Even though they are the reigning World Champions, the Chicago Cubs didn’t start the season as expected. Many experts expected them to cruise their way during the regular season, but that hasn’t been the case so far.
Through almost one-and-a-half month of the campaign, the current World Series winners sit in fourth place of the NL Central. The Cubs have a 17-17 mark entering Thursday’s action, and they sit behind the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds, and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards, in fact, lead the Division and the Cubs are 2.5 games behind them. That’s not the start they wanted.
There are many reasons why the team has not lived up to their pre-season expectations. First of all, their pitching has been quite a problem. The Cubs have struggled on the mound, both with their starters and their relievers.
Kyle Hendricks has not been able to replicate their Cy Young-like campaign from last year. Jake Arrieta has been downright bad in his contract year. Even Jon Lester has been pitching below the expectations. And Brett Anderson has been awful, to the point he landed on the DL and is not likely to play for the Cubs any time soon.
As a whole, Chicago’s starters have a 4.56 ERA, good for 22nd place in all of baseball and eighth in the National League. On the other hand, their relievers have a 2.86 ERA. That figure tops the NL, but it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Chicago’s relievers only have a 5-7 record, and they have blown five saves in 12 chances. That needs to stop soon, because they can’t afford to lose leads when they have a .500 record.
Hitting has been an issue as well. Their .241 average ranks 11th in the NL, and their .724 OPS is 12th. You don’t have to be a genius to realize that below-average pitching and poor hitting is not a recipe for success. However, the individual struggles have also been a part of Chicago’s problems.
Kris Bryant remains hot (.299/.401/.547 with 7 HR and 18 RBI), but the rest of the roster have not been good.
Anthony Rizzo is hitting .218. Kyle Schwarber struggled as a leadoff man, and is currently below the Mendoza line with a .195/.322/.374 line. Addison Russell (.227) and Willson Contreras (.216) have not looked good, either. They have 15 HR and 61 RBI between all four, but they haven’t been consistent. And the Cubs need them to hit on a daily basis. They are the core of the offense, and haven’t looked like that in recent weeks.
There are reasons for optimism, though. Despite the fact Chicago have lost four of their last 10, they remain the same talented team that has reached the NLCS the past two years. And they have an experienced leader in Joe Maddon, who can employ several tactics to turn things around. And we all know everything in baseball tends to stabilize throughout the season.
So don’t panic, Chicago fans. The Cubs might not be doing well right now, but they will bounce back eventually. And they are still on the main favorites to win the World Series for a second straight year.