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The Chicago Cubs just might have a bright future ahead of them with progressive baseball minds like Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein heading the organization. Cubs fans are accustomed to looking into the future, anyway, and 2012 has been no different; with a record of WUT-LOL, they're now behind (ahead of?) only the Astros (who are currently WTF-HAHAHA in 2012) as baseball's worst team. Things have gone from bad to worse as of late, as the Cubbies are just 4-17 during the month of August. That, of course, is the opposite of what the Rockies have been doing, as they've surged ahead of the Cubs in the Teams That Suck Division by winning 12 of 17 since a disastrous 1-8 homestand in late-July/early-August.
The Cubs feature some pretty decent pieces on offense, but as a whole they're actually pretty terrible; their 84 OPS+ as a team is tied for last in the NL with, guess who, the Astros. Alfonso Soriano is their best offensive player, and he's 206 years old and still swings at everything. He does, however, have 22 homers, and that's more than anyone on the Rockies, so I won't bag on him too much. Bryan LaHair has, rather predictably, regressed over the past couple of months, but he's still above-average with a 114 OPS+. However, in a 31-game stretch between his 14th and 15th HRs, LaHair hit .143/.250/.182 in 88 plate appearances. So, yeah...Anthony Rizzo, huh? I like this kid. The Cubs do, too, and I can see why; at just 22 years of age, he has hit nine homers in 50 games and has a 113 OPS+. He lost some value as a prospect last season by struggling at the MLB level in a fairly significant sample size, but Petco Park. This season, in a more neutral environment, he has improved greatly.
Despite their struggles on offense, the Cubs pitching staff, as it is currently constructed, is their biggest weakness. Consider this: all of their above-average starters (in terms of ERA+) that have made more than one start have either been traded (Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm) or are on the disabled list (Matt Garza). That leaves them with a ragtag bunch of misfits headed by Jeff Samardzija, who is actually pretty decent, despite his 96 ERA+.
Samardijazz has struck out more than a batter per inning while walking just over three per nine, which is pretty respectable for a guy who can rack up the K's like that. He is kind of creepy looking, yes, but maybe that plays into his strengths. He also knows how to catch footballs. That may or may not help him with his pitching. The other guys in the rotation don't know how to catch footballs, and none of them are very good.
The Cubs don't even really have any good pitchers in their bullpen, either, which sort of compounds the problem with the hastily-thrown-together rotation. Carlos Marmol once walked Alfonso Soriano in a game - while they were on the same team, no less - which shows you just how wild he can be. However, like Samardkaoasdfkjaozliaja, he can also provide fans with the opportunity to hang those "K" signs quite often, so that's fun. Former Rockie Manny Corpas pitches for the Cubs, and he has actually been slightly above-average, even with peripherals that are quite pedestrian.
Probable pitchers and more after the jump.
Friday, Aug. 24 at 12:20 p.m. MT (WGN)
Drew Pomeranz (1-7, 4.87 ERA) vs. Jeff Samardzija (8-11, 4.17 ERA)
Saturday, Aug. 25 at 11:05 a.m. MT (Root Sports)
Alex White (2-6, 5.55) vs. Brooks Raley (1-2, 7.63)
Sunday, Aug. 26 at 12:20 p.m. MT (Root Sports)
Jhoulys Chacin (1-3, 6.16) vs. Chris Volstad (0-9, 6.88)