Diary of a Chicago Sports Fan

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Cubs version of a "Farewell to (effective) Arms", Sox showing some starch and Glennon's big surprise

Going into tonight's games, the White Sox had a better record than the Cubs. The Sox appear to be overachieving while the Cubs starting pitchers can't seem to get untracked. I'll take a quick look at both teams as they are around the 25 games played mark.

At least the pen has been good

Jon Lester has had a couple of rough outings in his last to starts after beginning the season in fairly good shape. Lester is currently winless, with a record of 0-1. His ERA of 3.68 is the best of the Cubs starters. Lester has a whip of 1.43, which is a problem given his inability to hold baser runners. Maybe he misses Grandpa Ross.

Jake Arrieta's ERA is 4.68, but he checks in with a record of 3-1. Jake's velocity is down and his command hasn't been sharp. Even with that, he's got the stuff to be a winning pitcher. Of course a winner pitcher won't be good enough to get a 200 million dollar contract. The fact the Cubs haven't signed him to a long term deal at this point makes me think they'll let him walk after this season.

Brett Anderson has hit the skids in his last couple of starts, elevating his ERA to 6.23 and his whip to 1.85. Mike Montgomery may get a shot as a starter soon.

Kyle “The Professor” Hendricks is the only Cubs starter heading in the right direction. Hendricks is showing reduced velocity this season and is walking more batters than usual, 12 in 28 innings, but is still getting by with guile. Hendricks doesn't have a huge margin of error to to begin with. Hendricks record is 2-1 with a 4.18 ERA, but his whip is down to 1.21. Still, a loss of velocity is worrisome.

John Lackey also has an ERA north of 5.00. That can't be a huge shock given Lackey's playoff performance and age. Lackey is still a good 5^th starter.

Time Passages?

The Cubs hot start last year was due in large part to their starting pitching. This year they have 9 quality starts in 25 games. That has to get better.

Is the cavalry coming?

On the south side, the White Sox have been missing Carlos Rodon all season and James Shields recently, but they're still sitting at 13-11. On top of that, Jose Quintana has gotten off to a slow start. Miguel Gonzalez and Derek Holland have done a great job of stepping up. The pitching prospects the Sox got from the Nationals for Adam Eaton have gotten off to a slow start in Charlotte, but there is a real upside there. The Sox could continue to surprise.

Chicago can be a tough town

Apparently I'm not the only on surprised by the Bears draft strategy. Numerous NBA “experts” seem to have no idea what the Bears were doing. The fact that they had Mike Glennon at their draft party and then drafted Glennon's likely replacement reinforced the idea that the Bears are clueless. I understand later that night they rang Glennon's doorbell and left a flaming bag of doggy doo behind.

More next time.