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Cubs News: Who will have a good series at the Marlins?
Who’ll be the Chicago Cubs’ ‘MVP’? There’s a few who can get it, but I’ve got some ideas who it could be.
The Chicago Cubs and the ‘Most Valuable Player.’ The Wild Card doesn’t have one–but I thought I’d give it a go. So what makes an MVP? Is it eight innings of shutout baseball? Or is it 4-for-4 with a home run and four knocked in? Well, it’s all of those. But it’s the ‘little things’ that matter most.
It’s getting a ‘quality start’ from the starters and hand it over to the bullpen. Or going hitless, but it’s getting a sacrifice fly to win the game. It doesn’t matter what you do; it’s the small things that matter.
So who tops the list for MVP? A few guys could win it. I take that back. ALL players can win it–but few will take that three games–or two–and put on an impressive show. So who’s my ‘pick to click’ in this series, taking a page from Hawk Harrelson from the White Sox. Let’s see how’d it turn out.
The Cubs’ Ian Happ is proud to be on this list
The Cubs’ Ian Happ is due for a breakout–and this is his chance to show it. He went 4-for-27 in his last eight games with one walk. That is it. But it’s his time to shine–and he needs to do it now. His slash line is .258/.361/.505 with a wRC+ of 131–17th in the National League. On the top, that doesn’t look very appealing. It’s his play in centerfield that is key.
He follows Jason Heyward (9th), Anthony Rizzo (12th), Javier Baez (20th) at 29th (UZR/150). Happ has made strides in center, and against the Marlins, he’ll do the same–if he gets the chance. But four in the top 30? That’s pretty good if you ask me.
He’s got the hitting, and he has the fielding. He has to put it together to be the MVP. Still, I don’t believe he’ll get it together in one fell swoop. Thanks, Chip! So, in the end, I don’t think he’ll be an MVP. Although, I think he’ll get close to it. Maybe an RBI single or a diving catch. We can hope, right?
The Cubs’ Jason Heyward? Clutch.
The Cubs’ Jason Heyward has been significant in the clutch moments. Remember the home run he hit against Josh Hader? He hit a three-run homer that turned into the winning run. He had a slash of .265/.392/.456/.848. The average is not that good. Of course, it’s the second behind the .270 that he posted with the Cubs in 2018. Go figure.
Still, the OPS is higher with the Cubs than it’s ever been (.848). And his OPS+ is his best since his rookie year by two points (131 to 129). Defensively? Perfect. No, I’m not kidding. In 50 games, he had ZERO errors. A 1.000 average. He had 100 chances, 98 putouts and no errors. Bravo, Heyward.
But in the end, I don’t think he’ll get it. He’s hitting 1-for-19 in his last six games with four walks. I don’t think he’ll break out of it. But he’s got to get his head on straight. Defensively, he’s straight. Keep doing what you are doing. So onto the ‘MVP’ of the Wild Card series.
The Cubs’ Yu Darvish has been ‘DYN-O-MITE’!
The Cubs’ Yu Darvish is the MVP. So what did you expect? Look, he had a hell of a time for three games, going 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 19 innings pitched. But still, he mustered all of that to pitch a solid game going seven innings of shutout ball, lowering his ERA to 2.01. It’s not as good as Jake Arrieta, but it plays as well with the ERA he’s had.
From July 31 to September 4, he went 7-0 in 48 innings, striking out 58 with a 0.98 ERA. That was the stretch that could earn him the Cy Young. I don’t think that will do it–but he’s going to get votes–that’s for sure. Trevor Bauer should get it, being that he has a 1.73 ERA–but you never can tell.
Next. It's been a different year for the Cubs. dark
Darvish had an immaculate year. Granted, the second-half was his year (2.76 ERA, 118 K, 7 BB). But it’s the playoffs. Who knows. He might ‘get hot’ and lead the way to the World Series. The fact of the matter is, I don’t know who gets on a torrid pace. Happ. Heyward. Even Kris Bryant could get hot and lead them to a pennant.