After a frustrating weekend in Cincinnati where the Chicago Cubs were swept by the last-place Reds, Chicago gets set to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in LA on Monday night. Luckily for them, St. Louis beat Milwaukee twice over the weekend, so Chicago remained two games out of first place despite the sweep.
The Cubs are 42-33 entering this four-game series against the Dodgers, and are in much better shape than they were at this time last year. But for some reason, it seems the angst amongst Cubs' fans is much greater. I understand they've been inconsistent and frustrating to watch at times this season, but the sheer panic has been absurd.
I have some thoughts and observations about the 2018 Cubs so far, and have shared them below. Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DhruvKoul.
1) I want to begin with a shout out to Jon Lester. What an ace he's been, huh? He has steadied the rotation with a brilliant season so far. After 15 starts, Lester sports a 9-2 record, a miniscule 2.10 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and a .207 BAA. Over the last two months especially, he's been extremely reliable and has gone deep into games, preserving the bullpen when they've absolutely needed it (more on that later).
2) I was excited about the Tyler Chatwood signing when it was first announced. He'd pitched half his career games up to that point at the hitter-friendly Coors Field, and his road splits were very encouraging. And with a "road park" becoming his new home park, I thought this would be a very sneaky but very good signing. So far, though, Chatwood has imploded. His absolute lack of command has killed him this season. He has pitched 68.1 innings so far this year, and has walked 63 hitters! That's a pace of 8.3 BB per 9 IP! Absurd! His WHIP is an ungodly 1.73, yet Chatwood only has a .227 BAA and a 3.95 ERA. So somehow, despite the numerous jams he has created for himself, he's done well to limit the damage score-wise. And that's why I think, in the long run, this signing will work out. He has good stuff. And his awful command really can't get much worse. So there's hope. Of course, he's only on pace to pitch 147.1 innings this season, though, so things need to change quickly for the sake of the bullpen. BTW, as an aside, his struggles prompted this joke from me recently. I was quite proud of it. In all seriousness, though, congratulations to the happy couple and expecting parents!
3) Speaking of Chatwood's short starts, the bullpen has been absurdly overused this season. They've been largely brilliant, but they have pitched way too much. Granted, Joe Maddon has given the quick hook to many of the Cubs' starters this year and that's hurt as well. But in general, when the bullpen has been on notice to pitch close to five innings at least every fifth day, that hurts. I'll admit that I've been impressed, though, that the bullpen has largely held it together with Carl Edwards Jr. being out for a while and Brandon Morrow's usage being watched closely. Steve Cishek has been extremely underrated for his overuse but solid effectiveness. Pedro Strop continues to be dominant and dependable. Justin Wilson has largely rebounded from his own command issues from last year. And many of the unheralded relievers, such as Anthony Bass, Luke Farrell, and Justin Hancock, have done a nice job in certain situations. 4) Special mention for the GOAT, though, in Randy Rosario. Seriously, he's been great. The GOAT stuff on Twitter is fun, but let's give the kid some serious props. He has pitched very well in some high-leverage situations this year; much better than say, Brian Duensing. Theo Epstein stole him from the Minnesota Twins. 5) The Cubs could probably use another strong reliever in the pen, especially as insurance for some of their injured back-end guys. But I definitely don't think the Cubs should trade from their current 25-man roster to do so. I saw a Brad Hand-for-Ian Happ rumor the other day. I don't like it. Hand is great, but Happ is more valuable today, not just for the future. 6) Mike Montgomery has been amazing in the rotation while filling in for Yu Darvish. When Darvish returns healthy (something I'm very excited for), it's going to be so hard to pull Montgomery from the rotation. I don't mind the idea of a six-man rotation, personally. Save some of the wear and tear on the other starters as long as you're getting effective outings from them. What's there to lose? 7) The Jason Heyward we've been witnessing over the last month or two has been really fun to watch. He's been hitting almost everything on the nose, and his average has risen up over his career numbers. While I don't honestly think this level of Heyward will continue, if we get even 75% of this (which is still a TON better than his first two years in Chicago), I'll take it. If he can sustain it for at least three of his next five years, I'll take that too. And before you ask -- No. There's no way in hell that he's opting out after this year. 8) Mike Trout is the best player in baseball. But Javy Baez might be the most exciting player in baseball. Watching him play every day is an absolute treat. Don't take his abilities and accomplishments for granted, folks -- what he's able to do in the field and on the basepaths is extraordinary. 9) The Cubs' overall power outage is a little concerning. I certainly attribute a lot of it to their adjustments with new hitting coach, Chili Davis. They're driving the ball pretty well, but it has resulted in reduced power for many of the main guys: Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, and Addison Russell. Baez, Kyle Schwarber, and Anthony Rizzo have done better than them in this regard, but it could still be much better. 10) Albert Almora Jr. is amazing. 11) Kyle Hendricks needs to solve his home run issue. He's already given up 14 of them this year in 89.1 IP. He's done a solid job overall and has lost some tough games, but he has not quite been as effective as the last couple of years. He's been missing his spots a bit, especially with his changeup. Once he fixes that, things will get better for him. 12) While it's fun to hate on the Milwaukee Brewers on Twitter, they're actually a good team. Adding Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich in the offseason were great moves, and the emergence of Josh Hader gives them exceptional length in their bullpen. And somehow, their collection of starters, while being so random name-wise, has performed well. This isn't a team that's going to suddenly die in September like they did last year. The Cubs are the better team, but Milwaukee is a very worthy opponent. If you don't believe me, consider that the Cubs have largely dominated them this season and they still sit in first place by two games. 13) The Cubs lead the National League in so many hitting and pitching categories, which may seem hard to believe considering their inconsistencies on a day-to-day basis. But the stats don't lie. There is still more than half a season remaining, and the Cubs, in my mind, are still the team to beat in the National League. So while living through games like the four that happened this weekend in Cincinnati are frustrating in the moment and difficult to "live through", keep in mind that in the long run, the Cubs are going to be fine. So no more doomsday Tweets, please.
