Chicago Cubs: Is it time to panic?
By Phil Akre
The reigning World Series champions seem to be suffering a collective sophomore slump. Who’s to blame for the Chicago Cubs’ underwhelming start?
It is May 15 and the Chicago Cubs are 18-19 at fourth place in the National League Central.
At this point last season, the team was a sparkling 27-9 and on top of the baseball world in terms of popularity and performance.
So there is certainly reason to be concerned about a team that came into the season with extremely high expectations.
For starters, the starting staff ranks as the 20th best in the league with a combined ERA of 4.47. Last season, when things were all said and done, the Cubs were at the top of the game with a 2.96 starters’ ERA.
Part of the blame can be put on Jake Arrieta, who has looked nothing like his usual Cy Young self with a 5.44 ERA and 1.455 WHIP.
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However, the root of this team’s problems can be attributed to a surprisingly ineffective offense.
Depsite being loaded with the likes of NL Most Valuable Player Kris Bryant, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and slugger Kyle Schwarber, the team has hit a combined .236.
Rizzo and Schwarber have been especially bad, as the duo has hit a combined .196 with 11 home runs.
Over at shortstop, Addison Russell has struggled to remain consistent, as evident from his .226 average and 72 OPS+.
While all of this is what has made up the mediocre 18-19 start, there’s little reason for the team to panic.
Kris Bryant is still a beast, as he his slashing .299/.401/.547. Jason Heyward appears to be making steps toward showing his contract was somewhat reasonable, as the 27-year-old is hitting .253 with 17 RBI.
Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and John Lackey are all still solid rotation pieces despite Arrieta’s regression.
With no clear top dog in the National League and time on their side, the Cubs have a while to turn things around. Can we really expect the Milwaukee Brewers to maintain this hot start?
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The best part, though, is that they have the ultra-cool Joe Maddon at the helm. As one of baseball’s best managers, Maddon knows there can always be underlying issues behind a team’s slow start.
We should expect Maddon to bring this team back to respectability in the near future. Check back by the All-Star break to see if this team is truly in panic mode.