Chicago Cubs: Opening month of season shows team’s inconsistency

April has come and gone, and celebration turned into frustration. There is hope of things to come, but also inconsistencies for the Chicago Cubs.

The opening month of the season is over, and fans of the Chicago Cubs are left scratching their heads. Fanfare turned into confusion and frustration. It was not the team we were looking for. Not now. The curse is over and the Cubs are supposed to dominate this season.

But, that is not what happened. It was a struggle, one that has been difficult to watch. Yet the team still leads the National League Central, over the St. Louis Cardinals currently. The Cincinnati Reds have fallen back to earth a bit, as have the Milwaukee Brewers. It is the Cubs that surprised the division, because of their inconsistent play.

What happened? What problems reared their ugly heads to start the season? Should we be concerned for the entire season? Did anything good happen? We take a look at all of that the month that was for the Chicago Cubs.

The Good

In a month of frustration, many good things are drawn for the Chicago Cubs performance. First of all, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are showing their MVP qualities. Rizzo leads the team with six home runs and 17 RBI. And Bryant is not far behind with four homers and 14 knocked in. Bryant also leads regular starters in batting average.

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But there is more. Five Cubs have scored double-digit runs, and five knocked in more than 10 teammates. Jon Jay is proving that he can be relied on at the plate, hitting .389 in spots starts and off the bench. It is teammate Miguel Montero, also in part-time work, that represents the largest surprise. Currently, he is hitting .394 with a couple of clutch home runs.

There are several other positives. The Cubs are winning games. Maybe not at the rate as we saw in 2016, but winning. Their team average is top 10 in all of baseball, and they have scored the fifth most runs. They are even top 10 in steals so far. But this biggest surprise is not the team, but a teammate.

Jason Heyward. Yes, the high-contract-no-offense-great-defense guy the Cubs signed in 2016. For the month of April, Heyward hit .282 with three home runs and 16 RBI. A massive improvement from his performance last year. What is more telling is that balls are coming off his bat at 100 MPH regularly. In 2016, it was only 86 MPH. If that continues, watch out.

The not so good

With every good, there are some things that are not quite as good.

Most obvious is the rate at which the Chicago Cubs strike out – 26 percent of the time, higher than last season. Much of that is the addition of Kyle Schwarber and the regular starts of free-swinging Javier Baez. Conversely, they are not walking at the same clip either.

Furthermore, like 2016, the Cubs are leaving runners on base. The MLB average is 157 runners left on to this point. Batters for the Cubs have left 182 runners on, third-most in baseball. While it is a bit lower than the pace set last season, the potential for more runs clearly exists.

What will help is getting Schwarber and Ben Zobrist hitting. As of May 1, both key batters are hitting just above .200. Maybe playing the outfield is causing distraction for both players, but the team needs them to start hitting.

The bad

The pitching. While it has not been horrible, it placed the team in stressful positions. And it is the full staff, not just one part. As a team, the pitching staff ERA is 3.74.That ranks in the top 10 in baseball, but not what we anticipated. The surprise? The starting rotation’s ERA is 4.34, good for 22nd in MLB.

Most of the damage against the rotation comes in the first inning. Opponents are hitting .330 in the first inning, scoring 28 runs. Both are baseball’s worst marks for a pitching staff. So are the nine first-inning homers allowed. Luckily, the Cubs have won most of the games in which the other teams scores first.

The bullpen started the year off struggling and ended that month with a rough outing. But, by and large, the bullpen has produced when called. However, we witness walks give up at high rates. Each pitcher has endured moments of struggle and success. Should the rotation continue to allow runs, the bullpen will need to continue to be perfect.

Player of the Month

Even with a questionable month, there are several players that earned consideration. Montero’s performance off the bench is quite the surprise. In a contract year and motived to prove himself, he needs a good season at the plate.

The play of Heyward is also appealing. With improves in his swing taking shape, his number should continue to climb. And, new closer Wade Davis has impressed with his perfect save record so far.

That said, the player of the month for the Chicago Cubs is Anthony Rizzo. Sure, he is leading the team in home runs and runs batted in, which can make this choice easy. But it is not just that. His home runs came at crucial moments for the team when they trailed in games. Plus, his ratio of walks to strike outs is almost 1-to-1. That is also best on the team.

Rizzo keeps the Cubs in games. With a pitching rotation that is letting the opponent get an early advantage, the first baseman’s clutch play has pushed the team forward.