Well the regular season has been over for almost a week and that means another forgettable season in the books for the Cubs. Last week the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field came to a close with a 3-1 win over the Cardinals. With the win the Cubs finished the season at home with a 41-40 record, the first season with a winning record at home since 2009. On a side not the win followed by a loss by the Rockies officially ended my 3 year reign of winning $5 in a bet with a friend. The bet: that the Cubs would finish the season with a worse record than the Rox. The Cubs finished 7 games above the Rockies as the Rox finished with the second worst record in baseball. Back on track, this year went about as well as I expected it too, even before it began. In fact, it actually finished a bit better than I predicted. If I remember correctly I picked the Cubs to win 68 games, two more than last year, and now that the regular season has ended, the Cubs finished with a record of 73-89. So a bad season, but a little better than predicted, and better than a bunch of other teams. I attribute a lot of this success, a lot of which came in the second half of the season, to guys being called up from the farm which in turn, trickles up to the guys calling the shots in the front office: Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.
Since I’m a scientist and a baseball fan, let’s have a look at some stats. First, I’ve detailed the Cubs win percentage by month that can be seen in the graph below.
Since I’m a scientist and a baseball fan, let’s have a look at some stats. First, I’ve detailed the Cubs win percentage by month that can be seen in the graph below.
It doesn’t show a whole lot as the Cubs have generally sucked all season. That’s right, I said it, and I’ll also remind the Colorado readers that we’re still better than the Rockies (so much for your 90 win season Monfort). So since I claimed they were better in the second half (post All-Star Break) let’s compare the two. Before the All-Star Break the Cubs posted a 0.426 win percentage. The Cubs finished with a 0.485 win percentage since the break. So what changed? Weaker opponents in the second half? I don’t think so. Since the break the Cubs have played the AL East winning Orioles (at Wrigley, a three-game sweep by the Cubs…nice), the AL wild card chasing Blue Jays (a road sweep by the Jays…ouch), the Giants (winners of the NL wild card playoff), the NL west winning Dodgers (a pretty rough series at Wrigley but a good one in LA), the Pirates (unfortunate losers of the NL wild card playoff), and the NL Central winning Cardinals (more times than I can remember or care to count). They have also played the former NL Central leaders, the Brewers, taking five of seven. In fact it was a sweep of the Brewers had Wrigley at the start of September that helped the Cards and Pirates catch the Boo Crew and ultimately knock them out of the playoffs…shucks (you’re welcome Taylor and Brian). So if the match-ups weren’t all that easy (granted taking five of seven from the floundering Rockies helped), why the better play. My thought: the arrival of the first fruits from the farm. With the exception of a few players the majority of the AAA call ups came after the break and the guys that were called up before the break were only called up a few days to a week before (the exception being Neil Ramirez called up on April 25). Let’s have a look when some of these guys made their debuts.
Tyoshi Wada, P: July 8
Arismendy Alcantara, IF/OF: July 9
Kyle Hendricks, P: July 10
Javier Baez, IF: August 5
Matt Szczur, OF: August 17
Jorge Soler, OF: August 27
Rafael Lopez, C: September 2
Eric Jokisch, P: September 7
I’m going to focus on the guys called up in July and August (quick note first though, with the exception of late, Ramirez has been a stud in the bullpen). Jokisch and Lopez appeared late in the season but looked pretty good but I didn’t see enough of them to include in this post. OK, Wada and Hendricks have been fantastic on the mound posting records of 4-4 and 7-2 respectively. Hendricks has been especially fantastic with a 2.46 ERA. Also, in Hendricks defense, one of those losses was a 1-0 defeat to the Cards off a Matt Holiday solo shot in the top of the first in what became a duel between Hendricks and Wainwright. I had the chance to watch Hendricks pitch here in Colorado when the Cubs were in town and he just seemed so cool on the mound. I think this kid has a real bright future especially if he keeps hitting the corners like he did all season. Wada finished with a 3.25 ERA and wasn’t as sharp as Hendricks but he too had some close losses as a result of no offense (the last being a 2-1 loss), all in all, not bad for a 33 year old. Rumors are that we might not see Wada next year but barring some moves in the offseason I think he’s still a big asset for the rotation. Alright, time to move on to the position players.
I’ll start at the beginning of the list and work my way down. Before I begin though I would like to point out that, despite late season injuries, Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo led the team in at bats and batting average (0.292 and 0.286 respectively). Rizzo also hit 30 HRs this season placing him second behind slugger Giancarlo Stanton by 5 HRs, a nice highlight to a mostly lackluster season. OK, first up, Arismendy Alcantara (say that three times fast). For people who are curious it’s pronounced Aris-mendy Al-cant-ara (or at least that’s what the announcers said. Anybody want to take a stab at what Harry Caray might have called him? Anyways, Alcantara came up swinging and jumped out to a pretty hot streak. He would struggle later in the season though and finish just north of the Mendoza line at 0.205 in 278 AB. He has some surprising pop for a small guy and definitely has wheels on the bases. His speed is also a bonus out in the outfield.
Alright, next up: Javier Baez. The long awaited arrival of the power hitting middle infielder. I should point out that by power hitting I mean his home run balls come down damaged. This kid can hit the leather off the ball. The unfortunate side affect to swinging for power and the fences is that he struck out a lot…seriously, a lot. Baez, although starting pretty hot in Colorado (1-6 with a game winning HR in his debut) finished the season well south of the Mendoza line at 0.169 in 225 AB. He hit 9 HR and drove in 20 but he also finished the season with 95 SO. I can’t say that I’m too surprised. He’s young, and the reports on him were pretty accurate: he swings big and is going to probably miss more often than not. It was funny, the day Baez was set to make his debut, a Cubs blogger I read said that he wouldn’t be surprised if he went 3-4 with 3 bombs or 0-4 with 4Ks, he was pretty close. He went 1-6 with 1 HR and 3Ks. Hopefully this is a problem that can be remedied in the future because he is extremely talented both at the plate and in the field. He played second base after Darwin Barney was traded to the Dodgers and then moved to short after Castro got hurt late in the season. All in all, I think he’s a smart baseball player who will get the SO thing figured out as he sees more playing time in the big league. Check out the videos below for some of his highlights. One thing I couldn’t find a video of was how quickly he can apply a tag on a runner attempting to steal second, but suffice to say he helped the catchers get a couple “caught stealing” by how fast he was able to apply the tag.
Tyoshi Wada, P: July 8
Arismendy Alcantara, IF/OF: July 9
Kyle Hendricks, P: July 10
Javier Baez, IF: August 5
Matt Szczur, OF: August 17
Jorge Soler, OF: August 27
Rafael Lopez, C: September 2
Eric Jokisch, P: September 7
I’m going to focus on the guys called up in July and August (quick note first though, with the exception of late, Ramirez has been a stud in the bullpen). Jokisch and Lopez appeared late in the season but looked pretty good but I didn’t see enough of them to include in this post. OK, Wada and Hendricks have been fantastic on the mound posting records of 4-4 and 7-2 respectively. Hendricks has been especially fantastic with a 2.46 ERA. Also, in Hendricks defense, one of those losses was a 1-0 defeat to the Cards off a Matt Holiday solo shot in the top of the first in what became a duel between Hendricks and Wainwright. I had the chance to watch Hendricks pitch here in Colorado when the Cubs were in town and he just seemed so cool on the mound. I think this kid has a real bright future especially if he keeps hitting the corners like he did all season. Wada finished with a 3.25 ERA and wasn’t as sharp as Hendricks but he too had some close losses as a result of no offense (the last being a 2-1 loss), all in all, not bad for a 33 year old. Rumors are that we might not see Wada next year but barring some moves in the offseason I think he’s still a big asset for the rotation. Alright, time to move on to the position players.
I’ll start at the beginning of the list and work my way down. Before I begin though I would like to point out that, despite late season injuries, Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo led the team in at bats and batting average (0.292 and 0.286 respectively). Rizzo also hit 30 HRs this season placing him second behind slugger Giancarlo Stanton by 5 HRs, a nice highlight to a mostly lackluster season. OK, first up, Arismendy Alcantara (say that three times fast). For people who are curious it’s pronounced Aris-mendy Al-cant-ara (or at least that’s what the announcers said. Anybody want to take a stab at what Harry Caray might have called him? Anyways, Alcantara came up swinging and jumped out to a pretty hot streak. He would struggle later in the season though and finish just north of the Mendoza line at 0.205 in 278 AB. He has some surprising pop for a small guy and definitely has wheels on the bases. His speed is also a bonus out in the outfield.
Alright, next up: Javier Baez. The long awaited arrival of the power hitting middle infielder. I should point out that by power hitting I mean his home run balls come down damaged. This kid can hit the leather off the ball. The unfortunate side affect to swinging for power and the fences is that he struck out a lot…seriously, a lot. Baez, although starting pretty hot in Colorado (1-6 with a game winning HR in his debut) finished the season well south of the Mendoza line at 0.169 in 225 AB. He hit 9 HR and drove in 20 but he also finished the season with 95 SO. I can’t say that I’m too surprised. He’s young, and the reports on him were pretty accurate: he swings big and is going to probably miss more often than not. It was funny, the day Baez was set to make his debut, a Cubs blogger I read said that he wouldn’t be surprised if he went 3-4 with 3 bombs or 0-4 with 4Ks, he was pretty close. He went 1-6 with 1 HR and 3Ks. Hopefully this is a problem that can be remedied in the future because he is extremely talented both at the plate and in the field. He played second base after Darwin Barney was traded to the Dodgers and then moved to short after Castro got hurt late in the season. All in all, I think he’s a smart baseball player who will get the SO thing figured out as he sees more playing time in the big league. Check out the videos below for some of his highlights. One thing I couldn’t find a video of was how quickly he can apply a tag on a runner attempting to steal second, but suffice to say he helped the catchers get a couple “caught stealing” by how fast he was able to apply the tag.
Matt Szczur (pronounced Caesar like the Roman emperor/salad), a name I’ve heard for a while now whenever people talk about AAA Iowa. He’s a decent hitter and a solid outfielder and I expect to see him again next season. Maybe not right away but at some point. He finished with a 0.226 in 62 AB with a pair of HR and a handful of RBIs. Reports are that he’s an all around solid baseball player, maybe not the best, but solid with a great deal of potential. I think his most memorable part of his time up with the Cubs was this attempt in the video below. I love the effort especially given the circumstance, but remember Matt; the wall at Wrigley isn’t soft.
Finally, Jorge Soler. Like Baez, if not more so, Soler was highly touted as he tore his way through the farm system and he didn’t disappoint. He finished the season with 89 AB and a 0.292 BA. He also clubbed 5 HR and knocked in 20. He’s a definite stick with power at the plate and speed and a strong arm in the field. I fully expect Soler to start the season on the north side. I’m just hoping he doesn’t flop next year like Junior Lake did this year. I’ve included highlights of him at the plate and in the field below.
OK. I’m just about out of energy and this has gone on for a while but moral of the story: for the first time in forever, the future is bright on the north side of Chicago. It’s been a rough couple of seasons but Theo’s trades and restocking of the farm finally seems to be paying dividends and for the first time in a long time I actually have hope for “next year,” Theo thinks so as earlier this week he predicted the Cubs to contend for the NL Central title in 2015. I’m usually not one for predictions (again how’d that 90 win season turn out Monfort?) but with the way this team played down the stretch makes me think anything is possible. So Cubs fans, here’s to “next year” finally beginning to showing up.
Thanks for hanging with us readers as we adjust to new and busier schedules. I know we all have been more or less on hiatus for a while but new jobs/schedules will do that. As for me, double digit hour workdays and 8:30 am group meetings on Friday mornings have really put a damper on my ability to write posts Thursday after work. Regardless, thank you all so much for reading!
--The Briefing
Thanks for hanging with us readers as we adjust to new and busier schedules. I know we all have been more or less on hiatus for a while but new jobs/schedules will do that. As for me, double digit hour workdays and 8:30 am group meetings on Friday mornings have really put a damper on my ability to write posts Thursday after work. Regardless, thank you all so much for reading!
--The Briefing