Chicago Cubs News: Positive takeaways from the 2020 season

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(Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
(Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

While it wasn’t the outcome many Cubs fans hoped for, the 2020 season had some positives for next year.

After getting off to a 13-3 start, many, including myself, thought the Chicago Cubs were the perfect team to have success in a 60-game span.

Sadly, things took a turn for the worst and the team couldn’t reach ten games above .500 until the final weeks of the season before limping into the playoffs with a record of 34-26.

They did manage to win their division, but now looking back many agree the competition wasn’t the best. The four teams from the NL Central (Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Brewers) who qualified for the playoffs combined for just one win in the Wild Card Series.

The core players of their team struggled like we’ve never seen before, and with a large majority set to hit the free-agent market after next season, the front office has a lots of decisions as to which direction the team should head moving forward.

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As if those choices weren’t tough enough, there have been talks of late about the future of the team’s President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein.

Like his core players, Epstein’s contract is set to expire after next season. After some comments he made earlier this week, it seems like he already has his bags packed.

“For me, as an individual, there is a benefit for change, after a significant amount of time on the job,” Epstein said. “I have to keep that in mind without making any definitive statements.”

Sounds like a nice way of Theo telling the Cubs, “it’s not you, it’s me”.

It’s safe to say the future of the Cubs is certainly up in the air, and for that matter the future of baseball.

There are no guarantees of a 162-game regular season, which could add to the decision making this offseason.

Let’s just say things are what we’re accustomed to in 2021. Epstein will still lead the front office, David Ross will still be the manager, and the Cubs probably won’t blow up the team entirely.

The 2020 regular season wasn’t a fan favorite, but there are some positive things to take with us into next year.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The Cubs offense was inconsistent all season, but their starting pitching kept them in games.

Yu Darvish

If we were to hand out a MVP award to anyone on the Cubs roster this season, I believe Yu Darvish should be the unanimous choice.

Darvish put together one of the best statistical seasons of his career in 2020: 12 starts (8-3) 2.01 ERA 76 IP 59 H 93 SO 14 BB.

Aside from his stats, the right-hander came up big whenever the Cubs were in desperate need of a win this season. This includes his first playoff-start since the Astros buzzed and banged their way to a game seven win with Darvish was on the mound in 2017.

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Against the Marlins in game two, Darvish allowed just two earned runs while striking out six in 6 2/3 innings pitched.

He gave the Cubs a chance to win in that game, and you can say the same about any of his starts this season. Darvish was dominant, allowing more than three runs just once, and throwing ten quality starts in his 12 games pitched.

Kyle Hendricks

Kyle Hendricks also put in a stellar 2020 campaign: 12 starts (6-5) 2.88 ERA 81.1 IP 73 H 84 SO 8 BB.

The Professor began the season as the Cub’s ace and didn’t disappoint, tossing a three-hit shutout on opening night.

Aside from a few rough starts against the Reds, Hendricks dominated the rest of his opponents. The right-hander allowed more than three earned runs, just twice, and threw nine quality starts.

Both Hendricks (30) and Darvish (34) are signed through the 2024 season. As we know good pitchers don’t grow on trees, so the duo should be the cornerstones of the rotation moving forward.

Future of the Rotation

With the likely departures of Jon Lester and Jose Quintana, the Cubs will likely turn to Adbert Alzolay or Alec Mills to step up in the rotation.

Alzolay pitched a small sample size of the season, but showed promise on the mound: (1-1) 2.95 ERA 21.1 IP 12 H 29 SO 13 BB.

Mills came into this shortened season having made six career starts and took on the challenge of being an option in the back-end of the rotation: (5-5) 4.48 ERA 62.1 IP 53 H 46 SO 19 BB.

While he wasn’t dominant all season, aside from his no-hitter against the Brewers, he has the kind of stuff that can keep the Cubs in ballgames and give their offense a chance.

Combine these four pitchers with a power-arm like Trevor Bauer, and the Cubs could have one of the best rotations in baseball next season.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The offensive of the Cubs was disappointing, but Ian Happ and Jason Heyward looked to turn a corner.

The Cubs offense stunk this season, plain and simple.

I could go into all the details, but by now all it takes is looking at my past work or the pieces of my fellow writers and you’ll see first hand just how bad it was all year.

Blame it on not being able to use video in the dugout, or the effects of a shortened season, but the other 29 teams dealt with the same issues and some had great offenses. For whatever reasons, the Cubs just could not get it figured out at the plate.

Their approach was terrible, and the young-pitching staff of the Marlins exposed a miserable offense.

Long-story-short, there were only two players who finished with a batting average above .250: Jason Heyward and Ian Happ.

It seems like only in the year 2020 both Heyward and Happ would be the best offensive weapons for the Cubs.

That’s not so much an insult, considering the Cubs have had players with great statistical seasons over the last few seasons.

To tell you the truth it’s not like they finished with eye-popping offensive numbers:

Jason Heyward: 6 HR 22 RBI .265 BA .848 OPS

Ian Happ: 12 HR 28 RBI .258 BA .866 OPS

The two outfielders went through a rough stretch in the final weeks of the season, but considering they were the only position players to show a consistency for a majority of the season I tip my cap to them.

I think this season will be a confidence boost for both Heyward and Happ going forward. The pair haven’t exactly lived up to their expectations since putting on a Cub-uniform. Now that they have tasted the personal success when wearing the pinstripes, they should believe they can do it again.

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If only the Cubs could have gotten this kind of offensive production the past few seasons. Maybe things will balance out next season and everyone will finally be hitting well at the same time.

Though hoping for the best with this core group will probably be asking for much. That’s basically what happened this season when no significant moves were made.

At the end of the day some changes are in order to guarantee a better offense for the Cubs in 2021.

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