It's funny to think that with a 3.5 game lead in the NL Central that a good amount of Cubs fans are feeling pretty good about their odds to win the division and will again have the luxury of watching the team make another post season run. I mean, it's only 3.5 games. However, with as tight as the Central has been all year, that same 3.5 game lead feels like it's about an eight game lead.
It feels like the Cubs are finally beginning to pull away from the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in the month of August which has been aided by the massive production of two of their superstars -- Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo.
Both players had rock solid months of August and although the Cubs only went 15-12 (with two games left), both the Brewers and Cardinals near September 1st playing one game over .500 ball for August. It also helps that the remainder of the Cubs schedule is peppered with cupcakes while the Brewers and Cardinals still have a few tough series remaining on their schedule (not counting series against the Cubs).
Baez has settled into his role as the Cubs everyday shortstop since Addison Russell went on the DL the first week of August. He's slashing .286/.340/.531 in August and has a team-leading seven home runs. He remains one of the Cubs hottest players since the team turned it around after the All-Star break and continues to deliver hits at big moments in games. Of course, as much as I love the offensive production of Javy, it pails in comparison to watching him work his magic in the field.
This is still one of the top three plays I've seen this season.
Even though Anthony Rizzo hasn't provided any jaw-dropping defensive plays this month, his offensive production is just as impressive. He's slashing .359/.432/.612 this month and recently collected his 200th career double while also surpassing his career high in RBI's for a month (currently at 27). His offensive numbers are so good that team's must think that he's going to turn into a base stealer as well.
However, I don't think that will ever happen... So I pose the question Cubs fans, who is your Cubs MVP for the month of August? Baez or Rizzo?
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