Chicago Cubs: Keep an eye out for the missing Cubs’ offense

Wake me up when August ends

Yes, the Cubs are 10-7 in August. Over the past 10 days, the team is 5-4. The record would typically not stand out in any significant way. However it is mind-blowing, considering in the nine-game stretch with a winning record, the offense has somehow figured out how to average a porous 2.55 runs per game.

Going back to July, the Cubs batted, as a team, .268/.348/.418 with 25 home runs and 115 RBI. They recorded a team wOBA of .332 and a wRC+ of 106. Overall, the month’s production helped them finish with a 5.1 WAR.

It has been a completely different tune this month. The collective slash line has dropped all the way to .242/.305/.374 with a .293 wOBA and a pathetic 80 wRC+. Talk about a complete 360. Through the first few weeks of the month as well, the Cubs have only posted a 1.0 WAR. Something has to change.

A strange anomaly

The statistics previously mentioned taking into account the outliers which have occurred in this stretch of games. For instance, in the middle of this sample size, the team did burst out for eight runs in a victory against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs: Adrian Sampson is forcing his way into the conversation
• Projecting the Chicago Cubs bullpen to open the 2023 season
• Cubs fans are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel
• Justin Steele has evolved into a frontline starter for the Cubs
• The future of first base is murky right now for the Cubs

The four-game weekend set which concluded Sunday against another division rival, Pittsburgh Pirates, saw an extraordinary occurrence. In a first-time statistic, the Chicago Cubs scored a run all via a solo home run in four straight games. That’s right, four games, four solo home runs, four runs. What makes this stat more phenomenal is that they split the series with the Pirates, scoring back-to-back 1-0 victories.

Two of those solo home runs belong to Kyle Schwarber. The others belonged to Ian Happ and Ben Zobrist, respectively.

Nonetheless, at the beginning of the weekend, if a betting man would have taken the odds that three guys would account for literally all of the offense over four games, his odds would have been pretty high. Unfortunately, it is how baseball sometimes goes.

Finding their groove

The next few weeks are going to be quite a ride for the Chicago Cubs. It will also go a long way in determining the division race and the playoff picture, as a whole. It is why it is imperative that the Cubs find their offense sooner rather than later. The most significant benefit to the team, however, is the much-needed return of big bopper Kris Bryant back to the lineup. Bryant is sure to spark some fireworks for the bats to get rolling.

The beginning of the marathon gives the Cubs much winnable ball games as they host the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Both are cellar dwellers in their divisions giving the Cubs a chance to put a severe dent in the division lead.

Following those two series, things become a little more challenging. They start with a makeup game in Atlanta, followed by series with the Philadelphia Phillies, then, the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, followed up by the Washington Nationals to close things out. The final three games before a single day off is a home series versus the Brewers again.

The club has three more scheduled off-days remaining for the rest of the season. The benefit to the back end of the schedule, however, is that they finish with seven straight home games. For a team who will be on the grind for the foreseeable future and no breaks, the need to find their groove and get the offense going strong again is crucial. Let’s hope they can start it all off right.