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Chicago Cubs: Making the case for each NL Central contender
The National League Central seems to be anyone’s division at this moment. That is, except for the divisional punching bag, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs, who are 11 1/2 games out of first and are staring a series with Milwaukee in the face are not exactly threatening to make a run anytime soon. That being said, there is no clear leader, as the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs sit atop the division, both with records tallying 35-27.
The Cubs are welcoming the St. Louis Cardinals, who are just three games behind the Brewers and the Cubs for first place, to Wrigley on Friday for a three-game weekend series that will hold a lot of weight and possibly shift the standings in a variety of ways, depending on the outcome.
With the Cubs and Brewers being the current favorites for the division I truly feel that four of the five NL Central teams have a legitimate shot to grab the the top spot in the division.
Chicago Cubs: Making the case for the Milwaukee Brewers
After another Brewers win on Thursday against Cincinnati, (another NL Central team whose playoff hopes are very much alive) the Brewers are tied with the Cubbies for first place in the National League Central. A brutal stint in San Francisco from the Cubs in which they dropped three of four, mixed with the red hot Brewers, who have won 14 of their last 18 games, tightened this race up in a big way.
The Brewers are the biggest threat to the Cubs for first place. It seems that everyone in this division besides Pittsburgh has great offense. The thing that separates Milwaukee from the rest of the division is their pitching. It starts with their ace, big Brandon Woodruff. Brandon is fourth in MLB in ERA (1.42) just behind Jacob deGrom, Lance Lynn and Kevin Gausman. If you break that down, that puts Woodruff in the top three in ERA in the Senior Circuit and easily tops in the NL Central.
We all know about the devastating lefty who resides in Milwaukee’s bullpen, Josh Hader. Hader, otherwise known as the “National League Aroldis Chapman”, and his thunderbolt of an arm are currently tied for fifth in the league in saves along with the Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Boston Red Sox closer Matt Barnes. The amount of opposing batters who curse under their breath when Hader begins to warm up must be through the roof. The guy doesn’t just throw gas, he throws diesel, or Tesla battery – however you want to describe it.
“How about Milwaukee’s offense?” Well, they’ve got a former MVP who’s back from injury in Christian Yelich. Yelich hasn’t been in MVP form yet, but some other guys have stepped up in a big way for the Brew Crew. Avisail Garcia is the first player to come to mind as he leads the Brewers in hits, home runs, RBI and total bases. Aside from the great season Garcia has put together, Milwaukee also has two guys with over 100 plate appearances that are both batting over .275 for the season. (Kolten Wong and Omar Narvaez)
Milwaukee has it all right now, they’re playing the best, have the most talent and boast the one thing that other NL Central teams are lacking: pitching.
Chicago Cubs: Making the case for the Cincinnati Reds
Below the front-runners in the Central, you’ll find the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati, who suffered at the hands of the Brewers on Thursday are still just a good road trip away from having the top seed in the division at their fingertips, as they sit just five games back of the Cubs and Brewers. Not to mention their high-powered offense featuring former Buffalo native Jesse Winker and and former Chicago Cubs fan favorite Nick Castellanos.
The Reds pitching has struggled thus far, it’s their bats that has kept them in games. Castellanos and Winker, coming into the season as solid players, are playing at All-Star levels right now. Castellanos ranks first in batting average (.357) and third in OPS (1.038). Winker’s right there with his teammate among the best in MLB, ranking second in batting average (.346), second in OPS (1.057) and tied for third in the league in homers (17). I think I everyone who reads this or follows the Reds would be in agreement that these guys are absolute animals at the plate.
I’ll put it to you this way as to how important Winker and Castellanos are to the Reds’ success. Whenever a team goes to Cincy to play these guys, at the top of the scouting report, you’ll see “CASTELLANOS” and “WINKER” in all caps, highlighted, underlined, you name it. Labeled with things like “don’t do (x) with this guy” or “Make sure we don’t do (x) with him”. If you get too cute with these guys, they can and will beat you.
Chicago Cubs: Making the case for the St. Louis Cardinals
As for St. Louis? Well, they’re struggling, but they’re no Pittsburgh (23-38, 11 1/2 games back). Sure, St. Louis has dropped eight of its last 10, which undoubtedly is cause for concern. But every Cubs fan knows there’s always more to a Cubs-Cardinals matchup than meets the eye. The Cards are still only three games back of first place despite their struggles, which is huge as they go into a series against Chicago.
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In St. Louis, the tradition is winning. Some describe the Cardinals as “The Yankees of the National League”, with their 11 World Series titles. Even though I don’t have a lot of recent data that supports a winning team, as they lost eight of their last 10, how do you see a guy like Adam Wainwright, who has been playing forever, and not have confidence in the guy?
He’s 39 and has been inconsistent this season, either giving the Cards a really great outing or getting shelled for a few runs early on. But the guy has been there and delivered so many times, I don’t think it’s fair to write this team off just yet. Especially after a performance he put together on Wednesday night in which he fanned six, allowed only two runs on three hits, and went seven innings as he picked up the win over the Cleveland Indians.
The Cardinals have winners. I mentioned Wainwright, but how about Yadier Molina? He’s pretty good right? He’s got a ton of postseason experience, World Series hardware and what seems like a million Gold Gloves, (not really, he has won the award nine times. Still unbelievable.)
Veteran guys, mixed with talent usually bodes well for a baseball team. The Cardinals’ two most-talented guys these days are at the corners, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and eight-time Gold Glover Nolan Arenado. Both guys have excellent hands on the infield and can do immense damage at the plate.
Chicago Cubs: Making the case for the Cubs in a tight NL Central
The everyday players for the Cubs are plenty talented. The key is going to be how this team is going to deal with the pressure and the drama as we approach the trade deadline. We’ve already seen a dugout shouting match between Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras. That part is definitely concerning, but if they can keep this team together, for one more run, I believe this team can make a deep run,
Especially with the success of some of some newer talent, such as Patrick Wisdom who has been a total maniac in the big leagues thus far. In 44 plate appearances he is batting .346 and has smashed eight homers. Inserting a guy into this lineup with the usual suspects of Baez, Bryant, and Rizzo who can hit for power is going to give this offense a huge boost.
The pitching, especially the starting pitching, needs help. It’s not a secret that the starting pitching for the Cubbies is lacking but it does feel good to have a healthy Craig Kimbrel back in the bullpen. The one bright spot as far as Cubs pitching this season has been Kimbrel, who ranks top three in saves (15) which is one more than Brewers fire baller Josh Hader.
2 Cubs who've justified team's faith and 1 who hasn't. dark. Next
Not long ago it seemed like the Chicago Cubs had turned a corner and grabbed this division by the throat. It only took one bad series and a few teams to make a run to make the NL Central the log jam it is. That being said, there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Chicago.