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.

Reds at Cubs (April 18-20, 2014)

I’ve been travelling and on vacation for the past few weeks, so I’m just now catching up on games that I missed. As I watch the games, hopefully all by the end of the week, I’ll post my series recaps on here.

Cincinnati came into Wrigley Field last week having won 12-of-15 in the Friendly Confines. That dominance continued over the weekend with the Reds taking two of three from the Cubs and the offensive struggles for the team continues. When the Cubs lost in Jeff Samardzija’s start on Friday, it looked like the Cubs were asking to be swept, but Edwin Jackson gave one of his better performances in game two and the offense exploded on Tony Cingrani to give the Cubs a win in the series. Then, Carlos Villanueva imploded in the fourth and fifth innings of game three to give the Reds the series.

Phillies at Cubs Series Recap (April 4-6, 2014)

Wrigley Field opened its 100th anniversary season with baseball with a visit from the Philadelphia Phillies against the Chicago Cubs. Coming home off a series loss to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, the Cubs needed to have a good series against the Phillies, especially with a very tough April schedule ahead of them. Instead, the RISP bug struck again with the Cubs putting up 10 hits in game two without getting a run and 5-for-17 (aided by a 4-for-7 in game three) with RISP. The only positive comes with a 8 run outburst in game three.

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.