Chicago Cubs getting it done

[AJAY]

It's terrible seeing the Brewers struggle so much. But watching the Cubs win with ease makes things even more depressing. I am just stunned at the extreme differences between the Brewers and Cubs in terms of stats such as ERA, batting average, etc. It just feels like every player on our roster is underachieving miserably and every player on their team is having a career year. It's just unbelievable how lopsided this has been so far.

I know our schedule has been much tougher and we have had fewer home games, but still it's depressing. Especially when unheralded prospects like Ryan Theriot outperform super-hyped guys like Rickie Weeks. I just don't get this.

Anyway, I got a question for the stats experts . . . .

Maybe I am being too hopeful, but shouldn't both teams experience some regression towards the mean at some point? Are we really that bad and are they really that good?

I am just in shock right now.

[iluvlamp]

AJAY. I know your pain. I feel it. Our starting pitching is awful. You could make an argument that Cubs isn't much better. They are. And their bullpen is better. Offense be damned really because when ours comes around it won't be enough to overcome a solid team like the Cubs. Sheesh...If only the Brewers had a Marmol to replace Gagne.

[SeriesFinale]

We've gone 4-2 against this invincible team in their crib

 

Our SOS has been more difficult, they've been injury-free thus far, it's still May, and bottom line we want the playoffs, which doesn't necessarily predicate winning the division.

 

This isn't over yet.

[jazzytrav]

Our SOS has been more difficult, they've been injury-free thus far

Well, to be fair, they lost Soriano for awhile. Unfortunately for us they lost him when he was a black hole at the top of the lineup, and when he came back he remembered that he's kinda good.

[kiwi brewer]

We've gone 4-2 against this invincible team in their crib

 

Our SOS has been more difficult, they've been injury-free thus far, it's still May, and bottom line we want the playoffs, which doesn't necessarily predicate winning the division.

 

This isn't over yet.

cheers to that. living in chicago is fun when the pack and crew are kicking the crapola out of the bears and cubs. i keep reminding my friends from chi that we have their number this year and haven't even played at miller yet. and they are lucky we don't play 20 because we would win 18! ok, a little drunk when i mouth farted that one.

but it IS very interesting to look at the SOS right now and look ahead to who plays who. to be honest, our schedule looks pretty tough for may and june for some reason. maybe it's the way this team has been playing. bleh.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

We've gone 4-2 against this invincible team in their crib

I'm not going to put a lot of stock in 6 games and 1 of those games was with Yo and we all know where he is. Sure, the Cubs are playing good baseball, but they're hot hitters will cool down and our cold hitters will warm up. We've dug ourselves into a hole now, but so did the Cubs last year. It's going to be an uphill battle. I'd like to see Zambrano break another bat over his leg and snap something to put him on the DL. Oh how funny that would be.

 

After it's all said and done, the Cubs have more pitching to rely on, but I'll believe it when I see it if the Cubs ever win a World Series.

[owbc]

The Brewers/Cubs scenario reminds me of a similiar situation from last year about this time...one of the two teams was in last place, couldn't hit, couldn't pitch, and had key injuries. The other team got off to a huge start, was comfortably in first place, and seemed to have everything going right.

 

If I were Ned Yost, I would recommend getting really angry over a "bad call" that was actually correct and kicking some dirt on an umpire. It worked for the Cubs last year.

[Glennron]

It seems like the last 3 weeks I've been thinking, "The Brewers offense will heat up, the Cubs offense will slow down." Over 1/4 of the way done, Ryan freakin' Theriot has a .413 OBP, Soto has an OPS over 1.000, Dempster is pitching out of his mind (35 hits allowed in 57.3 IP, what's up with that?). Lee has been slumping the last few games but it doesn't even matter because Soriano has been red hot in the mean time. I mean there's no way they're going to play .622 the rest of the way, is there? It is worth noting, though, that against teams that aren't the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs are only 17-16.

[sheethead]

They just have grittier, battlier players than we do.

[danzig6767]

The Brewers do have a good number of players that look to be underachieving and the Cubs have some guys likely playing over their heads, but i just think they have a better team than we do and the Gallardo injury further widened the gap.

 

The Cubs have a better defensive team, a better bullpen, and unlike our lineup, they have a nice mix of high batting average, guys who take walks, and a decent enough amount of power. In their rotation, i very highly question if Dempster can keep pitching so well, but Lilly is a better pitcher than how he started the season.

 

I won't give up on playoff hopes quite yet, but it sure looks like the odds of beating out the Cubs for the division are very slim unless they get struck badly with injuries.

[SeriesFinale]

Our SOS has been more difficult, they've been injury-free thus far

Well, to be fair, they lost Soriano for awhile. Unfortunately for us they lost him when he was a black hole at the top of the lineup, and when he came back he remembered that he's kinda good.

Of course...my bad. I think his pre-injury lousiness was indeed why I forgot.

Anyway, no excuses, the Cubs are playing great ball and they're a very good ball team. I'm just not willing to concede the division to them at this still-early (yes) juncture and I'd certainly hope the Brewers aren't, either, since I know the Brewers are capable of hanging with them as a team and can definitely beat them in the head-to-heads

 

 

 

 

[mikevan1818]

If I were Ned Yost, I would recommend getting really angry over a "bad call" that was actually correct and kicking some dirt on an umpire. It worked for the Cubs last year.

Anyone think Sheets and Kendall should come to blows in the dugout?

 

 

 

 

On second thought - I dont know how well Benny could take a punch.

[MBHA]

It is very possible for the Cubs to be celebrating a division championship on the field at Miller Park this September. It may even be a victory lap considering they may run away with it as John Kruk has predicted.

 

Think about this. Those last 3 games may draw 100,000+ Cubs fans, as the Brewer fans dump their tickets with the team hopelessly out of it and playing September call-ups.

[jeffy]

It is worth noting, though, that against teams that aren't the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs are only 17-16.

 

Thanks for reporting that interesting information. That led me to investigate and discover that against teams that are not in 1st place in another division, the Brewers are 19-16 (they are 1-8 against FL and Boston).

[BrewCrewForever]

I still think the Brewers are in it. I'm not giving up and won't. But yeah the Cubs are playing very very good baseball right now. Watched some of their game against Houston last night on ESPN and they are just flat out hitting.

[Invader3K]

It's basically a reversal of where things were at at this point last season...the Brewers were running away with the division, and the Cubs fans were wringing their Lee jerseys in frustration.

 

That said, the Brewers will have to start getti

[SeriesFinale]

Think about this. Those last 3 games may draw 100,000+ Cubs fans, as the Brewer fans dump their tickets with the team hopelessly out of it and playing September call-ups.

If this happens I'm getting on Stub Hub and buying a few tickets so the seats will stay empty out of protest

[DrWood]

Our SOS has been more difficult, they've been injury-free thus far

Well, to be fair, they lost Soriano for awhile. Unfortunately for us they lost him when he was a black hole at the top of the lineup, and when he came back he remembered that he's kinda good.

I think he started on the Berkmann diet--sure to provide a week of hitting .500.

 

[RU Rah Rah]

It's basically a reversal of where things were at at this point last season...the Brewers were running away with the division, and the Cubs fans were wringing their Lee jerseys in frustration.

I agree. There's still a bunch of baseball to be played. But the Brewers need to get it together, and quickly, if only because there are so many other semi-competent teams in the division this year. (Yes, including Pittsburgh. I don't see how we can indirectly mock them when they have a better record.)

 

[dlk9s]

against teams that aren't the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs are only 17-16.

I guess we'd better beat the Pirates this week! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I do think Soto is the real deal. Maybe not OPS over 1.000 "real," but he appears to be a very good player. I think he'll quickly become one of the top few all-around catchers in the game.

 

 

[TooLiveBrew]

I still want to wait & see with Soto. After posting a (MLB) BABIP of .486 last season, he's currently sitting at .378. While Soto could theoretically prove to be a player that sustains a relatively higher BABIP, no one sustains it at the clip he's had over his first 230 MLB plate appearances. Once the luck starts running out for Soto, I think we'll have a much better view of what he is as a batter. Basically, he's batting .317 with a BABIP that's 78 points above 'normal'. Let's see where he is when that BABIP levels out a bit.

[Thurston Fluff]

It is very possible for the Cubs to be celebrating a division championship on the field at Miller Park this September. It may even be a victory lap considering they may run away with it as John Kruk has predicted.

 

This should be a sign of good things to come for the Brewers. Last season they asked him if the Cubs were done and he said yes mainly becuase he believed in the Brewers. It was the same week they came out of their seaosn long slump and started to win. The only real differance between this seaos and last season is there are more than two teams that have a chance of playing above .500 baseball.

[Fear The Chorizo]

While the Cubs do have some players that seem to be overachieving, compared to the Brewers they also have a much larger number of players that have a significant track record as to what kind of production can be expected of them. Everyone talks about many of the Brewer hitters underproducing, but what kind of track record is there on them to feel comfortable with that statement? J.J. Hardy - other than the opening two months of 07, he's been a similar hitter to what he's done so far this season. Rickie Weeks - other than the last 35 games in 07 he's been a disappointment, injuries or not. Bill Hall - other than the year prior to signing his contract, he's been the same all or nothing type hitter as he is currently. Fielder - great 07 and solid 06, but there's no reason to expect him to drop close to 50 bombs a year until he does so more than once in his career.

 

The Cubs are a good team - we knew that before the season started. They are playing at a pace that the teams on their schedule to this point would have dictated. The big question is whether the Brewers are as good as what people thought they were, once these pitching injuries have decimated their depth and the strain their roster puts on young players and pitchers, with few key veteran contributors.

 

It's too early to worry about what the Cubs - or the other 4 teams in front of the Brewers in the standings - are doing. Lots of games left, but it's about time that this "talented" Brewers team starts to win at a consistent clip...if they don't, my guess is it has more to do with misjudged talent on this roster than explaining it away with schedule strength, injuries, and a team slump.

[Tbadder]

The chips have fallen their way so far. So be it. Fukudome was a nice sign. While our hitters were due for regression, guys like Lee must have been due progression. And I agree with the track record stuff. As much as I love our young talent their track records seem incomplete. Kudos to the Cubs they've got the right combination this year. I'm not gonna be miserable about it. The Cubs are worth it.

[Thurston Fluff]

if they don't, my guess is it has more to do with misjudged talent on this roster than explaining it away with schedule strength, injuries, and a team slump.

I think you're right about that. Maybe we had unrealistic expectations in that we thought all of the players would pan out. How often does that happen for any team? The Cubs thought Patterson then Pie would have been the answer for center field, Wood and Prior were supposed to be cornerstones of the staff for years to come ect. The differance is they can buy a vet when their youth fails we can't. That said you can't dismiss the SOS or the fact that some guys on the Cubs team are playing well above expectations so far.