I agree. You leave an asset like that alone when he's just getting to the show. Can't believe they don't have anyone else who could have made the transition for a while.
19 games. I have to preface this by saying 19 games.
The Chicago Cubs have only played 19 games this season, but their early success has fans and commentators alike raving about what this Cubs team can be. Sure they jumped out to a 12-7 start, and sure the team has had huge contributions from young stars. But, could this really be a special Cubs season?
April Success
After Jason Hammel masterfully shutdown the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, the Cubs clinched their first .500 or better month since their last playoff berth in 2008. They also hit the four games over .500 mark for the first time since the 2009 season.
Although myself and many other, let’s say… realists, have cautioned Cubs fans to not buy-in too much with the talk around the team. I’ve told many Cubs fans personally to just remain calm and enjoy what should be a very fun season of baseball on the North Side.
Is it time that even us, realists, begin to believe?
I thought the team was going to be much improved, but this much? Are we all just drinking the Kool-Aid or is this for real? I can’t exactly be sure just yet, but there is no debating which side of the argument Anthony Rizzo is on.
“Huge,” Rizzo said. “We preached it in spring training: We’ve got to survive April. We can’t put ourselves in a hole like we’ve done in years past. We’re doing a good job of coming to the park every day and playing with a lot of energy and having run and really playing with a purpose.”
Rizzo has been preaching that the Cubs will win the division since January of this year, before a single pitch was recorded, before Kris Bryant and Addison Russell were apart of this team, and before the Cubs dealt for Dexter Fowler.
Could his confidence be fueling the team’s success?
“We’ve been doing that since January, right? So I guess not really,” Jason Hammel said referencing Rizzo.
Having the confidence that you are going to compete and going out there and actually doing so are completely different things though, right? I mean Yogi Berra once said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical.”
Well the Cubs play late in games suggests the team is hitting on both halves, the mental and physical side of the game.
Rally-Hats
One of the best, and most exciting parts of the young season has been the Cubs crazy ability to fight late in games, especially when they are down. The Cubs have won four games when trailing in the ninth inning so far this season, or a third of their wins, which I’m not certain if the Cubs had four combined come from behind wins in any of the last four seasons. In fact, they were 0-79 last season when trailing going into the 9th inning.
Those wins continue to build the confidence of a team, especially one that is as young as the Cubs are. If a player that is talented is subjected to winning at a young age it can only help build their confidence quicker, and if they are contributing to the team’s wins, well it just helps them believe they belong in the show sooner.
Is the success because of confidence, or because this team is just good? Well, there is a stat that points to good.
The Cubs currently lead the National League in pitches per at bat (3.93) and several members of the team are high on the list of most patient. Anthony Rizzo (4.18), Jorge Soler (3.95) and Dexter Fowler (3.86) all fall within the top 40 in the NL, and those three pale in comparison to Kris Bryant.
Kris currently is seeing 4.29 pitches per at bat, and while that in itself is impressive for a hitter, it is almost unheard of for a young power hitting rookie. Typically teams are OK with a power hitter striking out 100-130 times per season, while walking 50-60 times, with the thought that they are doing more damage by hitting for power and hopefully driving in runs throughout the season that you can forgive those untimely strikeouts.
Bryant on the other-hand is extremely rare in his ability to confidently attack the strike zone, while not extending the zone and swinging at bad pitches.
“His patience is unusual,” Maddon said. “Even just talking to him in spring training, he demonstrated a really different level of thinking for what he’s about to do here. He just never seems to be frazzled or anxious about a moment. He seems to have that moment thought out and under control.
“He wants to be in the present tense. He’s very mindful of really enjoying himself out there and not making it a difficult moment.
“All those forces combined to help him not want to try to get it down like right now — ‘My at-bat right now, if I take a walk, it’s a good thing; I’ll get them the next at-bat.’ He’s really been good at that. It’s just been one at-bat at a time.
“The home runs are going to come. Guys like that, when they start hitting them, they start hitting them in clusters.”
This approach screams talent, as well as a very confident ballplayer. What is great is it appears the Cubs have several players up and down the lineup that are just as confident, and you don’t have to look much further than the man that occupies the 3-hole most nights.
Rizzo currently leads the league in OBP (.494) and is benefiting from Bryant’s strong play himself. Since Bryant has joined the Cubs, Rizzo has risen his batting average 85 points, and has reached base in each of the last 14 games.
Contenders or Pretenders?
The team has the offense to compete all year round, and the patience of those hitters should allow them to hang with even the stingiest of pitchers. Even if the team can’t hit the top starters in the league, if they are watching nearly 4 pitches per at bat they will chase pitchers simply on pitch count alone. But will the team have enough pitching to compete, like seriously compete all season?
So far we are certain the team has a legit ace, and it isn’t the man making $20 million this season. No, the team’s ace is Jake Arrieta, and he has earned that title through his first four starts of 2015. Jake currently is 3-1 with a 2.03 era and a minuscule 0.94 WHIP. He leads the Cubs starters in ERA, WHIP, Innings Pitched, strikeouts, and opponents batting average against. While Travis Wood has been solid (1-1 with a 3.24 era), and Jason Hammel’s 1.03 WHIP is very impressive, the team will absolutely need the Jon Lester they paid to step up if they are going to make a serious run at a divisional title.
They also seemingly have everything going right for them so far this season. The Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the NL Central for all but about 15 days in 2014, have gotten off to a horrid start (4-16) and are 9 games out of the division lead. Then over the weekend we learned that the Cardinals have lost one of their top pitchers, Adam Wainwright for the remainder of the 2015 season. Wainwright was a 20 game winner in 2014, and has been a 6.0+ WAR player in four of the last five seasons.
If the Cubs could work a deal to acquire another solid pitcher, and it wouldn’t even need to be a Cole Hamels type, that would significantly increase the team’s chances of being a serious contender in 2015. Although I still might only have one foot inside Dan Plesac’s “Big Blue Train” I have ordered tickets to the team’s October destination.
One thing is for sure, if you ask Jason Hammel on what others think, he just don’t care.
“We’ve worked really hard at understanding that we don’t care what anybody else says,” Hammel said. “It’s what we have, and we’re just going to go off of that.”
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