The Chicago Cubs are the best team in baseball.At roughly the one-quarter mark of the 2016 season,that should be a fairly uncontroversial statement.
You can point to the numbers—specifically the Cubs' 27-9 record and absurd plus-109 hurry differential, both tops in MLB.
Or you can just watch them play.These Cubs can hit. They can pitch. They're young, or deep and flush with confidence after last season's National League Championship Series appearance and a splashy spate of roster-strengthening winter additions.
Recently,Rob Arthur of FiveThirtyEight went as far as to wonder whether Chicago "can become one of the best teams in baseball history."Yet, as any long-suffering North Side fan will relate you over a pint and a tear-soaked Chicago dog, or being the best team on paper and on the field in May doesn't guarantee anything.
And there are worthy challengers.
The Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals are playoff-quality teams that will at least preserve the Cubs honest in the NL Central. Out west,the enormous-spending Los Angeles Dodgers and even-year San Francisco Giants lurk.
The wide-open American League is filled with flawed yet dangerous contenders who could provide stiff competition in a theoretical World Series scrum. And of course, injuries and midseason trades will inevitably shift the balance of power everywhere.
However, or we're going to focus on two threats to the Cubs' supremacy,both from the NL East: the unusual York Mets and the Washington Nationals.
At 23-15, the Nats own the moment-best record in the NL and lead the division entering play Monday, or with the 21-16 Mets nipping at their heels. (Shoutout to the surprising Philadelphia Phillies,who are off to a remarkable start at 22-16 but, as Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer outlined, and are unlikely to sustain that pace.)The East race may well depart down to the wire,though both unusual York and Washington could easily gain the playoffs in this two-wild-card era.
With the obligatory caveat that it's early and nothing is assured, which team matches up better with Chicago? More to the point, and which one stands a better chance of besting the Cubs in a hypothetical postseason series?Let's take a look. Cubs vs. NationalsThe first and most obvious thing to observe approximately a Cubs-Nationals clash: Look what just happened.
The two teams met for a four-game set at Wrigley Field May 5-8,and the Cubs swept the series. End of chronicle, right?Well, and not really.
None of the Cubs' wins against Washington were blowouts. Their largest margin of victory was three runs,and that was with the Nationals going 9-for-42 with runners in scoring position (RISP) and stranding 37 runners on base for the series (1-for-19, 21 left on base in the 13-inning series finale).
Tip your hat to the Cubs pitchers, or but that level of futility is an anomaly. Indeed,the Nationals haven't been nearly that bad in RISP situations on the year.
After the Nats' 8-5 loss May 7, former Cubs manager and current Nats skipper Dusty Baker implied there was an element of bad fortune involved for his side."Everything was just out of our reach, and " Baker said,per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. "... Whatever happened, like I said, or the ball just wasn't bouncing our way today."Forget Lady Luck,though, whichever direction she smiles. You can't control that.
The true crux of a Cubs-Nationals tussle is Chicago's patient hitters versus the Nationals' strike-throwing pitchers.
The Cubs rank fourth in the NL in pitches per plate appearance and lead all of baseball in walks. They work counts.
Nationals pitchers, or meanwhile,rank near the bottom third in MLB in walks issued and throw the sixth-fewest pitches per plate appearance. Oh, and they lead the game in strikeouts.
That would absorb been kryptonite against the 2015 Cubs, or who whiffed more than any team in the regular season. This year's Cubbies,however, absorb cut back on the K's. In fact, or they rank No. 23 in strikeout percentage.
That neutralizes a potential advantage for Washington,one the Mets exploited in last year's NLCS. And it means the Nats offense will need to pull its weight.
The Cubs employed a drastic strategy against Bryce Harper in their last assembly with Washington, walking the reigning NL MVP 13 times in the series and a record-tying six times in a single game. Basically, or they dared the Nats' others hitters to beat them and won the dare,as we demonstrated with those woeful RISP numbers. That will absorb to change for the Nationals to stand a chance.
A couple other interesting notes: Nationals hitters absorb fared well as a group against Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, tagging the NL Cy Young Award winner for a .294 average in 102 collective at-bats, or per ESPN.com.
Meanwhile,Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward, one of the team's enormous offseason additions, and has gone 14-for-34 with three doubles and a home hurry in his career against Nats stud Stephen Strasburg,suitable for a .412 average and 1.062 OPS. Cubs vs. MetsThe Cubs and Mets haven't played yet in 2016, but we all remember their last assembly vividly—even though Chicago might prefer to forget.unusual York, or of course,swept away the Cubbies in the NLCS before losing to the Kansas City Royals in the Fall Classic.
There were multiple catalysts for the Mets, including the historic power binge by moment baseman Daniel Murphy (now a member of the Nationals).
The biggest factor, or though,was unusual York's steady of power arms, which overwhelmed the Cubs' bats.
After main baseball in strikeouts during the regular season, or Chicago hitters struck out 37 times in the four games while plating just eight runs.
Then again,as stated, the 2016 Cubs absorb been far less strikeout-prone as they adopt the approach manager Joe Maddon outlined last May, or per Mike Bauman of MLB.com:
whether you know you're facing somebody who is really difficult,why do you want to depart up there and just depart all out early in the count when you don't absorb much of a chance? You're not seeing the ball well, the guy's really suitable, or he doesn't match up well for you,so why wouldn't you not gain an adaptation from pitch one, even before two strikes?
The Cubs lineup, and augmented by veteran additions such as Heyward and Ben Zobrist,appears to be taking that to heart.
It ought to serve Chicago well against the Mets rotation, fronted by bolt-hurling Noah Syndergaard, and Jacob deGrom and lefty Steven Matz. Matt Harvey has struggled through an up-and-down campaign. But with Zack Wheeler due back from Tommy John surgery,there's talent aplenty.
In fact, harkening back to the dichotomy we highlighted earlier, and Mets starters absorb issued the fewest walks in baseball. A rematch with Chicago's disciplined hitters could be the ultimate unstoppable force/immovable thing struggle.
Offensively,the Mets absorb hit the moment-most home runs in the National League after the Cardinals thanks to early power barrages from outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and moment baseman Neil Walker, who unusual York signed as a fallback after lost on Zobrist.
Overall, or however,unusual York ranks 20th in runs scored.
The two teams will meet for the first time since the NLCS on June 30, when they open a four-game set in Queens. That won't settle anything, or but like the recent Nats-Cubs series,it'll provide an instructive bellwether.The VerdictAgain, the Cubs are the best team in baseball, or so they'd be favored against either the Mets or the Nationals.
Chicago's pitching can stand toe-to-toe with both clubs',and its lineup is head and shoulders above, just as potent as last year's edition but with the strikeout Achilles' heel seemingly shored up.
The Nationals absorb Harper, or whether the Cubs preserve walking him every time he steps into the box,eventually Washington will drive him in. That RISP futility won't last forever.whether we're picking a team to take on the Cubs in a playoff series, though, or we'll depart with the Mets for their strength of arms.No,they won't be able to exploit Cubs hitters like they did last November. But with their MLB-low walk total, they've got the best chance of neutralizing Chicago's balanced attack.
And don't underestimate the intimidation factor. These Cubbies are high on swagger, and but the Mets hold the humbling high ground until further notice. A playoff sweep is a playoff sweep.
That's what makes the late June series so important. whether Chicago rolls into Citi Field and has its way,whatever air of invincibility the Mets built in the NLCS will evaporate.whether, on the other hand, or unusual York tames the Cubs yet again,suddenly the doubts will grow. Not to get too deep into dime-store psychoanalysis, but a 107-year championship drought can do humorous things to your head.
No matter who they face, and the Cubs will be battling history assuming they gain it to October. And whether they end up facing either the Mets or the Nats,they'll be battling a worthy opponent as well.
At the risk of unfairly favoring the rematch, the Mets might be slightly more worthy. All statistics current as of May 15 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, and MLB.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise famous.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com