Cubs Live
The Cubs defeated the Nationals in yet another thrilling post season game, something that has become a norm on the north side. With their victory Thursday night, they secured their third consecutive LCS appearance. They will throw down with the Dodgers, which will be the first LCS rematch since 2008 and 2009. The Dodgers were the best team in baseball during the regular season, and things will be tough for the defending world champs. Here are a few things that should be noted heading into this series: Game 1 definitely favors the Dodgers In games 4 and 5 of the division series, manger Joe Maddon was forced to use almost every single arm on the roster including, Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, and Kyle Hendricks. Although Quintana may be starting game 1, there is a very good chance John Lackey will have to eat some innings. More so, closer, Wade Davis is most likely not available after throwing 44 pitches in the clincher. Overall, everyone except Lackey is going to be a little fatigued on the Chicago pitching staff entering game 1. Maddon has more to worry about than just how taxed his guys are though. Top setup man, Carl Edwards was money during the regular season, but had a very rough NLDS surrendering six runs in 2.2 innings of work. In the past, Maddon has consistently showed confidence in him, but in game 5 Edwards walked the first batter he faced and was immediately replaced. Also, in game 4 Maddon went to Jon Lester for 3.2 innings, showing his lack of confidence in the bullpen. If the Cubs hope to snake out of L.A. with at least one win names like Brian Duensing, Pedro Strop, and Justin Wilson will have to step up big time. Clayton Kershaw Clayton Kershaw’s post season woes have been well documented and discussed, more specifically his struggles in the seventh inning. In fact, in game 1 against the Diamondbacks, Kershaw had a 7-2 lead going into the seventh and allowed back to back home runs (his third and fourth in the game no less). Kershaw may be the best pitcher in the game, but it will be shocking if manager Dave Roberts trots him back out for the seventh again. Entering the game as part of the best team in baseball, Kershaw may be pitching with a little extra pressure. If he’s been keeping up with the rest of the series around the league, he will know that fellow big-time aces have struggled a bit. Aside from Stephen Strasburg, pitcher like Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, and Max Scherzer have faltered at least once this post season. Kershaw certainly knows what it takes, but October baseball is a completely different animal. Which Cub will break out? Last year during the NLCS Addison Russell broke out in a big way for the Cubs, and provided a spark that would propel them through the rest of the series. Not only are the Cubs in desperate need of some consistent offense, but they need to find this year's Addison Russell. So far Anthony Rizzo has somewhat been that guy for the Cubs, but he will need to put together some good at bats against the Dodgers lefties. Since Rizzo doesn’t share time with anyone, he will be forced into some tough at bats, and will need to continue his "don’t do too much approach". Although, he does have 10 left on left home runs, so he may cheat a little for a pitch he can drive. It will be interesting to see how much playing time Javier Baez will get, and what he will do with it. He is an obvious candidate to ignite this Cubs team, with his flashy glove work and dangerous bat. However, Baez was simply not good in the NLDS and is going to need to show something quick because of Joe Maddon’s love affair with Ben Zobrist. Willson Contreras is very much a human spark plug because of the intensity he brings to the field everyday. The offensive explosion hasn’t really happened for him yet, but if he can regain even a fraction of what he was before his hamstring injury, look out. Late in the regular season Contreras carried the Cubs offense and seemed to hit a home run every day. If that Contreras shows up against the Dodgers, it will be exactly what the Cubs have been lacking and may be enough to get the rest of the offense going. There will be no easy out for the Cubs When the Dodgers offense is locked in there may not be a more disciplined team in the entire league. That discipline was on display when they defeated Zack Greinke who makes his living at getting batters to chase out of the zone. The Dodgers led the majors with the lowest chase rate in the entire MLB, and proved it further by taking pitches that weren’t strikes, and hitting 21 foul balls. They ran up Greinke’s pitch count and blasted home runs when he was up around and above 100 pitches. Young stars Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager have been impressive, but Justin Turner is the heart beat that makes the Dodgers line up go, very similar to Anthony Rizzo for the Cubs. Turner has cut down his strikeouts and become a top offensive threat in the league. In the NLDS he went 7 for 13 with a home run and five RBIs. In addition, Yasiel Puig had a great NLDS as well, going 5 for 11 with four RBIs and just one strikeout. If he can keep that up the Cubs will have their work cut out for them. That being said they did just defeat a Nationals line up that is arguably the best overall in baseball. The Cubs cannot afford to play bad defense So far this postseason defense has been atrocious between the two leagues. Both the Indians and Nationals shot themselves in the foot with bad defense facing elimination in Game 5. Thankfully, the Cubs were able to eek out a win in a game where they committed four errors. The Cubs are usually very sound defensively, and need to reach deep to shake their recent struggles, or else it may cost them the series. More specifically, the catchers on each team will play an important role in this series. Willson Contreras for the Cubs is well known for his massive arm and uncanny ability to throw behind and pick off runners. On the other side, the Dodgers play with two catchers, Yasmani Grandall and Austin Barnes. Grandall is regarded as one of the top pitch framers in all of baseball, but has had a rough go at the plate, slashing .187/.281/.403 in the last two months. Albert Almora and Yasiel Puig Each of these players could be put in multiple positions to swing the series, but in many different ways. If Yasiel Puig stays hot and can phase out his mental mistakes, it will be a huge boost for the Dodgers and make it even more difficult for the Cubs to navigate through their lineup. In addition, Puig’s arm can be a game changer in the outfield and his legs a factor on the base paths. It is almost a certainty that Albert Almora is going to have a chance to be an impact player in this series. With the Dodgers trio of lefty starters (Kershaw, Hill, Wood), Almora should get multiple starts and find himself in the box during a crucial moment. In 125 plate appearances this year, Almora has dominated lefties by hitting .342/.411/.486. He has never been scared off by the big stage, but is definitely going to need to step up. Also, his defensive abilities are top tier and will be a much needed boost. My Prediction Kershaw may have let up four homers in his last start, but that shouldn’t concern Dodger fans too much because he’s Clayton Kershaw. That and the fact that the entire Cubs pitching staff is fatigued, and will be counting on Quintana to go deep. The Cubs will have it rough in L.A. and should be happy if they roll into Wrigley with a 1-1 split. Back home, the Cubs will hit back hard firing on all cylinders, winning two of three and eventually taking the series in seven games. The Cubs bullpen will bounce back from their NLDS struggles, but many of these games will be in typical Cubs fashion; long, nerve wrecking, nail bitters decided by the play of key individuals defined throughout the course of the series.
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Kyle MalzhanFounder who is an aspiring journalist who covers the Chicago Cubs daily. Archives
April 2020
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