The story of the Chicago Cubs 2012 season so far goes something like this: Solid starting pitching, multiple hits from Starlin Castro and Bryan LaHair, a role guy like David DeJesus or Ian Stewart picking up an RBI or two and a blown lead by the bullpen to wrap it all up. While the season seems to be stuck in Groundhog Day, that is not to say the games have not been entertaining or worth watching.
The Highlights
- The emergence of Bryan LaHair. After nine seasons in the minor leagues and two cups of coffee in the bigs, LaHair broke camp as the everyday first baseman. In his first real opportunity LaHair has done nothing but rake. In 128 plate appearances through 33 games, LaHair has 10 bombs and a cool .352/.445/.713 line. The ease with which the lefty takes the outside pitch to left and the inside pitch to right suggest a 29-year-old rookie that will lead the team all year.
- Jeff Samardzija sticks as a starter. When a guy can throw mid-90’s with movement, he is going to get ample opportunities to succeed. Samardzija broke into the bigs in 2008 and posted a 2.28 ERA over 27.2 IP. He followed that up with ERA’s of 7.53 and 8.38 in ’09 and ’10, respectively. The young pitcher turned the corner in the second half last season, becoming one of the Cubs best bullpen pitchers. Given a shot to earn a starting spot in the rotation this spring, Samardzija dazzled in Mesa. Through seven starts this year the Notre Dame grad has a 2.89 ERA and just over 1K/IP. The young pitcher appears confident and no longer the thrower Cubs fans used to watch through forehead-slapping fingers.
- True Grit. The biggest difference between this year and last year? The Cubs come to play every day. The combination of youth and shoulder chips make the Cubs exciting. The White Juan Pierre (Tony Campana) is too small. Bryan LaHair never made it to the majors for a reason. Starlin Castro makes too many errors. Ian Stewart is a first round bust. Matt Garza is Carlos Zambrano reincarnated. The Cubs play with attitude and so far manager Dale Sveum is getting the most out of his players.
The Lowlights
- Bullpen
- Bullpen
- Bullpen…seriously. Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol may be the only players standing between the Cubs and a .500 record. Wood— 8.64 ERA. Marmol— 6.35 ERA. When you break camp expecting those two to lead your young bullpen and get that in return, you know you are in trouble. James Russell, Rafeal Dolis and Shawn Camp can only handle so handle so much of the load. It also doesn’t help that Lendy Castillo seems to only be in the majors because he is a Rule 5 pick. With only 7.2 IP and a 7.04 ERA he is essentially leaving our bullpen one man short every night. It is hard not to miss Sean Marshall and wonder what the hell Theo Epstein was thinking when he sent one of the best lefty bullpen pitchers in baseball to a division foe in exchange for A Guy Who Can’t Even Pitch Well in Triple A.
The Takeaway
The Cubs are not as bad as expected. The bats are middle of the pack and the starting pitching (minus Chris Volstad) is superb. With LaHair and Castro hitting like studs and Campana flying around the basepath, the Cubs are a fun team to watch. In Year 1 of the rebuilding process, the Cubs appear a bit ahead of schedule.
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