Cubs Pitching Problems

Coming into the season, it was known that pitching would not be their strong suit.  It was known that they would be a better offensive team, with their great wealth of position player prospects and young infield.  Like 26 year old MVP candidate first baseman Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler, Javier Baez who came up in September, and Tommy La Stella, who was hurt most of the year.   Plus for sure the NL ROY, one of the most hyped prospects of all time, Kris Bryant, who came up in mid-April due to contract issues.  Kyle Schwarber, who has been a great hitter as advertised as a rookie. And Addison Russell, who the Cubs got in the Athletics trade last year, who has been a solid hitter and great fielder.  And Dexter Folwer and Chris Coghlan, who have been great catalysts.

This off season, the Cubs signed Jon Lester to a 155 million dollar deal, and Jason Hammel.  Lester has been good, and Hammel has been bad since the All-Star break after being an All-Star snub.  Jake Arrieta will clearly start the Wild Card game, but if they win that, will their pitching hold them back?

After those three, the Cubs have Kyle Hendricks and Dan Haren.  Hendricks has an ERA over four, and Haren hasn't been good since coming over in a trade with the Marlins.  I don't think Haren would be likely to get a playoff start.

So what would the Cubs do after Lester and Arrieta?  I have no idea, but one other starters going to need to be on top of their game.

Another problem is their inconsistent bullpen.  Sometimes it is lockdown, bit other times it is just plain awful.  Pedro Strop has been bad lately, but they have gotten contributions from September call-ups like former starter Trevor Cahill. 

This off season, the Cubs are expected to go after a big pitcher this off season, and are one of the favorites to get Toronto Blue Jays ace David Price.  That was the plan, to get position prospects in place, and sign free agent pitchers.  But the Cubs are a year ahead of schedule, as 2016 was the goal.  I think the Cubs could go far, but I don't know if their pitching could allow them to win the World Series.  It will be interesting to see what happens, whether the pitching besides Arrieta and Lester steps up, or if they'll hurt the Cubs chances at winning the World Series. 

Does the MLB's Playoff System Need Changing?

Everybody knows it.  The NL Central is the best division in all of baseball, by a mile.  The division includes the Cincinnati Reds, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the St. Louis Cardinals.  It's so good that the Cardinals, Pirates, and Cubs are the best three teams in all of baseball.  But only owe team can win the division, and the other two are heading to the dreaded Wild Card game. Gulp.

The MLB didn't even have the Wild Card game until three years ago in 2012.  Before that, only four teams got into the playoffs in each league, three division winners and one wild card team.  If that was still in place, we might have a 95 game winning team missing out on the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the NL West leading Dodgers and NL East leading Mets are sitting comfortably on top of their  divisions and are getting ready to battle it out in the NLDS.  The Dodgers are 85-64, while the Mets are 85-66.  So right now, the Dodgers are a game ahead of the Mets for home field advantage in the series.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 95-56, with all ready clinching a playoff spot.  The Pirates are 90-60, while the Cubs are 89-62.  So most likely, the Cardinals will win the division, with around a hundred wins.  That leaves the Cubs and the Pirates duking it out for home field advantage in the one game series, with the Pirates leading by a 1.5 game margin and the Cubs owning the tiebreaker.  Is that fair?

I don't think they should change the seeding after one year.  Because you never know how often that this situation will end up happening, and  teams should be rewarded for winning their division.

But, if this continues to occur, where the second wild card team would have have a better record than the two seed by four games, something would have to change.  If it needs changing, I would suggest that they seed the teams by record, not by division or wild card status.  Of course, if you won your division, you'd get in for sure, as winning a division is tough.   For example, the year the Cubs would play the Pirates in the NLDS and the Mets and Dodgers play in the Wild Card game with the chance to play the Cardinals.  It would avoid having to play the top two or three teams in the Majors play in the NLDS after knocking out another two three team.  But it is working great in the AL right now, so maybe it won't be that big of a deal. That is my thoughts on it, and it will be interesting if Commissioner Manfred will change anything, or if it will stay the same. 

NL Cy Young Race

As the baseball season winds down, the playoff races and award races come down to the wire.  One of the more tightly contested awards right now is the NL Cy Young award.  At this point in the season, the finalists have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, and right now the winner will come from from a group of three pitchers.  Two are teammates on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw.  The other one in the race is Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta.

Zack Greinke has been consistently unbelievable all season long.  Greinke currently holds an 18-3 record with a 1.65 ERA, which is not only the lowest in the NL, but the Majors.  Greinke was also the NL's starting pitcher in the All-Star game held in Cincinnati.

If Greinke were to win the Cy Young, it would not be his first rodeo.  In 2009, he won the AL Cy Young when he pitched for the Kansas City Royals, aganist Mariners' ace Felix Hernandez in a landslide.

The amazing thing is, is that Greinke might not even be the Dodgers' ace.  The other Cy Young candidate on the Dodgers is Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw has compiled a 14-7 record with a 2.18 ERA.

Kershaw has been considered by some to be the best pitcher in the MLB since he entered the league seven years ago in 2008, outside of the playoffs where he has mightily struggled. I couldn't agree more with that statement.  A good example of his greatness can be seen by the accolades and awards that he has earned.  He has been an All-Star the past five years, won a Gold Glove, Cy Young, and the pitching triple crown in 2011 alone.  He is a three time Cy Young Award winner including 2011, 2013 and 2014.  In 2014, he also won the MVP which is the first time a pitcher did that since the legendary Bob Gibson did it in 1968.  He also also twice been the NL wins and strikeout leaders.  He also won the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award, showing he is also a great person off the field.  Oh, and he's twenty-seven years old.

Last but not least, is the Cubs' Jake Arrieta.  Arrieta has a 19-3 record and a 1.96 ERA.   Arrieta came in to the year not very well known outside of Cubs fans and Wrigley Field.  In the off season, the Cubs signed Jon Lester to a 6-year, 155 million dollar contract to be the Cubs' ace, but Arrieta has instead emerged as the ace.  All the Cubs had to do to get Arrieta was trade Steve Clevenger and Scott Feldman to get him and Pedro Strop.  He has had an unbelievable second half of the season , with a no-hitter aganist the Dodgers and a 0.95 with one loss coming aganist Cole Hamels when he threw a no-hitter for the Phillies.

As of right now, I hope Arrieta wins it as a Cubs fan, but I think that Greinke will and should.  People think the Dodger vote will be split, but I think that Greinke will still win, and Arrieta will be the runner-up, with Kershaw in third.

Should Ohio State Be Ranked Number One?

Coming into the season, one thing was for certain; Ohio State was the best team in the country.  They had it all; a defensive end, Joey Bosa, who could be a top 5 pick, one of the nation's best running backs in Ezekiel Elliott, and two NFL-level prospect quarterbacks in Cardale Jones and J.T Barrett.  That was probably the Buckeye's biggest problem, deciding which quarterback to start between the former and Braxton Miller, the previous starter before getting hurt in training camp last year. Miller later switched to a wide receiver, and Jones was named the starter.  It was a great problem to have.

But, after crushing Virginia Tech on the road, Ohio State has looked bad.  The Buckeyes beat Hawaii by thirty-eight, but it was much closer than that.  Then, aganist Northern Illinois, they only won 20-13, and  Jones got benched in favor of Barrett.  The Buckeyes returned an interception for a touchdown, which means that the Buckeye offense put up 13 points on the board.  Aganist Northern Illinois.  A MAC school.  So certainly the feeling around the Buckeyes is not as good as it was in the beginning of the season.  Instead, the attention is turning to another Big Ten school, the Michigan State Spartans.

The Spartans have risen in the AP poll all the way to the second spot, making the Big Ten one-two in the AP Poll.  The Spartans also reside in the Eastern Division of the Big Ten, the tougher of the two divisions in the conference.  The Spartans were thought to be the Buckeye's toughest challenger
in the Big Ten, and that looks truer than ever.

The Spartans are led by their projected first round quarterback Connor Cook, and their stout defense led by great front seven play, with players like Riley Bullough.  The have perhaps one of the most impressive  wins of the young season aganist Oregon by three, 31-28, along with close wins to Air Force and Western Michigan by two possessions.

The Spartans will meet the Buckeyes in perhaps the game of the year in college football in Ohio Stadium on November 20th for the Big Ten East birth to the conference championship and if they win that, a playoff birth. I'd give the Buckeyes the slight edge because of the home field advantage.

There are others, like TCU led by senior quarterback Trevonte Boykin and their explosive Big 12 offense, and Ole Miss, led by quarterback Chad Kelly, and Baylor, led by quarterback Seth Russell, and another great Big 12 offense.  But I think the Buckeyes and Spartans are the top two teams as of right now.

Iowa-Pittsburgh Preview

Tonight, the Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0) face off against the Pittsburgh Panthers (2-0) in a non-conference battle between the Big Ten and the ACC at Kinnick Stadium. The teams played last year, a game in which the Hawkeyes won 24-20 in Pittsburgh. The Hawkeyes are coming off of wins of Illinois State and instate rival Iowa State in Ames.  Pittsburgh is coming off of wins aganist Youngstown State and on the road at Akron.
Both teams have key players that have injuries. Pittsburgh's star running back, James Conner is out for the season after he tore his MCL aganist Youngstown State.  That is huge because as he went, the Panthers offense went.  The Hawkeyes star defensive end, Drew Ott will play, but will be limited after he suffered an arm injury after a scramble for a fumble in the first half aganist Iowa State. 
A big question for the Panthers is who their quarterback will be. The battle is between Chad Voytik and Nate Peterman. The Hawkeyes are set with C.J Beathard.
It will be an emotional night for the Hawkeyes, as former safety Brett Greenwood will be the honorary captain for the Hawkeyes.  Greenwood is recovering from collapsing after working out from a heart arrhythmia and an anoxic brain injury, which put him in a coma.
I think that with it being at Kinnick and the Panthers having injury and quarterback problems, I like the Hawkeyes to win, 27-17.

The SEC is Overrated

As college football has come back a yearly argument has came back. Is the SEC overrated? Now, the SEC is a very good football conference, and how you disagree? They won seven BCS titles in a row, and the conference has a wealth of great NFL prospects every year.  But the conference has been exposed as of late. I believe that it is overrated, and I have a few examples of why I think the SEC is overrated.

 

Bad Start to 2015 season

It has been a rough start to the season for the SEC.  It all started the first night of the FBS season, when Vanderbilt lost to a good C-USA opponent, 14-12.  Knowing Vanderbilt, it wasn’t a surprise at all, as they are one of the worst teams in all of FBS football and struggle to get to four wins a year.  It just got worse from there.  In week two, number six ranked Auburn battled with FCS Jacksonville State, and it was a struggle.  They got the ball back with about a minute left after a shanked punt, and scored a touchdown just to force it into overtime, where they eventually won it.

Now in Little Rock, Arkansas, the number eighteen ranked Arkansas Razorbacks played a neutral site game against the MAC’s Toledo Rockets. The Razorbacks came out of the gate flat, and trailed for most of the game.  It ended on a late-game heave by Razorbacks quarterback Brandon Allen that floated out of the back of the end zone.  The game ended in a 17-12 loss for the Razorbacks.  In other games, Missouri won against Arkansas State of the Sun Belt 27-20, and Florida beat C-USA member East Carolina 31-24

 

Bad Quarterback Play

Perhaps the biggest reason for the SEC’s struggle is the lack of strong quarterback play.  Back when the SEC won those seven titles in a row, the SEC was filled with great quarterback play. 

Perhaps the biggest reason for the SEC’s struggle is the lack of strong quarterback play.  Back when the SEC won those seven titles in a row, the SEC was filled with great quarterback play.  Great quarterbacks like Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Greg McElroy.  Now, it seems like there is only two high quality signal callers, and that is Texas A@M’s Kyle Allen and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott, with Allen probably being the only quarterback in the conference with great pro upside as of now. That is not good news for the SEC’s title hopes considering that the run-away favorite right now, Ohio State, has two NFL quality quarterbacks on their roster alone in Cardale Jones (who is the starter) and J.T Barrett.  I don't that any SEC team that would play the Buckeyes in the playoffs would be  able to keep up with them with the weak quarterback play of the SEC.

 

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