Post by Commissioner Erick on Oct 15, 2017 10:42:34 GMT -5
Chicago Cubs (92-63) @ St. Louis Cardinals (74-81)
CHC: Kyle Hendricks (15-9, 4.12)
STL: Mike Leake (10-15, 4.40)
It took awhile, but a strong second half and a Pittsburgh collapse has the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs. They'll almost assuredly take on the New York Mets in the Divisional Round of the playoffs? What's left to play for? Continuing their season-long domination of their St. Louis counterparts.
The Chicago Cubs look to expand on their 12-3 record—and winners of eight of their last nine—against the St. Louis Cardinals when they travel to St. Louis for their final road series of the year.
Up and down the line, the Cubs bats have done so well against St. Louis pitching. Wilson Contreras has a .315 average and three home runs in 61 plate appearances. Kris Bryant has a .958 OPS in 66 plate appearances. Jon Jay is hitting .327. Jason Heyward's on-base percentage is .412. Outside of perhaps Addison Russell, who has a .728 OPS as a shortstop against the Cardinals, nobody is struggling against St. Louis.
On the St. Louis side, you have situations like with tonight's starter Mike Leake. Leake has an ERA of 1.96 in three starts against the Cubs. He's 1-2. Of course, untold in those numbers are four unearned runs that obscure some of Leake's issues.
Of starters who have thrown at least 100 innings, Leake has the fourth lowest strikeout rate, fanning just 11.9% of his batters. He's very good with walks and keeping the ball on the ground, but he's reliant on defenses making plays behind him. Unfortunately, the Cardinals are third worst in zone rating and have committed the second most errors in baseball.
The Cardinals haven't been able to make up for their poor defense with offense. They're middle of the pack in runs and most component offensive categories, except stolen bases where they're dead last.
With Michael Reilly on board, the Cardinals have fared much better than under the stewardship of Christian Braddy. Under Braddy, the Cardinals went 42-55 and were slow to react to events. Reilly has the Cardinals going 32-26. There's competent enough leadership to get the team to be better. Let's see if there's enough pride to keep from getting steamrolled by Chicago again.
Questions for the GMs:
For Brandon Hillebrand, you've absolutely dominated the Cardinals this year. Do you take extra joy in thoroughly eviscerating such a rival?
Most people rave about Ian Happ's future. However, he has an OPS of .559 in 131 plate appearances. Will he have a place on the postseason roster?
Kyle Schwarber is only hitting .190. What is his status going to be for the playoffs? He has a lot of talent, but he's had such a terrible season.
For Michael Reilly, in taking over the Cardinals, what was the biggest problem you felt you needed to overcome?
The highest OPS on your team belongs to Matt Carpenter, at .832. Carpenter is more of a doubles hitter than a home run hitter. How do you compensate for a lack of power to try to beat the Cubs today?
You're last in stolen bases. Why is the running game not a part of your approach to baseball?
CHC: Kyle Hendricks (15-9, 4.12)
STL: Mike Leake (10-15, 4.40)
It took awhile, but a strong second half and a Pittsburgh collapse has the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs. They'll almost assuredly take on the New York Mets in the Divisional Round of the playoffs? What's left to play for? Continuing their season-long domination of their St. Louis counterparts.
The Chicago Cubs look to expand on their 12-3 record—and winners of eight of their last nine—against the St. Louis Cardinals when they travel to St. Louis for their final road series of the year.
Up and down the line, the Cubs bats have done so well against St. Louis pitching. Wilson Contreras has a .315 average and three home runs in 61 plate appearances. Kris Bryant has a .958 OPS in 66 plate appearances. Jon Jay is hitting .327. Jason Heyward's on-base percentage is .412. Outside of perhaps Addison Russell, who has a .728 OPS as a shortstop against the Cardinals, nobody is struggling against St. Louis.
On the St. Louis side, you have situations like with tonight's starter Mike Leake. Leake has an ERA of 1.96 in three starts against the Cubs. He's 1-2. Of course, untold in those numbers are four unearned runs that obscure some of Leake's issues.
Of starters who have thrown at least 100 innings, Leake has the fourth lowest strikeout rate, fanning just 11.9% of his batters. He's very good with walks and keeping the ball on the ground, but he's reliant on defenses making plays behind him. Unfortunately, the Cardinals are third worst in zone rating and have committed the second most errors in baseball.
The Cardinals haven't been able to make up for their poor defense with offense. They're middle of the pack in runs and most component offensive categories, except stolen bases where they're dead last.
With Michael Reilly on board, the Cardinals have fared much better than under the stewardship of Christian Braddy. Under Braddy, the Cardinals went 42-55 and were slow to react to events. Reilly has the Cardinals going 32-26. There's competent enough leadership to get the team to be better. Let's see if there's enough pride to keep from getting steamrolled by Chicago again.
Questions for the GMs:
For Brandon Hillebrand, you've absolutely dominated the Cardinals this year. Do you take extra joy in thoroughly eviscerating such a rival?
Most people rave about Ian Happ's future. However, he has an OPS of .559 in 131 plate appearances. Will he have a place on the postseason roster?
Kyle Schwarber is only hitting .190. What is his status going to be for the playoffs? He has a lot of talent, but he's had such a terrible season.
For Michael Reilly, in taking over the Cardinals, what was the biggest problem you felt you needed to overcome?
The highest OPS on your team belongs to Matt Carpenter, at .832. Carpenter is more of a doubles hitter than a home run hitter. How do you compensate for a lack of power to try to beat the Cubs today?
You're last in stolen bases. Why is the running game not a part of your approach to baseball?
