIP and the relievers are 14th with a 4.49 xFIP. Seeing the drop off in advanced stats compared to other teams could be why the Cubs have had struggles from time-to-time.

The other big metric for measuring pitching is SIERA. SIERA is skill-interactive ERA. The point of this stat is to determine the underlying skill level of a pitcher. One big difference between SIERA and FIP or xFIP is that this stat takes into account ball in play. If you want to know more about SIERA, check out Fangraphs Sabermetrics Library.

Also. Chicago Cubs: Ben Zobrist return. light

The Cubs starters are 11th in the league with a 4.21 SIERA. Unfortunately, the relievers are 21st in the league with a 4.47 SIERA. As I write this, the trade deadline has seven hours left. Someone make sure Theo Epstein sees this number (I know he’s seen it), and demand the Cubs find a way to add a quality reliever. (Trade deadline is over and Cubs added a bat in Nick Castellanos)

Breaking down all of these sabermetrics is important when determining the overall performance of a team. The eye test has proved that the Cubs bullpen has struggled this season. Do the number support it? From an ERA standpoint, not as much. However, xFIP shows a wider gap between the starters and relievers. Now add in SIERA and you can see why the bullpen has been damaging to this teams’ record this season.

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