Chicago Cubs: A chat with Eduardo Perez ahead of Sunday Night Baseball

As the Chicago Cubs take on Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals, we sat down with ESPN analyst and former big leaguer Eduardo Perez for a chat.

This weekend series at Wrigley Field between the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals has been a roller coaster of emotions for fans.

In Friday’s opener, Nationals starter Jeremy Hellickson carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. The Cubs bats then roared to life late, picking up the win. On Saturday, a Washington offense led by Ryan Zimmermann put a hurting on Jon Lester, sending him to yet another lopsided second half loss.

With a series victory on the line Sunday night, Chicago hands the ball to left-hander Cole Hamels for his first career Wrigley Field start as a member of the Chicago Cubs. He faces little margin for error as he’s opposed by likely NL Cy Young finalist Max Scherzer on the bump.

Ahead of Sunday’s series finale, we sat down with ESPN MLB analyst and former big leaguer Eduardo Perez to get his thoughts on these two teams, Bryce Harper and what October will hold this time around.

Chicago Cubs: What are their odds without a healthy KB?

2016 National League MVP Kris Bryant has appeared in just 10 games since late June. Yet, the Cubs enter Sunday’s finale 18 games over the .500 mark with the best record in the National League.

But, if you ask Perez, the Cubs’ postseason fate won’t be decided by their young franchise cornerstone. Rather, their future lies in the hands of the pitching staff – one that has been remarkably inconsistent this year.

“It’s not so much on Kris Bryant. It’s on how will Yu Darvish rebound,” he said when asked if the Cubs can win another World Series without KB in the lineup.  “Will Lester be dominant down the stretch? You’ll need Quintana, you’ll need Hamels. They have the pitching to do it. They have the bullpen to do it.”

Of course, Darvish hasn’t taken the ball for Chicago since May 20. Lester, as mentioned, turned in another clunker Saturday, raising his second-half ERA to a ghastly 10.32. That number stands in stark contrast to his 2.58 first-half clip, which netted him his fifth career All-Star appearance.

Despite that league-best record, have the Cubs underperformed this season? It depends how you look at it. Perez points out that, while Anthony Rizzo struggled in the first month-plus and Bryant has battled a power outage due to injury, there are other guys who stepped up. Namely, Jason Heyward, Javier Baez and Willson Contreras.

“At the end of the day, you’re getting production. If you look at the Opening Day lineup for the Chicago Cubs and look at the bottom three (6-7-8). You’re looking at guys who are now in the top of the order.”

Chicago Cubs: Get ready for a death blow, Nats fans

We’re rapidly approaching mid-August. The Washington Nationals enter Sunday night’s finale at the Confines 5 1/2 games out in the National League East and 4 1/2 out of a wild card spot. According to Perez, it’s time for the Nats to get hot – or risk missing the postseason altogether.

“This is the time. You look at it, we’re in August. This is the time you gotta get it going. A team like the Nationals, they have the potential of getting it started. They have the players – we know that. From Rendon to Harper to Turner, so on and so forth … I think this is a team that could definitely catch fire and they are yet to do it all year.”

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Washington went 20-7 in the month of May, leading everyone to believe things were back on-track. But they followed that with a 9-16 June and an 11-14 July as they stare up at two young, upstart squads in the Phillies and Braves.

While the Cubs have overcome a bevy of injuries, the Nats have been crippled by them all season long. Perez was quick to point out the blame doesn’t fall at the feet of first-year skipper Davey Martinez, because, at the end of the day, you have play the game with the cards you’re dealt.

“If you asked me today, with the way they’ve played, I’d say ‘no.’ That’s tough because this is a team that’s built to win,” he said. “The last few years, they’ve won 90-plus games. The disappointment wasn’t about getting to the playoffs, it’s about getting to the World Series. But the injuries have really killed them.”

And, if you think missing the postseason would be tough for Nats fans, it gets worse – or, at least it will, according to the ESPN commentator. He believes Bryce Harper will sign with either Philadelphia or Atlanta this offseason.

Chicago Cubs: Don’t sleep on the Pirates or Cardinals just yet

With reinforcements in the form of Bryant, Darvish and Brandon Morrow likely coming in the final six weeks of the season, the Cubs are in a good place. They enter Sunday with a two-game edge in the division with an upcoming series against the Brewers coming up this week – a team in danger of fading, if you ask Perez.

“The strongest part of the Milwaukee Brewers in the first half was their bullpen. The problem is they haven’t been the same team when it comes to the bullpen of-late. And if that falters, they’re in trouble.”

Perez remains high on two surging teams in the second half in St. Louis and Pittsburgh. Neither can be counted out of the postseason picture just yet. The Cardinals are just 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and the Pirates sit just four back.

But no matter who you have representing this division come October, don’t expect a resolution anytime soon. That hardly comes as a surprise given how close the race was last year. People forget – the Cubs wrapped things up extraordinarily early in 2016 – which makes sense given they ran off 103 wins in the regular season.

“I don’t think this division is going to be won going into September. It’s going to be decided deep in the month.”