I figured the All Star break was as good a time as any to break out a new Where We Stand Now post. The Cubs sit in 3rd place in the NL Central, but 3rd place isn’t as bad as it sounds. They’re still a game up for the final Wild Card spot, but they’ve been a bit unlucky while the Cardinals and Pirates have both been a little lucky.
Team | W | L | PCT | RS | RA |
St. Louis Cardinals | 56 | 33 | 0.629 | 355 | 264 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 53 | 35 | 0.602 | 356 | 292 |
Chicago Cubs | 47 | 40 | 0.540 | 335 | 319 |
Cincinnati Reds | 39 | 47 | 0.453 | 331 | 379 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 38 | 52 | 0.422 | 360 | 409 |
Here are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd order winning percentages. Descriptions can be found on Baseball Prospectus or briefly in this post from last month.
Team | W1 | L1 | PCT1 | RS | RA | Diff |
St. Louis Cardinals | 55.7 | 33.3 | 0.626 | 355 | 264 | 0.3 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 51.7 | 36.3 | 0.587 | 356 | 292 | 1.3 |
Chicago Cubs | 45.4 | 41.6 | 0.522 | 335 | 319 | 1.6 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 39.7 | 50.3 | 0.441 | 360 | 409 | -1.7 |
Cincinnati Reds | 37.7 | 48.3 | 0.438 | 331 | 379 | 1.3 |
Team | W2 | L2 | PCT2 | RS2 | RA2 | Diff |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 51.2 | 36.8 | 0.582 | 360 | 300 | 1.8 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 51.3 | 37.7 | 0.576 | 370 | 312 | 4.7 |
Chicago Cubs | 48.5 | 38.5 | 0.557 | 346 | 304 | -1.5 |
Cincinnati Reds | 41.7 | 44.3 | 0.485 | 358 | 370 | -2.7 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 37.5 | 52.5 | 0.416 | 341 | 409 | 0.5 |
Team | W3 | L3 | PCT3 | RS3 | RA3 | Diff |
St. Louis Cardinals | 51.5 | 37.5 | 0.579 | 378 | 317 | 4.5 |
Chicago Cubs | 49.4 | 37.6 | 0.568 | 370 | 318 | -2.4 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 49.4 | 38.6 | 0.561 | 364 | 318 | 3.6 |
Cincinnati Reds | 40.8 | 45.2 | 0.474 | 364 | 386 | -1.8 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 37.9 | 52.1 | 0.421 | 335 | 398 | 0.1 |
The Pirates take over the Cardinals in the 2nd order winning percentage, but the 3rd order percentage is perhaps the best measure of how the teams have actually played. The Cubs have been unlucky (about 2 to 3 games worth of bad luck) while the Cardinals have been quite lucky (so have the Pirates). 3rd order winning percentage doesn’t really count, but it’s a promising sign anyway.
I’ve posted below the Wild Card outlook with PECOTA rest of season win projections.
2015 Season To Date | PECOTA Rest of Season | Real + PECTOA RoS | |||||||
Team | Division | W | L | PCT | W | L | W | L | PCT |
Los Angeles Dodgers * | NLW | 51 | 39 | 0.567 | 44 | 28 | 95 | 67 | 0.586 |
St. Louis Cardinals * | NLC | 56 | 33 | 0.629 | 39 | 34 | 95 | 67 | 0.586 |
Pittsburgh Pirates ** | NLC | 53 | 35 | 0.602 | 38 | 36 | 91 | 71 | 0.562 |
Washington Nationals * | NLE | 48 | 39 | 0.552 | 42 | 33 | 90 | 72 | 0.556 |
Chicago Cubs ** | NLC | 47 | 40 | 0.540 | 41 | 34 | 88 | 74 | 0.543 |
New York Mets | NLE | 47 | 42 | 0.528 | 38 | 35 | 85 | 77 | 0.525 |
San Francisco Giants | NLW | 46 | 43 | 0.517 | 38 | 35 | 84 | 78 | 0.519 |
San Diego Padres | NLW | 41 | 49 | 0.456 | 37 | 35 | 78 | 84 | 0.481 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | NLW | 42 | 45 | 0.483 | 35 | 40 | 77 | 85 | 0.475 |
Cincinnati Reds | NLC | 39 | 47 | 0.453 | 35 | 41 | 74 | 88 | 0.457 |
Miami Marlins | NLE | 38 | 51 | 0.427 | 36 | 37 | 74 | 88 | 0.457 |
Colorado Rockies | NLW | 39 | 49 | 0.443 | 34 | 40 | 73 | 89 | 0.451 |
Milwaukee Brewers | NLC | 38 | 52 | 0.422 | 35 | 37 | 73 | 89 | 0.451 |
Atlanta Braves | NLE | 42 | 47 | 0.472 | 30 | 43 | 72 | 90 | 0.444 |
Philadelphia Phillies | NLE | 29 | 62 | 0.319 | 29 | 42 | 58 | 104 | 0.358 |
* = Division Winner | |||||||||
** = Wild Card Winner |