After just five weeks, the Pittsburgh Pirates appear to find themselves in a chase for a wild card spot once again. We recap the highlights of the past week around the NL Central.
Here are the updated NL Central division standings:
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are on pace for a 129-33 record, which would break both the MLB and franchise records for wins and winning percentage, excluding the Cincinnati Reds 1869 67-0 season. The last time the Cubs were 24-6 was in 1907, so you can imagine why the vast majority of the Cubs players would be oblivious to a level of success the team has not matched in the past century. “I didn’t know. Just knew we had a good start. It doesn’t play a factor in our minds,” Kris Bryant said.
Victor Mather of the New York Times doesn’t believe the Cubs will falter as the season continues, but he also said Jason Heyward, hitting just .212 through the first five weeks, “bolstered a potent offense.” He admits the pitching staff probably can’t continue to put up number which can only be matched by the Pirates Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis Indians rotation. However, the Cubs offense has had several players dramatically underperforming, and as a whole, the lineup has a below league average BABIP. As the summer moves along, they are likely to score even more runs.
Runs haven’t been hard to come by for the Cubs though. At 6.13 runs per game, they lead the majors, and a large part of that has been a high on-base percentage made possible by a large number of walks. Opponents have put up little resistance to the Chicago baseball machine taking both sides of the windy city by storm. The Cubs lead all of baseball with 156 walks entering Tuesday. The Pirates are third with 131.
St. Louis Cardinals
If you were to walk into the Cardinals clubhouse before pre-game warmups, you wouldn’t find them huddled around the coaches going over scouting reports. You wouldn’t find them catching up on their favorite primetime television shows. You wouldn’t find them engrossed in electronic devices playing the latest game to go viral or studying game film, either. It is said baseball is like a game of chess, and it will be at one of the newest tables where you will find much of the team gathered. Their passion for chess has brought a competitive spirit to the Cardinals clubhouse, if not the field where the Red Birds continue to fail to gain any traction in the division race at .500.
The Cubs second consecutive offseason of exorbitant spending was one of the big storylines. Part of that spending involved stealing John Lackey and Jason Heyward out from under the checkbook of the Cardinals. Even if the Cubs go on to defy history and win the World Series, it could be questioned at what cost they brought the title back to the north side of Chicago. It will take broad shoulders to bear the weight of complaints if the coffers run dry trying to retain so much young talent and a lack of draft picks results in the Cubs fading quickly back into obscurity. For the Cardinals, the compensation picks they have been awarded as a result of the Cubs’ greed could put them in a position to acquire the next wave of young talent for their developmental staff to mold into the next NL Central standouts.
In the meantime, it will be this group of Cardinals expected to right the ship, lest they should sink out of the playoff picture for the first time since 2010. Jacob Emert builds a case showing the Cardinals are on pace to be the “best worst team in baseball history.” Much like the 2013 Pirates, the Cardinals offense has either given their pitchers every bit of run support they could possibly desire in a fraction of the games, and the bats have remained silent for many of their other contests. The Cardinals are on pace to become the first team since 1900 to finish with a run differential of more than 200 in their favor to have a winning percentage under .570.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds bullpen is on pace to be one of the worst in baseball history. At 6.43 entering Tuesday, the ERA of the Reds’ bullpen is a full run and a half worse than the next closest in baseball. Already this season, they set the record for the most consecutive games in which the bullpen had surrendered a run to the opposing team, but the 13 pitchers who have already made relief appearances this season are not the only ones to blame. The starting staff needs to start putting in longer outings if they have any hopes of finding a way to have a winning record this season.
At least the Reds’ starters continue to head out to the ballpark game after game, regardless of the outcome. The same cannot be said for the Reds’ fans. The average attendance is already down 6,307 from 2015. In 2015, the Reds averaged 28,357 fans through the first 15 home games. In 2016, that number has dropped to 22,049. The decline from last season is second only to the Orioles so far this season. The Reds have had fewer than 15,000 fans in six games. At no point in 2014 or 2015 did they draw fewer than 15,000.
Fans aren’t the only ones no longer making their way to Great American Ballpark. Elizabeth, Pennsylvania native J.J. Hoover finds himself pitching for a new team this week, the Louisville Bats. In 10.2 innings for the Reds this season, Hoover had already allowed six home runs and held an ERA of 14.34 before being optioned to Triple-A. It was a necessary move for a team in desperation for stability from the pitching staff. The Reds hope the increased workload over the next week or so allows him to recapture what made him a solid relief option in three of the last four years.
Milwaukee Brewers
As a whole, the Brewers have performed rather poorly. They share the Reds’ struggle trying to achieve improved consistency from their rotation. However, one player who was expected to struggle has been a pleasant addition in an area of great need. In the season preview, I described Chris Carter as the right-handed Pedro Alvarez. The comparison comes from the fact that Carter has struck out in all but five games this season, yet he is on pace for a career year with a .273 average, 34 points higher than his career high in 2012.
While Carter may be a surprising steal, the Brewers seem to be getting exactly what they expected from third baseman Aaron Hill. Through the first month, Hill was struggling to stay above the Mendoza line, but following his surge at the plate over the last week, he is on pace to match or surpass his offensive output over the last two season. Hill has committed just one error so far this season, so for just a fraction of his original 2016 salary, the Brewers get a rather consistent third baseman in an area of need until top shortstop prospect Orlando Arcia gets promoted in all likelihood later this season. Until then, Hill will both frustrate and exhilarate the fan base as he undergoes a series of hot and cold streaks at the plate.
As with any sports franchise, the Brewers undergo their own hot and cold streaks. In the midst of a cold streak, the revenue stream tends to dip because very few tend to support a loser. That’s exactly the case with the Brewers this season. Advertisers were reluctant to invest in air time during Brewers game broadcasts, and a month into the season, the team’s performance has done little to pry open the wallets. The Scripps Company, who owns the station which broadcasts the Brewers also reports a decline in operating expenses during the first quarter.
That’s a wrap for this week. Be sure to check back next week for the latest news concerning the NL Central.
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