After ripping off two 10-game win streaks, things were looking bright on the north side to start the year in Chicago. Unfortunately for them, they aren’t in the NL Central of old; they’re competing in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. The Cubs have rattled off nine straight losses, quickly lost their hold on the division, and now find themselves battling for the final Wild Card spot.
It’s only been 54 games for the Cubs, and they’re still four games over .500, but it might be time to start panicking. Going into this season, you were hoping to have one of the best rotations in the sport, but injuries have ravaged the Cubs, now missing Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd, Justin Steele, and Cade Horton. Timetables for potential returns feel quite uncertain, and the offense hasn’t been able to bail them out recently.
Over their last 15 games, they are 2-13, and their offense has been among the worst in the sport. They’re averaging 2.8 runs per game and have been held to three runs or less in 12 of those 15 games.
Predictions markets had the Cubs with a 63.7% chance of winning the NL Central just 17 days ago, but now sit at just 28%. The Brewers still only sit at a 50% chance to win the division, but they’ve opened up a 3.5 game lead on the Cubs and 2.5 game lead over the Cardinals. The whole division is at least 2 games over .500, there’s no easy games during inter-division play.
A healthy rotation or bullpen would be incredible for morale but the lineup needs massive amounts of help. Pete Crow Armstrong, Nico Hoerner, Alex Bregman, Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki and Moises Ballestros have all been average to well below average months over the month of May, and I’m not sure we will see a ton of improvement.
Chicago has been an incredibly streaky lineup for a while, and I still feel they overperform their expected stats by the time the season ends. I’m not sure I trust this team to catch a Brewers team that has been one of the best teams in baseball over the last two seasons.
Just two weeks ago it felt like they might be a team that throws their hat in the ring for a Tarik Skubal type of arm, now they’ll be in a battle for a final wild card spot. I don’t think the reinforcements will come in quickly enough to salvage this season for the Cubs. Who would’ve guessed that the White Sox would be better suited to contend for a playoff spot for the city of Chicago.
