Cubbies Gazette

Yes, I know the Cubs season was unpleasant and kind of crazy, but you got to admit that there was SOME good about the season...(Frank Schwindel comes to mind?) So lets explore some of those fun and crazy stats and stat leaders for the 2021 Cubs! Ian Happ lead the Cubs in games played(148), started(120), and at-bats(465) . The ironic thing is he ended up with only a .226 BA, due mostly to his cold first half of the season. We started seeing the 2020 Ian Happ in August and September...maybe he can do it again in 2022? Ian Happ also lead the Cubs in hits(105), runs(63), RBIs(66), and walks(62). Again, how Happ can REALLY hit showed up in the latter half of the season, also showing his discipline at the plate with 10 more walks than the next leader (Contreras with 52). Frank Schwindel lead the team with a .342 batting average in 222 ABs. That is hardly sustainable for a whole season...especially if you're a guy picked up off waivers and about 30 years old...but if he could keep a .300 ...

  As we talked about in the previous article, the Cubs rotation definitely needs some help. Adbert Alzolay was supposed to really cement his spot in the 2021 rotation, but...he struggled, and now we're unsure about his role in 2022, even though he will make the bullpen, if the rotation is out of his reach right now.  Adbert Alzolay is the kind of guy you only want the best for. His dynamic personality and competitive nature, along with spurts of real potential shows a possibility of what the future might hold for him. Alzolay pitched a career high of 125 innings, having only pitching 21 innings in 2020. So yes, there is always a learning curve with a big starting workload. There are some problems, however, and we’re going to look at some of those problems and how he can become a dominant starting pitcher. Alzolays's Overall 2021 Stat Line: 5-13 W-L 4.58 ERA 1.62 WHIP 29 Games, 21 Games Started 125.2 IP 112 H, 66 R, 64 ER, 25 HR 34 BB, 128 K The first main thing we see is Alzol...

As I mentioned in the previous article, the Cubs NEED some pitching help. Specifically, in the rotation...so that's what we're going to discuss today: how is the rotation going to look and be in 2022? Lets start with pitchers that are already in the rotation. Hendricks struggled this past season with a 4.81 ERA, and while not his worst, is worse than his career 3.12 ERA. The homeruns really got him, as he surrendered 31 homeruns this year.  As a pitcher that pitches relatively softly and relies heavily on soft contact to get outs, there isn't much room for mistakes, as he does not have the swing and miss stuff that ace pitchers have. But, unless they trade him, he's going to be in the rotation, so lets just hope he has a good year. But as far as being the Cubs ace...how about they find an actually GOOD pitcher? Alec Mills had a 5.07 ERA this year over 20 starts, and like Hendricks, relies mainly on soft contact because of his slower pitching. His career ERA is 4.47, so ...

 The 2021 season for the Cubs was a disappointing and saddening season. First, the Cubs missed the playoffs BY A LOT. Cubs fans have been used to 91 wins, but 91 LOSSES? The last time the Cubs did not have an over .500 record was in 2014, the last time they have lost 91 games was in 2011, with the exact same standings: 71-91. So...yes, Cubs fans have been spoiled with winning games and making the playoffs (Cubs reached the playoffs 5 out of the 7 past years), but it is still disappointing. The Cubs started the year a little below even: April they were 11-15. Ok, so not great, but still hope. But in May, the Cubs were 19-8, bringing them up to 1st place in NL Central with a 30-23 record. Wow! I must admit I was pretty excited, the Cubs being in first place, and there was playoff hopes...anyway.  Then June came...the Cubs still looked good in the beginning of June, even throwing a no-hitter!, but then came an 11 game losing streak, and the Cubs dropped to 4th place with a 42-44 ...