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CHICAGO – Chicago Cubs fielder Jason Heyward needed to make a point. The journalists were bombarding him with questions about why his team's offensive was so schizophrenic and how they attacked these Milwaukee brewers. The Cubs have not been able to shake them – or even the rest of the National League – even though they are in sole possession of first place since July 12th.
The Red Sox record has high expectations in pre-season, but the other six have stories to tell.
They tried, they challenged and they came to the end. What is within the reach of the nine who must now return to the drawing board?
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"I just want to point out that we have the best record in the NL, and we have not won yet," said Heyward on Tuesday afternoon before the Cubs lost 6-0 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. "It shows how good our division is, it shows you how good this league is, it's time to pay tribute to the quality of those other teams that play baseball."
Heyward makes a lot of sense, but how many Cubs fans want to hear how much other Is the team then that their team seems to be collapsing? However, if that is a reality that deserves to be explored, then maybe that can explain the inconsistency of the Cubs, as well as the entire league this year. Central NL, in particular, is also underestimated as it comes. With the mighty Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at the helm of AL East, you'd think this division is the best in baseball, but only NL Central would end up with three playoff teams if the season was ending today.
"I've talked about it all year," said Joe Maddon, director of the Cubs. "The teams did a good job quickly."
Maddon does not do that. He first spoke about parity in the division in April. Everyone knew the Brewers were good, but the St. Louis Cardinals had a resurgence under new manager Mike Shildt, and the Cincinnati Reds have played much better since the arrival of Jim Riggleman. They swept the Cubs in a four-game series earlier this year.
And then there are the pirates. In the previous five games against the Cubs before Tuesday, they had given up a single round in each of them. They improved that by closing the Cubs in Wrigley on Tuesday. Part of this is on the Cubs' offensive, which has been mediocre since the All-Star break, and some are on the competition.
"Who does not throw 95 mph?" Maddon asked. "It's hard to handle in the batter's box."
Cubs also did not deal with higher speeds or weaker types. Their offensive took hold in the second half, placing 11th in the National League in OPS and 12th in the races scored per match (just under four innings). They ranked first in NL in both statistics before the break.
"The game that was up and down, or clumsy, was the offensive side of the ball, which we thought was more consistent," said Maddon.
This is not the time to analyze what went wrong – it will come during the off season. The best that the Cubs can do is continue to win ugly matches and hope that October is nice to them. The problem is that they play in their own division to finish the season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the NL Central teams recorded a .552 winning percentage outside their division this season before Tuesday's match. This is by far the best in NL and the second best inter-divisional record in baseball behind that of the AL West.
"Central NL is an absolutely loaded division" Tommy La Stella said. "Everybody is fighting all year long, that says a lot about our guys, we have not been collective for all of us, collectively, this year, but we've always found ways to be successful for win games. "
But does this success end in the last week? The Brewers rolled and the Cubs lost the first two games of their series against the Pirates, reducing their lead to just half a game against Milwaukee. Their attack continues to be a weak link despite the addition of Daniel Murphy last month.
"The guys are making the effort by getting to work," said Anthony Rizzo. "Efforts are not lacking."
A journalist reminded Rizzo that it had not been easy to tidy the other competitors in the division.
"If that was the case, I think you would too, right?" he has answered. "We knew it would not be easy, this week will not be different from the previous weeks."
Rizzo could not be more fair. The Brewers end up with a burst, thanks to a dynamic attack, while the Cubs are still trying to find their second half groove on the plate. They say pitching and defending win championships, but point scoring wins matches. The Cubs are missing and have been for a long time.
"More than anything, the part of our game that is unfamiliar to us has been offensive," said Maddon. "The rest of the game has been pretty familiar."
This might not be enough. A strong competition within the division, combined with a putrid attack, could simply incite the Cubs to play. Can they find what it takes to avoid a wild card at a match? The next few days will tell.
"It would be nice to take a step forward at about this time," La Stella said.
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