Chicago Cubs: The positives and negatives of 2019

Chicago Cubs: The road is not your friend

In Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road,’ there is a quote that stands out quite a lot: “You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.” For the Cubs’ journey on the road, that rang true throughout all of 2019.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

At home this year, the Cubs were one of the best teams in baseball. Fans every week were ecstatic for the games at Wrigley and agonized for a return once away from the ivy-covered domain. Of all the teams in baseball, only six teams were worse on the road than Chicago.

The team finished 33-48 away from Wrigley while posting a 51-30 record at home. One of the biggest frustrations for Chicago on the road was the lack of wins in comparison to their run production. It is not like they didn’t score runs, averaging 4.84 runs per game away. The downfall was the pitching who allowed 4.95 runs per game.

Going further into it, in total, the Cubs were 19-27 in one-run games and just 4-9 in extra-inning affairs. At the beginning of September, they lost five straight one-run ballgames. In retrospect, the 2018 Cubs finished 44-37 on the road, 44-37 in 2017, and 46-34 in 2016. In 2020, the Cubs start on the road at Milwaukee and spend 13 of their first 22 games away from Wrigley. To begin next year with a good showing against a division opponent would set the tone for the new year.