3 reasons why the Chicago Cubs are so mediocre this season
After 50 games this season, the Cubs found themselves to be a 50-50 proposition.
Heading into Tuesday night's game at San Diego, they had a record of 25-25. They were a .500 club, the epitome of mediocrity.
That's a far cry from the world they were dominating after 50 games last year around the traditional Memorial Day milepost.
Through 50 games in 2016, the Cubs were 35-15, and they held a 6½-game lead in the National League Central. They hit a rough stretch beginning June 20 and leading up to the all-star break, after which they righted themselves again and went on to a World Series championship.
No one other than manager Joe Maddon and the players knows whether the championship run, short off-season and heightened expectations have taken physical and mental tolls on the team, but Maddon did say Monday that the players were trying too hard. Veteran Ben Zobrist said Saturday in Los Angeles that the Cubs have not been in rhythm, and as a result, “you just don't execute as well as you'd like to.”
The team's so-so start is reflected in the statistics. We'll take a look at a few here and see how they compare with those of 2016.
Run differential:
The Cubs were setting the baseball world afire through 50 games last year with a run differential of plus-128. That was best in the major leagues.
Entering Tuesday, the Cubs' run differential was a paltry plus-5. The team that just got done sweeping them, the Los Angeles Dodgers, went into Tuesday with a run differential of plus-82, and they were second in the National League West. The West's top team, the Colorado Rockies, was at plus-44.
Other teams on the positive side of the ledger were NL East-leading Washington (60) and Central-leading Milwaukee (23).
Maddon cited the Cubs' dominant starting pitching — and not the offense — as the key reason for the hugely positive differential last year. That leads us into our next territory.
A lack of quality:
Starting pitching was the Cubs' stock-in-trade last year. They led the National League with 100 quality starts.
By the 50-game mark of 2016 they were well on their way, with 35.
This year? The Cubs had only 19 quality starts through 50 games.
In those 35 quality-start games last year, the Cubs were 26-9, and the starters had an ERA of 1.52. In the 15 non-quality-start games, the Cubs were 9-6, and the starters had an ERA of 5.23.
The Cubs entered Tuesday 14-5 in games in which they had gotten a quality start, and the starters' ERA was 1.84.
In the non-quality-start games, they were 11-20, with starters having an ERA of 6.69.
Overall, the Cubs entered Tuesday ranked fourth in team ERA, at 4.06. They had a 2.65 team ERA through 50 games a year ago.
Stuck in automatic:
The old joke is that a team had an automatic transmission. That is, no clutch.
Debating whether there are clutch hitters is one for another day, but the Cubs have been brutal with runners in scoring position this year.
On the West Coast road trip through Monday, the Cubs were 1-for-24 with runners in scoring position. For the season, they were batting .215 with runners in scoring position, last in the NL. A year ago through 50 games, they were batting .262 with runners in scoring position. The Cubs led the league in walks and on-base percentage last year. They entered Tuesday leading in walks, but their OBP of .327 was sixth.