Chicago Cubs 2021 season

#777      
We have come full circle- back to the lovable losers- complete with jokes-
 

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#783      
White Sox averaged 10 runs a game in the three game series even while being shut out once.
The pitching has been absolutely horrific for a couple months now. Overall team ERA is 4.76.

From the start of the season to the season high water mark of 11 games over .500 on June 13, the team ERA was 3.66 in 66 games.
From June 14 to the trade deadline on July 30, team ERA was 5.06 in 40 games.
Since the trade deadline on July 31, team ERA has been 7.04 over 27 games.

So the team pitching had already gone down the tubes prior to the trade deadline and then has absolutely cratered since then. And as much as we might want to blame the various AAAA nobodies for the collapse, it's really been the holdovers from the beginning of the season that are primarily to blame.

Since the trade deadline:

Hendricks - 6.49 ERA in 34.2 IP. 3.85 ERA before deadline.
Davies - 7.94 ERA in 22.2 IP. 4.32 ERA before deadline.
Alzolay - 8.31 ERA in 13 IP (and on injured list). 4.73 ERA before deadline.
Arrieta - 13.50 ERA in 8 IP (and released). 6.20 ERA before deadline.
Brothers - 7.88 ERA in 8 IP. 4.53 ERA before deadline.
Winkler - 29.45 ERA in 3.2 IP in 6!! appearances (and released). 2.75 ERA before deadline.

Mills' 3.76 ERA in 26.1 IP is about the only bright spot in the group.
 
#784      
It's also somewhat amazing that the Cubs' offense has actually been a bit better since the trade deadline...

.227/.307/.397 slash line, 4.19 R/G before. .248/.298/.403 slash line, 4.40 R/G after.

A little less walking. A little more contact. A little more power. A little more striking out. A few more balls in play finding some green.

A few AAAA veterans like Wisdom, Ortega, Schwindel and Chirinos making the best of their shots. (The first three of those guys will still be under contract next year and will have a shot at being part of the team going forward.) Ian Happ coming back from the dead. While the rest of the guys who are part of the core are either hurt (Contreras, Hoerner), are still sucking (Heyward) or both (Bote). I'd like to see some more of both Hermosillo and Rivas.
 
#787      
Two more wins and we don’t break 100 losses. Can we play the Twins and Pirates for the remainder of the games?
 
#789      

Chilliniwek

Chicagoland
Too bad a lot of people have quit watching the Cubs, the last few weeks have been the most fun I've had watching all season long. Matt Duffy with two consecutive homers today, Frank The Tank with a grand slam on a ball that only Javy would swing at, etc. Frank shaking his head in disbelief, not just about the slam, but about the way his life has changed in a month's time. It's refreshing watching people who are playing for their careers and in many cases, responding to that pressure in a positive way. This isn't by any stretch the worst Cubs team ever as some have said. I've been watching them since 1964 and I've seen some of the worst ones. Not even close.
 
#792      
Comparably (?), Bryan LaHair was an all-star for the Cubs in 2012, then had only another year in the show.

That’s a great comparison.

In 2012, Lahair kept his OPS up over 1.000 for 41 games and 152 plate appearances. Lahair then cratered for a .227/.285/.351 slash line for the remaining 228 plate appearances, and then never played in the Majors again.

Schwindel has been over 1.100 for 32 games and 129 plate appearances.

They’re almost the exact same age when they’re having their big portion of the year. Lahair had a little better minor league track record over a couple more seasons, but it’s not a huge difference and the differences between the various leagues, the relative ages and levels of experience in each league, and so on makes that very difficult to compare apples to apples.

We can be pretty sure the Cubs didn’t suddenly stumble over the next Edgar Martinez. The question is whether Schwindel (and Ortega and Wisdom) can be relatively productive Major Leaguers at a low cost for the Cubs over the next few years.
 
#794      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
But I’d argue the Darvish trade portion of the off-season strategy worked. The Cubs are getting enough from Davies that the money they saved could have gone to upgrades that would have helped them to compete in the division.
still think they are getting enough from Davies?
 
#796      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
I think he’s put up an +8 ERA in the 8 or 9 starts since I posted that. Certified kiss of death. I take full responsibility.
I haven’t watched him this year but he just flat out walks too many based on his stats.