The Loveable Winners: A Chicago Cubs Dynasty (OOTP 19)

[saintrules]

All-Star Rosters

Below are the rosters from our very first All-Star game here in Season 1. I have ordered the rosters from AL to NL, and the first player is the starter. I can't recall the score, but the National League was victorious in this year's contest and Nolan Arenado was named All-Star MVP!

American League

Starting Pitchers
Carlos Carrasco (11-4/113 IP/2.87 ERA/9.1 K-9/2.6 WAR) - Cleveland
Luis Severino (10-3/117.2 IP/3.59 ERA/11.0 K-9/1.9 WAR) - New York
Chris Sale (7-5/89.1 IP/4.53 ERA/9.9 K-9/1.4 WAR) - Boston

Relief Pitchers
Andrew Miller (5-1/39.0 IP/1.15 ERA/18 SV/15.9 K-9/1.6 WAR) - Cleveland
Keone Kela (5-1/50.1 IP/2.50 ERA/13.8 K-9/1.5 WAR) - Texas
Tommy Kahnle (1-2/42.2 IP/2.53 ERA/11.8 K-9/0.7 WAR) - New York

Catcher
Wilson Ramos (.286/.325/.451/12 HR/112 wRC+/2.2 WAR) - Cleveland

First Base
Jose Abreu (.305/.369/.520/29 HR/162 wRC+/3.4 WAR) - New York Mets (Traded)

Second Base
Jose Altuve (.307/.378/.523/22 HR/18 SB/141 wRC+/3.7 WAR) - Houston

Shortstop
Carlos Correa (.349/.410/.585/16 HR/1 SB/167 wRC+/4.0 WAR) - Houston

Third Base
Josh Donaldson (.280/.390/.506/19 HR/148 wRC+/3.6 WAR) - Toronto

Designated Hitter
Giancarlo Stanton (.291/.383/.696/44 HR/185 wRC+/4.7 WAR) - New York

Left Field
Andrew Benintendi (.297/.362/.489/12 HR/1 SB/131 wRC+/2.8 WAR) - Boston

Center Field
Byron Buxton (.279/.333/.467/14 HR/22 SB/116 wRC+/4.2 WAR) - Minnesota

Right Field
Mookie Betts (.271/.336/.454/14 HR/6 SB/113 wRC+/2.7 WAR) - Boston

National League

Starting Pitchers
Kenta Maeda (11-1/110.2 IP/2.36 ERA/8.2 K-9/2.9 WAR) - Los Angeles
Stephen Strasburg (7-2/84.2 IP/2.55 ERA/9.1 K-9/2.6 WAR) - Washington
Carlos Martinez (8-3/108.0 IP/2.83 ERA/9.4 K-9/2.0 WAR) - St. Louis

Relief Pitchers
Kenley Jansen (5-4/49.2 IP/2.17 ERA/22 SV/12.9 K-9/1.8 WAR) - Los Angeles
Mark Melancon (2-1/35.1 IP/0.76 ERA/17 SV/10.2 K-9/1.9 WAR) - San Francisco
Brandon Morrow (2-1/28.1 IP/0.64 ERA/16 SV/8.3 K-9/0.9 WAR) - Chicago

Catcher
Buster Posey (.327/.398/.508/13 HR/1 SB/152 wRC+/3.8 WAR) - San Francisco

First Base
Anthony Rizzo (.258/.378/.545/27 HR/1 SB/150 wRC+/3.4 WAR) - Chicago

Second Base
Ozzie Albies (.301/.373/.483/9 HR/23 SB/135 wRC+/4.5 WAR) - Atlanta

Shortstop
Corey Seager (.321/.390/.538/16 HR/10 SB/154 wRC+/4.5 WAR) - Los Angeles

Third Base
Evan Longoria (.322/.354/.508/11 HR/1 SB/134 wRC+/3.2 WAR) - San Francisco

Left Field
Joc Pederson (.265/.381/.524/20 HR/11 SB/146 wRC+/3.2 WAR) - Los Angeles

Center Field
Adam Eaton (.321/.397/.482/10 HR/142 wRC+/2.8 WAR) - Washington

Right Field
Will Meyers (.270/.336/.485/19 HR/12 SB/121 wRC+/1.3 WAR) - San Diego

[saintrules]

July Statistics

The dog days of summer are officially upon us, but the Cubs are fighting hard in the Wild Card race & we've won the month, tallying 14 wins and 10 losses. The biggest improvement we have seen in our club has been our bats & we've improved our average, OBP, and Runs Scored, in the process. We are now 9th in OBP, 12th in AVG, and 14th in Runs Scored. While these aren't fantastic numbers, we have grown tremendously in the last month or two as we were nearly dead last in the National League in those categories.

Starting Lineup
1. 2B Javier Baez (.288/55 Runs/24 HR/57 RBI/22 BB/101 K/3.1 WAR)
2. 3B Kris Bryant (.254/53 Runs/13 HR/43 RBI/50 BB/125 K/2.1 WAR)
3. 1B Anthony Rizzo (.276/73 Runs/29 HR/67 RBI/59 BB/69 K/4.3 WAR)
4. C Wilson Contreras (.267/45 Runs/17 HR/55 RBI/32 BB/91 K/2.4 WAR)
5. LF Kyle Schwarber (.226/38 Runs/16 HR/38 RBI/37 BB/74 K/1.6 WAR)
6. CF Ian Happ (.250/43 Runs/14 HR/31 RBI/37 BB/93 K/1.6 WAR)
8. RF Jason Heyward (.225/35 Runs/9 HR/39 RBI/43 BB/83 K/0.7 WAR)
9. SS Addison Russell (.211/21 Runs/5 HR/26 RBI/34 BB/85 K/-0.3 WAR)

Overall, it was a strong month for the bats, at least compared to what we have been doing so far. Power is by no means an issue and that's where a vast majority of our run production is coming from, especially now that Schwarber is back in the mix and Happ has found his groove after slotting in for Albert Almora, who's still injured. We're looking at another 1-2 weeks on Almora. I ended up taking Zobrist out from the leadoff spot as he was getting very cold at the dish & Russell was beginning to produce as a pinch hitter. Since putting Russell back in, he's improved his average from the depths of .195 to .211 and is hitting extra base hits in bunches. Baez had a monster month as our leadoff hitter and he's nearly caught up to Rizzo for HR's. Our first baseman didn't have a great month with just four long balls, but his consistency at the dish and ability to get walked & avoid K's has been fantastic. We opted not to make a move at the trade deadline for hitting because I was enjoying the groove we seemed to be in. At the end of the day, I did not feel getting a rental was worth giving up the potential and future production of Happ, Schwarber, or Russell, as they were whom most teams were asking for.

Bench
2B Ben Zobrist (.236/18 Runs/2 HR/11 RBI/22 BB/19 K/0.4 WAR)
C Chris Gimenez (.233/10 Runs/2 HR/13 RBI/12 BB/21 K/0.1 WAR)
LF Chris Coghlan (.271/4 Runs/0 HR/8 RBI/5 BB/15 K/-0.2 WAR)
LF Mark Zagunis (.000/1 Runs/0 HR/0 RBI/2 BB/3 K/-0.2 WAR)

With Zobrist back on the pine, he's been our main go-to. However, Chris Gimenez has absolutely produced when he's started behind the plate, so he will see more chances to use his bat in the month of August. Coghlan remains as an emergency LF and his bat is rather quiet, despite his .271 average. Mark Zagunis was called up as an experiment, but hasn't really shown much to stay up.

Lineup Injuries
CF Albert Almora (.265/26 Runs/6 HR/24 RBI/10 BB/43 K/1.5 WAR)

Almora will be out another 1-2 weeks, at which point he will retake over CF duties from Ian Happ. I think I will move Happ over to LF and have Schwarber be our main pinch hitter, but I am not 100% sure yet, it depends on how he does in the first two weeks of August.

Starting Rotation
1. Jose Quintana (10-8/158.2 IP/3.57 ERA/34 BB/149 K/3.5 WAR)
2. Yu Darvish (7-9/132.2 IP/4.27 ERA/41 BB/133 K/2.7 WAR)
3. Jon Lester (5-10/117.2 IP/4.28 ERA/44 BB/111 K/0.5 WAR)
4. Kyle Hendricks (11-4/129.1 IP/2.78 ERA/36 BB/121 K/3.1 WAR)
5. Tyler Chatwood (6-8/113.1 IP/4.61 ERA/42 BB/80 K/1.2 WAR)

The month of July saw continued success from our starting rotation that ended with a 13-6 record, overall. Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, and Jon Lester, each collected three wins a piece, with Hendricks leading the pack with four victories. It must be noted that Quintana and Hendricks combined for a 9:66 BB to K ratio over the span of the last 30 days. Darvish and Lester have continued to sport a high ERA, both over 4.00, and it doesn't look to be coming down any time soon. While both had strong months, it was nothing in comparison to what it could have been if they had avoided early inning trouble. Chatwood has done what we have needed from him and I still don't think we'll switch him out for De La Cruz or Montgomery, he's pretty set.

Bullpen
ESP Oscar De La Cruz (1-0/14.0 IP/5.79 ERA/9 BB/16 K/0 HD/0.0 WAR)
ESP Mike Montgomery (0-3/39.2 IP/4.76 ERA/13 BB/36 K/6 HD/-0.3 WAR)
MRP Brian Duensing (5-0/46.0 IP/4.89 ERA/16 BB/31 K/2 HD/0.0 WAR)
MRP Dillon Maples (3-2/36.1 IP/5.94 ERA/37 BB/60 K/9 HD/-0.7 WAR)
MRP Jose Junior Rosario (0-1/19.1 IP/0.93 ERA/3 BB/22 K/3 HD/0.5 WAR)
MRP Carl Edwards Jr (3-1/40.1 IP/2.45 ERA/26 BB/68 K/9 HD/5 SV/1.2 WAR)
SU Justin Wilson (1-3/34.1 IP/6.55 ERA/27 BB/39 K/10 HD/7 SV/0.0 WAR)
SU Juan Nicasio (3-1/65.1 IP/2.07 ERA/17 BB/96 K/17 HD/0 SV/1.8 WAR)

Since I knew I wasn't making any additions in the hitting department at the deadline, I looked to the pen. Brandon Morrow came back for just one game before being re injured and taken out for another two week stint on the DL. With the struggles from Wilson and subsequent slow down in production from Dillon Maples and Carl Edwards Jr, it was time to make a move. The Mariners offered up Juan Nicasio for 1B Victor Caratini, who we had brought up for a couple weeks in June. Nicasio is contracted through 2019, so he's not a one and done guy, perfect scenario. We pulled the trigger and he was absolutely lights out ever since coming on board. I don't have his exact Cubs stats, but assume he's lowered his ERA and notched another 6-7 holds in the process. Given the state of the bullpen, late game innings goes as follows: Jose Junior Rosario/Carl Edwards Jr in innings 6-7 and Justin Wilson/Juan Nicasio in 8-9. Nicasio has not earned his first save yet, but he has seen 9th inning work a good amount of times.

Staff Injuries
CP Brandon Morrow (2-0/25.2 IP/0.70 ERA/8 BB/23 K/14 SV/0.7 WAR)
MRP Pedro Strop (1-0/8.2 IP/4.15 ERA/6 BB/7 K/0 HD/-0.1 WAR)
MRP Steve Cishek (1-0/25.1 IP/4.97 ERA/11 BB/28 K/2 HD/-0.2 WAR)

Once Morrow is back from the DL he's going to be our closer, no questions asked. At that point, Nicasio will move to our setup guy, Wilson/Edwards as our early setup, and Rosario as our MRP.

[saintrules]

July Standings

The All-Star break is over, the trade deadline has come to an end, and the race for the pennants is upon us. There were a decent amount of interesting moves at the deadline & I will bring things up in this post related to the moves clubs made.

American League East
1. New York Yankees (60-47) - Giancarlo Stanton (.296/49 HR/101 RBI)
2. Boston Red Sox (60-49) - J.D. Martinez (.285/38 HR/90 RBI)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (51-55) - Josh Donaldson (.278/21 HR/65 RBI)
4. Baltimore Orioles (48-61) - Manny Machado (.293/29 HR/69 RBI)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (46-61) - Brad Miller (.276/18 HR/55 RBI)

Order has rightfully been restored and we are right back where we started, New York vs. Boston. At this point, we can pretty much count Toronto out of the division race and they aren't in the Wild Card conversation, either. Boston has managed to hang with New York, despite the absence of Sale, in which he was lost at the end of June for 9 months. A lot of this can be attributed to the lacking rotation from New York, with the exception of Luis Severino, who has carried their starting five with 11 wins and a 3.74 ERA. These two rosters have panned out to be a potential coin flip at this point, barring no more major injuries, with the loser in prime Wild Card position.

American League Central
1. Cleveland Indians (65-41) - Carlos Carrasco (12-4/3.12 ERA/123 K)
2. Minnesota Twins (53-55) - Byron Buxton (.279/17 HR/55 RBI/28 SB)
3. Chicago White Sox (47-60) - Yoan Moncada (.301/17 HR/59 RBI/17 SB)
4. Detroit Tigers (45-63) - Miguel Cabrera (.291/23 HR/80 RBI)
5. Kansas City Royals (38-68) - Whit Merrifield (.323/9 HR/40 RBI/23 SB)

The first place Indians made two major moves at the deadline: 1. Acquiring Dee Gordon (.294/.323/.382/4 HR/52 SB) from the Seattle Mariners and 2. Acquiring Wilson Ramos (.289/.329/.459/12 HR) from the Tampa Bay Rays. The upgrade provides more speed from Gordon and consistency from Ramos, to an already very strong hitting lineup. The Tribe are 2nd in Runs Scored, 2nd in OBP, and 3rd in AVG. Combine the reformed lineup with Carrasco who is the current AL Cy Young frontrunner, and you've got a club fully capable of competing with Houston.

American League West
1. Houston Astros (73-36) - Jose Altuve (.306/24 HR/65 RBI/20 SB)
2. Los Angeles Angels (59-49) - Mike Trout (.297/19 HR/60 RBI)
3. Seattle Mariners (57-50) - Edwin Diaz (1.66 ERA/33 SV)
4. Texas Rangers (53-56) - Nomar Mazara (.303/27 HR/82 RBI)
5. Oakland Athletics (49-60) - Khris Davis (.281/26 HR/59 RBI)

The Astros were quiet at the deadline & rightfully so. If it's not broke, don't fix it. They have lost Carlos Correa who is now in AAA on a rehab assignment, but otherwise, it has been all systems go. 1st in the AL in Runs Scored, OBP, AVG, Runs Against, and Starters ERA. Disaster has officially struck the Angels who have lost Trout for the next five weeks in the middle of a Wild Card race. Will the Angels bats respond? Ian Kinsler and Zack Cozart are their next best bats, both batting around .265, 12-15 HR's, and 49 RBI's, a piece. Hot on their tail is Seattle, led by the big bat of Nelson Cruz (.248/27 HR/73 RBI), the big arm of James Paxton (9-4/2.82/121 K), and the clutch of Edwin Diaz (1.66 ERA/33 SV).

American League Wild Card
1. Boston Red Sox (60-49)
2. Los Angeles Angels (59-49)
3. Seattle Mariners (57-50)
4. Minnesota Twins (54-55)
5. Texas Rangers (53-56)

The injury to Trout isn't going to cause LA to roll over and die, but man is it a big loss for them here in August. Seattle needs a big month to get a seat at the table & Minnesota/Texas need a miraculous month.

National League East
1. New York Mets (57-49) - Noah Syndergaard (9-5/2.58 ERA/149 K)
2. Washington Nationals (55-52) - Bryce Harper (.309/20 HR/65 RBI)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (55-53) - Aaron Nola (7-3/2.17 ERA/119 K)
4. Atlanta Braves (48-58) - Freddie Freeman (.313/33 HR/81 RBI)
5. Miami Marlins (47-62) - Starlin Castro (.249/14 HR/52 RBI)

New York needed a bat, so what did they do? Acquire Jose Abreu from Chicago. The stud 1B is hitting .305 with 29 HR's and 78 RBI's, out pacing everyone by a country mile on the Mets. Is this what New York needed to secure the East? Well, with Syndergaard and deGrom still pitching lights out, the Mets have become a much harder out. The injury bug has continued for Washington, and this time, it hit hardest. Strasburg was supposed to return following a few week DL stint, only to land back on the list for a whopping 4 months. On top of this, Daniel Murphy is recovering from a small DL stint and the Nats traded away Gio Gonzalez to Philly for Carlos Santana who's currently hitting .215 with 14 HR's. The Phillies and Nationals are in the thick of it in the Wild Card, though both slightly trail Chicago and have some distance between them and San Francisco/Arizona.

National League Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals (63-44) - Carlos Martinez (8-4/2.97 ERA/127 K)
2. Chicago Cubs (55-52) - Anthony Rizzo (.276/29 HR/67 RBI)
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (51-57) - Gregory Polanco (.325/12 HR/65 RBI/13 SB)
4. Cincinnati Reds (44-63) - Eugenio Suarez (.283/22 HR/61 RBI)
5. Milwaukee Brewers (45-65) - Chase Anderson (11-3/3.19 ERA/92 K)

The Cards have continued to be clockwork and catching up to them has been a grind and a half. Arizona has a better lead in the Wild Card than St. Louis does in the Central, so that's tough, but San Francisco is within reach. We managed to win the month of July, 14-10, and a solid August in the books can do wonders. We've been losing a couple of close games as of late, so with confidence, I can say San Francisco and the 2nd place Wild Card spot is attainable this next month.

National League West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (75-33) - Kenta Maeda (11-2/2.18 ERA/105 K)
2. Arizona Diamondbacks (64-45) - A.J. Pollock (.316/22 HR/73 RBI/21 SB)
3. San Francisco Giants (58-51) - Buster Posey (.312/14 HR/65 RBI)
4. San Diego Padres (50-60) - Will Myers (.265/19 HR/62 RBI/15 SB)
5. Colorado Rockies (45-61) - Nolan Arenado (.278/22 HR/53 RBI)

The West has truly taken off as Los Angeles is a top 3 team in the league and Arizona has the 4th best record in the MLB, despite being a whopping 11.5 games out in their own division! The staff of LA has been unreal, and they made a big move in acquiring Zach Britton from Baltimore, choosing to move Kenley Jansen to a setup role. The bats and arms of LA are very comparable to Houston at this point, could this be a World Series matchup?

National League Wild Card
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (64-45)
2. San Francisco Giants (58-51)
3. Chicago Cubs (55-52)
4. Washington Nationals (55-52)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (55-53)

San Francisco needs a meltdown in Arizona to catch the DBacks, but they must remain full steam ahead as Chicago, Washington, and Philly, are hot on their tail. What doesn't help the Giants is Bumgarner was re-injured for another 3 months, just after coming off a lengthy DL stint from the beginning of the season. Johnny Cueto remains the only San Fran pitcher eligible for the ERA leaderboards with 121.2 IP, a 3.99 ERA, and 100 K's. The staff of San Fran is suspect, at best.