Reality Check – The Cubs are Still a Very, Very, Very Good Team

It’s never easy losing. Whether you do it a lot or a little, it always stinks. The reality is that it’s a part of baseball. No matter how good a team is they always lose, a lot. So I thought it would be a good time to reflect on how things are going so far for the Cubs.

I have good news for anyone that may be concerned about the Cubs, they are 28-11. Bottom line, that is the single most significant take away at this point in the season. They have won a lot of games so far and they have a 6 ½ game lead on the second place Pirates. Breathe.

The Cubs may have just lost a couple games to the Brewers, oh, and let’s not forget about the Padres, but they are still 28-11 and still looking very good heading into a big series against the Giants. A series that we all hope they win but in reality it’s just one more series that, win or lose, they will move on from once it’s over.

It’s easy to look at any team’s record and pass judgement, as so often happens, but it’s important to understand how they got there. Here’s a look at a few significant offensive and defensive catagories and where the Cubs rank.

Overall Offense: 1st – 12 fWAR

Runs Scored: 3rd – 221

RBIs: 3rd – 209

OBP: 1st – .360

Walks: 1st – 197

AVG: 12th ^– .257

BABIP: 11th – .301

Overall Pitching: 3rd – 6.6 fWAR

ERA: 1st – 2.68

FIP: 3rd – 3.28

BABIP: 1st – .251

Runs: 1st – 115

Fielding: 1st – 21.8 Def

So, as you can see, when we look at the big picture, things look extremely good for the Cubs. There comes a point in baseball when even the hottest teams will regress back to the mean. In essence, that is part of the beauty of this sport we all love. It is humbling.

Over the course of 162 games, there will be a lot that happens, both good and bad. In the Cubs case they have been very, very good. And their bad, so far, hasn’t really been all that bad.