April 2014 Report Card

After a tough 2013 season for Cubs fans, April 2014 looked much the same early on with many of the same struggles the Cubs had throughout 2013, including struggles with runners-in-scoring-position and blown saves by closer Jose Veras. With some fresh young faces joining veterans Jeff Samardzija, Nate Schierholtz, Emilio Bonifacio, and Jose Veras on the team, the early projections for the season ranged from closing in on a 0.500 record to being lucky to lose less than 100. While April finished with a 9-17 record, the Cubs showed a lot of positive steps towards the future and April was a lot better month than the record suggests.

Cubs at Reds (April 28-30, 2014)

I was in Cincinnati to attend the Monday game that was rained out (and will hopefully get back for the next series the Cubs have there right before the All-Star Break). With that rainout, two games for the Cubs have been postponed, with the first made-up in a day-night double-header the following day in New York. The Reds have been scuffling and underwhelming fans in Cincinnati for the first month of the season, but are starting to heat up a little. Getting back the back-end of their bullpen will certainly help them, with Sean Marshall returning against the Cubs in Wrigley and Aroldis Chapman starting to prep for his return. They still have a dangerous lineup (and will as long as Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto remain) that will only get better as Billy Hamilton transitions into leading off in the Major Leagues. In Cubs news, Carlos Villanueva will finally be transitioned to the bullpen. Jake Arrieta will start in his spot against the Cardinals (changed after the rainout) on Saturday at Wrigley Field. I don’t even care what the result of that game is, because anything is better than what Villanueva has done so far this season as a starter. Hopefully, Arrieta can put together similar success to what Scott Feldman and Jason Hammel have done as Cubs in recent years.

Cubs at Yankees (April 16, 2014)

With a rainout on Tuesday, the Cubs and Yankees played their entire two-game series in the Bronx on Wednesday as a day-night doubleheader. I am among the fans that love doubleheaders, so a Wednesday sitting an watching the Cubs play was worth whatever result was coming, especially considering the Cubs had two off days this week prior to the rainout. The games made the new (opened in 2009) Yankee Stadium the 122nd stadium that the Chicago Cubs franchise has played in. The Cubs lost game one behind a stellar performance by Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka.

Pirates at Cubs Series Recap (April 8-10, 2014)

I was travelling today, so didn’t get to put this together before the opener in St. Louis like I planned. The Cubs easily could have taken 2-of-3 from the Pirates for yet another series, losing tough games on April 8th and 10th, including blowing a 4-run lead given to Travis Wood in the seventh on April 10th. Unfortunately, these are the types of loses that these team is going to have until some more talented players and consistent performances start showing up for the Cubs. However, if they can keep fighting like this, the team can still surprise and cause some problems for some favorites in and out of the division.

OUTCOME: April 8: L 6-7; April 9: W 7-5; April 10: L 4-5

THE GOOD: Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo are both looking like they’re getting their grove back. Castro made a ton of great contact in the series, including putting together two home runs in game one to keep the Cubs in the game. The think I like the most from Castro is how confident and comfortable he’s looked at the plate, and especially in the field. He’s made some phenomenal plays by his standards at shortstop and really hasn’t botched any bad plays that have cost the team in the long run. He seems to be working well with this new coaching staff, which is exactly why Rick Renteria is here and not Dale Sveum.

THE BAD: The bullpen was looking fairly good until this series against Pittsburgh started. The biggest concern is with the amount of walks being given away to opponents, which was extremely evident in game two. The veterans in the bullpen are also the ones that are the weakest links (Jose Veras, Wesley Wright, and James Russell). While Wright didn’t pitch in this series, and hasn’t pitched since April 4th against the Phillies, Russell and Veras were both part of the problem in the two losses in the series. Russell walked Pedro Alvarez, who he was brought in to match up against, before giving up a sacrifice fly to Russell Martin in game one, giving the Pirates the lead and eventually win. Veras looked great in that game, but hasn’t yet had a good outing in a save situation.

MVP: Starlin Castro had two home runs in game one. Then, he proceeded to make all sorts of great plays in games two and three, both offensively and defensively. The defensive adjustments are the shining spot here. If he’s confident and playing comfortably defensively, it means he feels great at the plate and isn’t carrying anything from his plate appearances onto the field defensively, which I think he’s done sometimes in the past. He also is making a lot of solid contact right now. A full year of this would be a game-changer for the season.

TOP PITCHER: In a bullpen that struggled in the series, last year’s Rule 5 pick, Hector Rondon, continues to have a great season. He could even become a dark-house candidate to close games, if Veras continues to struggle. Rondon pitched an inning in game two, striking out two and giving up a hit, and then pitched a perfect inning in game three to keep the deficit at a run and give the Cubs a chance at a walk-off win that they just missed, adding two more strikeouts in the process.

PROPS TO: After a somewhat inconsistent performance in his first start, Travis Wood bounced back to put the Cubs in a 4-0 lead with a nearly perfect outing in game three. He looked in complete control of the game, despite an elevated pitch count due to a tough third inning. Even with that inning included, Wood gave up four hits and a run (on a home run given up by Brian Schlitter) in six innings, walking three, and striking out nine.

PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE: When you have a 4-0 lead thanks to a great performance by your starter, but lose the game late and keep giving up leads after the offense fights to get you back into the game, as the bullpen did in games three and one, respectively, it’s tough to say you were outplayed. With the poor bullpen performances throughout the series, the Cubs handed the game to the Pirates, instead of making them fight to take it. Giving a team a ton of balls late in the game, and continually putting them in hitters-counts and walking them, is asking to be beat. The bullpen has to step back into the performances they had early if the Cubs are going to be able to put up any consistency this season.

UP NEXT: The Cubs get their first series against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Jeff Samardzija pitches in game one against Joe Kelly, then Carlos Villanueva faces off with Adam Wainwright and Edwin Jackson goes against Michael Wacha in games two and three. Here’s to the first series win of the season, although it won’t be easy.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
– Ryan Braun hit three home runs in his first game in Philadelphia in 2014. Bring on the boos!

– Here’s something every Cubs fan will be happy to not hear associated with the team: Carlos Marmol gave up a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 8th to Jayson Werth to give the Nationals a 10-7 win over the Marlins in game two.

– White Sox Cuban pick-up Jose Abreu is on fire. He hit two home runs in the opening game in their series against the Indians in U.S. Cellular Field (off Danny Salazar and Josh Outman). Abreu also hit two home runs off the Rockies in game two of the series (off Chad Bettis and Wilton Lopez).

– Tampa Bay lost one of their three aces (Matt Moore) with an elbow injury. Two MRIs have given different results, with one suggesting a torn UCL, which would lead to season-ending Tommy John surgery. He’s expected to play catch this week and move on from there.

2014 Opening Series Recap

The 2014 season opened for the Chicago Cubs with a three-game set in Pittsburgh. Coming out with a 1-2 record is about what we should’ve expected from this team as Cubs fan, but there were a lot of bright spots in the series, and one glaring weakness that seems to have carried over from previous years. While the team looked incapable of driving in runs for most of the series, I think the positives are a lot more exciting and can give us a better look at what this team is capable of throughout the season.

2014 Cubs Preseason Preview

Yesterday, I gave my overall look at how I think the 2014 MLB season is going to turn out around baseball, but this is a Cubs-based blog and I am a big Cubs fan, so I have to take a look at the season for the Cubs. The biggest headline in Spring Training, not surprisingly, surrounded the prospects coming up through the farm system. While most of those players aren’t going to make impacts on this season, the successes and development that players like Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Eric Jokisch, and Kyle Hendricks showed this spring speaks volumes for what this team is going to look like in the next few seasons. As I told somebody that I met at an Arizona Fall League game in Mesa last October, this is the first time in my lifetime (admittedly not as long as some Cubs fans) that I am legitimately excited about what the future for the team looks like and that is something that every Cubs fan can be excited about.