Cubs Week In Review: Winning Series As Summer's Arrival Imminent

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Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images

I don't necessarily agree with the old sports adage that "winning solves everything," but when you're already pretty good, like the Cubs are, it solves a lot. All season long, the Chicago Cubs have proven, to great measure, that they belong in the same echelon as the game's best teams. Through statement hitting, excellent baserunning, and the bullpen's marginal improvement, this week resoundingly emphasized that point. A steadfast return to basics has the Northsiders playing the exhilarating brand of baseball we have come to both expect and marvel at since early April. Can they keep it going? There is more than enough convincing evidence to suggest they can. 

Wandering down the wrong social media rabbit hole will unveil much to scoff at, not the least of which is the absurd notion that the Cubs' superstar center fielder, Pete Crow-Armstrong, is bound to fall off from his astonishing production. His 2.9 WAR makes him the second-most valuable player in the National League.  Were the Cubs' opponents and critics to peruse his stats on Baseball-Reference quickly, it would make their collective hands tremble like Chaz Palminteri's character at the end of "The Usual Suspects." His wide range of skills at the plate and in the outfield don't just make him a complementary piece to his exceptional teammates, but a player you can build a team around. 

Most of us had justifiably come around to the idea that Craig Counsell's bullpen just isn't that good. A glut of offense from Chicago's North Side team tends to mask the horrors that have crept up in close games at the hands of this club's relief pitching. Somehow, this past week, and probably not separate from their level of competition, the Cubs' pen grasped a modicum of stability. In the middle game of the Cubs' sweep versus the White Sox alone, hurlers like Brad Keller and Porter Hodge were resilient, holding the South Siders scoreless after starter Matthew Boyd left the game. If either the bullpen returns to some middle ground of performance or the club picks up an impact arm at the trade deadline, the Cubs should comfortably walk away with the division. 

In their contests last week, outside the division, the Cubbies were nothing if not consistent. They took the first two games of their series versus Miami with scores of 5-2 and 5-4, before dropping the finale 3-1. This weekend's tilt with the White Sox was a soft reboot to the Cubs' offense. They took the series' opener by a staggering score of 13-3, which set the tone for sound subsequent victories of 7-3 and 6-2. It was a week so nice, I think we'd like to do it all over again. 

Deja Vu is about to set in as the Cubs travel to Miami to take on the Marlins yet again. The Memorial Day weekend sends the Cubbies off to do battle with a division rival, the very talented Cincinnati Reds. Without question, the Cubbies will need their bats to keep humming and then some to build back their cushion atop the NL Central. If that is to come to fruition, however, the pitching rotation's youngsters will have to continue to step up. 

On the strength of a clear identity, prolific offense, and a middle infield returning to its Gold Glove Ways, the Chicago Cubs are becoming more reliable than delays on the CTA Red Line. By delivering victories in such convincing fashion, the North Siders have announced that they are not taking the dip in competition level on their schedule lightly. The club feels like it's reaching an inflection point in the season, where it can transition from a good team to an elite one. By the looks of it, they're making the most of that opportunity. 

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