The Cubs are Back

The Chicago Cubs got off to a slow start this season. They were the 20th ranked offense and 9th ranked pitching rotation at the all star break. While the rotation was performing well, this was still a huge disappointment coming off a World Series win with the 3nd ranked offense and best rotation in baseball in 2016. Fans were panicking. To be honest, I didn’t blame them. Half way through the season, this was legitimately a mediocre team, both on paper and in real life. Their rotation lacked a true ace. Yes, the team with 3 Cy Young candidates (Lester, Hendricks, Arrieta) just a season ago now lacked a true ace. And as far as their lineup went, if you could get through Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant (who were both struggling) then no one else was going to do much damage. But as we enter the middle of August, the Cubs are starting to show signs that they could once again make a deep playoff run and if they continue to play like this, they’re almost as scary as they were last season. Since the all star break, their offense ranks 4th in the league with their pitching sitting at 5th. Here is the keys to their second half success:

The Rotation Is Finally Delivering

One of the biggest concerns for this club a few months into the season was the struggles from the front of the rotation. Jake Arrieta was sporting a 5.44 ERA in mid may and to be honest, it was not bad luck. Arrieta was bad. Jon Lester’s ERA was a 4.25 as recent as July 9 and Kyle Hendricks was not only dealing with injuries, but when he was healthy he was also pitching to an ERA over 4. Like I said, this team lacked a true ace. However, Arrieta has returned to Cy Young form over the last few months going 8-5 with a 2.93 ERA since May 14 establishing himself once again as the much needed ace of this staff. Since the break, he’s been even better tossing 6 straight games of at least 6 innings and no more than 2 runs (4-1, 2.09 ERA). Behind him, Kyle Hendricks has pitched to a 2.00 ERA in 5 starts since returning from the DL and though the team is 1-4 in those games, they very well could go 5-0 in the next 5 if he continues to pitch like he has. Lastly, Jon Lester has turned in 6 great starts since the all star break. In those games he’s sporting a 3.26 ERA and the team has won 4 times. Even John Lackey has brought his ERA from a 5.04 to 4.82 in 5 games since the break, going an incredible 5-0 in that stretch. I’m not saying this is the best rotation in baseball like it was last year, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it is top 5 moving forward. Pairing that with the hot offense could mean a lot of wins in the next month and a half for this team, bringing plenty of momentum into the playoffs.

Taking Pressure Off of Rizzo and Bryant

This is simple. In the first half, the offense was not scoring runs. They were the 20th ranked offense as previously stated. Since the break, guys not named Rizzo or Bryant are starting to go on tears. Javier Baez is hitting over .300 and slugging over .600. Jon Jay has found success at the leadoff spot getting on base at a .380 clip. Even Kyle Schwarber has been hitting the ball hard, slugging .539. Taking the pressure off of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and getting production from others in the lineup is certainly making a huge difference. Things are finally clicking for this Cubs team. The offensive success matched with the breakthrough from the rotation makes them as dangerous as ever.