Chicago Cubs: Ben Zobrist named co-National League Player of the Week

The Chicago Cubs opened up last week with a three-game road series in Pittsburgh. They continued to dominate on the road by sweeping that series and returned to Wrigley Field to do the same to the Nationals.

One man, who stepped up and helped the North Siders extend their lead in the National League Central? None other than second baseman, Ben Zobrist.

Let’s go back about five or so months, before Zobrist landed with the Chicago Cubs. Three-time All-Star Starlin Castro was reportedly traded to the New York Yankees for right-hander Adam Warren. A trade that I was completely against — at the time.

To me, trading one of our top players, despite the issue with errors from-time-to-time, for a reliever wasn’t something I had in mind. After all, he was a highly anticipated prospect on the rise who made his presence felt when he debuted against the Cincinnati Reds over six years ago.

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Now that he’s driving in runs for the New York Yankees, the Cubs seem to be a better club without him. As harsh as that may sound. Doesn’t change the fact that some of us still miss him and would welcome him back with open arms.

But, Zobrist has been playing pretty well. Aside from veteran right-hander John Lackey settling in, he’s been a solid player both in the batter’s box and on defense since the start of the new campaign.

We’re all just waiting for right-fielder Jason Heyward to get on board. He’s still without a home run this year and found himself in a bit of a slump. Although, history has shown that he will come around eventually.

Next: Cubs Minor League Recap

In case you missed it, Zobrist was announced as a co-National League Player of the Week alongside Bartolo Colon according to MLB’s official twitter handle. Bartolo swatted his first career homer, a two-run shot against the San Diego Padres this past Saturday.

As for Zobrist, he scored eight times while launching four home runs, 15 RBI, and slashing .360/.455/.880 to help the Cubs complete a perfect week and seven-game winning streak since last Monday.

Hopefully, he’ll have the opportunity to continue to do damage on both sides of the field, later on, tonight, against the Padres. Last night’s contest was postponed due to the weather as a doubleheader was scheduled for tomorrow starting at 12:05 p.m. central time.