The Cubs have played better in recent days. They took three of four from the Marlins and won the opening game of the Padres series. Lets bear in mind, though, that they were playing the Marlins and the Padres, two of the the worst teams in all of baseball. In the last seven games, in which the Cubs are 5-2, they have scored more than four runs only once, last night, when they scored five.
I saw a stat that basically said the Cubs were the most homer dependent team in baseball so far as scoring runs is concerned. This is saying something given the fact that the team has only two legitimate home run threats in their everyday starting lineup, Rizzo and Soriano, and that Soriano has only one homer so far this season.
It rather points up two things, both of which we have been asserting for years: one is that the team is not built to score runs, the other that there is something fundamentally wrong with their approach to batting.
Pitching is still the brightest spot. The Cubs continue to get solid starting pitching even though Samardzija seems to have taken a step backwards in his last few starts. I didn't think I would ever say this, but the addition of Kevin Gregg looks to have helped solidify the bullpen. Cameron Loe looks like a guy who is auditioning to be DFAed once Fujikawa is ready to come off the DL.
People keep pressuring Sveum to name a closer, but I kind of like the idea of using Marmol, Russell, and Gregg in the finisher role and adding Fujikawa to the mix once he is healthy. For one thing, none of these guys except maybe Fujikawa has the genuine mental mindset of a real closer, so it takes a lot of pressure off. Marmol has pitched noticeably better since he lost the closer designation.
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