At then end of May, the Cubs were 25-24, 4.5 games back in the NL Central. Now, at the end of June, the Cubs are 36-38, again 4.5 games back in the division. The month was a struggle for all the teams in the division, especially the Cubs who have the talent to be in first place, and on some days show it, but on other days they look like a last place team. Overall, they're looking like a .500 ball clubs. Last year, the Cubs were never more than 2.5 games out, and that was in early May! This clubs just doesn't have the same feel as the team did in 2008.
Let's take a look at where the Cubs were after the first 3 months in recent years past:
- 2008: 50-33
- 2007: 39-40
- 2006: 29-50
- 2005: 40-37
Right now, the Cubs need to get hot! In 2007, we were 1 game under the break even mark at the end of June and we ended up coming back to win the division. However, that year 1. The Cubs were starting to play well by the end of June unlike this year; 2. The rest of the division stunk and the Brewers played poorly down the stretch. This year the NL Central doesn't have one team that stands out, and all 6 teams are still in the race and this point.
Here are some of the splits and stats for the Cubs at the end of June:
- 4th Place, 4.5 games back
- biggest lead: Never Led
- Farthest Behind: 5 Games on May 16
- Most Game over .500: 7 on May 16
- Most Games under .500: 2 on June 30
- Longest Winning streak: 5, May 10-16
- Longest Losing Streak: 8, May 17-25
- Most Runs Allowed: 12, May 9
- Most Runs Scored: 11, April 8, 28 & May 14
- Longest Game: 14 innings, June 7
- Times Shutout by Opponent: 8
- Times Opponent Shutout: 2
More W/L Splits:
- 307 RS, 308 RA
- .486 Winning %
- 21-13 at Home, 15-25 Road
- 10-11 in April
- 15-13 in May
- 11-14 in June
- 5-5 in Extra Innings
- 2-0 in Shortened Games
- 11-14 in one run games
- 9-9 in blowout games
- 6-8 in interleague play
- Most wins against: HOU (6)
- Most Losses against: STL (6)
My June Awards:
MVP: Derrek Lee (hit .333 in the month)
June Pitcher of the month: Ted Lilly (3.12 ERA this month)
Best Game of the Month: Friday the 19th: comeback VS Cleveland Cubs win 8-7 after being down 7-0 at one point. Derrek Lee tied the game against Kerry Wood in the 9th with a home run.
Team Ranks in Hitting Categories-
- Runs: 307 (15th in NL, 27th in MLB)
- Hits: 618 (15th in NL, 28th in MLB)
- 3B: 9 (16th in NL, 28th in MLB)
- HR: 79 (T-5th in NL, 15th in MLB)
- BB: 267 (9th in NL, 15th IN MLB)
- SO: 573 (6th most in NL, 9th most in MLB)
- SB: 31 (12th in NL, 26th in MLB)
- OBP: .321 (13th in the NL, 23rd in MLB)
- AVG: .244 (15th in NL, 28th in MLB)
So, the Cubs are not scoring any runs. That is the bottom line! Second worst in the NL in runs scored! It's unbelievable! And they're team batting avereage and team hits are also second to last! Who would have thought that this is where we'd be in June?
Now let's move on the the pitching categories-
- Wins: 36 (10th in NL, 20th in MLB)
- ERA: 3.89 (3rd in NL, 4th in MLB)
- CG: 1 (Tied for 11th in NL, T-23rd in MLB)
- SHO: 2 (Tied for 11th in NL, T-22nd in MLB)
- Saves: 17 (T-13th in NL, T- 23rd in MLB)
- HR Allowed: 80 (7th most in NL, 15th most in MLB)
- HBP: 27 (7th most in NL, 13th most in MLB
- BB: 291 (4th most in NL, 6th most in MLB)
- SO: 577 (4th in NL, 6th in MLB)
So the Cubs are getting great pitching, but the lack of wins for the pitchers is explained by the lack of offense. However, the team has not gotten dominant outings like complete games and shutouts, which you need once in a while when your struggling to score runs. The Cubs pitchers have walked a lot of guys, but they've also struck out a lot of guys. Let's get the same pitching and some better hitting in the second half!
Cubs Team Leaders-
- Wins: Ted Lilly, 7
- BA: Derrek Lee, .283
- HR: Alfonso Sorianot: 14
- RBIs: Derrek Lee: 39
- Runs: Alfonso Soriano: 47
- OPS: Derrek Lee: .834
- ERA: Ted Lilly: 3.35
- SO: Ted Lilly: 88
- Hits: Ryan Theriot: 79
- 2B: Alfonso Soriano: 17
- 3B: Kosuke/Theriot: 2
- SB: Ryan Theriot: 9
- SO: Alfonso Soriano: 77
Injuries this month:
- Ryan Freel (hamstring)
- Aaron Miles (elbow)
- Jason Waddell (non-baseball related)
- Aramis Ramirez (shoulder)
- Rich Harden (back)
- Reed Johnson (back)
- Angel Guzman (right triceps strain)
Transactions This Month:
- 6/10/09: Aaron Miles activated off 15-day DL, Jake Fox optioned to AAA.
- 6/13/09: Rich Harden activated off 15-day DL, Bobby Scales optioned to AAA.
- 6/16/09: Jason Waddell placed on 15-day DL, Jake Fox called up from AAA.
- 6/21/09: Angel Guzman placed on DL, Kevin Hart called up from AAA.
- 6/25/09: Ryan Freel activated from DL, Reed Johnson placed on DL.
- 6/29/09: Aaron Miles placed on 15-day DL, Sam Fuld called up from AAA.
- 6/30/09: Jose Ascaino optioned to AAA, Jeff Samardzija recalled from AAA.
Well, the Cubs need to start playing the way they know how. They need to turn this thing around, and fast! Let's get the new month started with a win to night against the Pirates!
I'll have another post for you before the game tonight!
No comments:
Post a Comment