Finding the Keys to Success for the Cubs After Two Games

In Commentary And Analysis by aisle424

If you have spent any amount of time on Twitter, listening to Chicago sports radio, or read a Cubs story by any of the Chicago beat writers (I’m making a conclusion based on two data points on that last one because I haven’t), then you probably know already that the Cubs are 1 for 27 with runners in scoring position.

Yes, you read that correctly. One for twenty-seven.  Isn’t that horrible? I bet you just want to kill yourself because no team has ever performed so poorly over two whole games. I mean, this lineup should be stacked. Sure, I don’t know what Ryan Kalish actually looks like, but Theo and Jed love him, so he must be good! Plus if Ryan Sweeney is any indication of the attractiveness of all Ryans, then I’m sure Kalish is a very handsome man and that’s got to count for something, right?

But that ONE FOR TWENTY-SEVEN WITH RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION is hard to overlook. It’s just so ugly. Does this team have any hope at all if they bat .037 with runners in scoring position? OH-THIRTY-SEVEN!

Luckily for everyone, I had an extra few minutes after breakfast and took a closer look at the stats and I found some positive little nuggets out there.

  • The Cubs are batting .324 with 0 outs this year. That’s pretty good! The key, apparently, is to not make outs because they’re batting .138 with 1 out and .194 with 2 outs. So, come on, Cubs! Don’t make outs and you’ll hit just fine!
  • They’re batting .375 in the 8th & 9th innings so far. Way to close out the games, Cubs! This almost assuredly means that we’ll have some very exciting comeback victories this year! I can’t wait!
  • When the count is full, they are batting .429. WOW! That’s better than Ted Williams! It’s still .400 when they are ahead in the count! They could do some real damage if they make the opposing pitcher throw a lot of balls!

So, there you have it. The keys to success for the Cubs are:

  1. Don’t make outs.
  2. Keep it close until late in the game.
  3. Don’t fall behind the pitcher.

Easy peasy! I expect to see these Keys to the Game to show up on a FOX broadcast at some point, and if they do, I want royalties.

Share this Post