5 Ways Chicago Cubs Have Already Improved This Season
The Chicago Cubs have hit a rough patch over the past week or so, but they're still right around the .500 mark. That's better than they've been in the past seven years or so, and it's thanks to several improvements the team has already made in 2015.
While they still have plenty to work on if they want to be playing long into October this year, here are five things the Cubs have already managed to improve in 2015.
Winning Attitude
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Sometimes it is the least tangible things that make the biggest difference in baseball. That's certainly the case with the Cubs' recently adopted winning attitude. In the past, it appeared as though they were content losing games. That's no longer the case.
First, Anthony Rizzo guaranteed the team would win the National League Central division before the season, per WSCR Radio-Chicago (via Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com), and then the team rattled off two come-from-behind ninth-inning wins in the season's first two weeks.
That's something shortstop Starlin Castro said never would have happened in the past.
“Talking with [Chris] Coghlan, [we said] we wouldn’t win that game last year or the year before,” Castro said. “We quit [last year]. If we were losing after seven innings, we quit. Now, we never quit. If we get extra innings, we play hard; we never quit.”
Last season, the team went 0-79 when entering the ninth inning trailing. In their first eight games of this season, they won four games in their final at-bat.
A renewed winning attitude is the biggest reason for the never-say-die attitude of this suddenly competitive team.
Leadership
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Starting last season, Anthony Rizzo really started to take on a leadership role with this team. With the lowly team needing a face and a voice, Rizzo really stepped up to the plate in more ways than one.
As the team becomes competitive, Rizzo has continued being a leader. The addition of veteran ace Jon Lester has given him someone else to lead as well.
In spring training, every young pitcher seemed to follow Lester around to learn from him, and he embraces the leadership role. With so many young players, having a veteran like him really helps.
Sprinkle in players such as Dexter Fowler, Miguel Montero and David Ross and this team suddenly has a very nice mix of veterans and young players. While it may not mean a playoff berth this season, it is a good sign for the future.
Aggressive Baserunning
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Last season, the Cubs had just 65 steals. To put that in perspective, former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Dee Gordon had 64 steals a year ago. Clearly, the team wasn't cutting it in terms of speed. However, they weren't lacking speed; they were lacking aggressiveness.
That is no longer the case.
Already this year, the North Siders have 28 steals as a team, which puts them on pace for over 160 pilfers this season. Manager Joe Maddon has given players green lights more often, and he has also shown his affinity for the double steal when runners are on first and second.
It is hard to pinpoint just how much stolen bases actually help a team win games, but in clutch situations, which has been when the team has been stealing bases, it certainly makes run producers' jobs much easier.
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Closer Role
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The back end of the Cubs bullpen wasn't bad last season, but it's been even better this year. That's been something the team needed since the middle relief has been so rough (second-most runs allowed in sixth inning in baseball and in the league's bottom half in runs allowed in the seventh inning, per CleanupHitter.com).
Specifically, the closer role has been something the Cubs haven't had to worry about, which has been a pleasant surprise. Hector Rondon has been remarkable while closing games and has provided stability in the closer role the Cubs haven't seen in quite some time.
| Player | W | L | ERA | Ks | SV/OPP |
| Hector Rondon | 1 | 0 | 1.50 | 12 | 6/7 |
Getting on Base
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A key problem for the Cubs last season was the fact they couldn't get on base consistently. They were a group of young free swingers who couldn't put enough players on base. Their on-base percentage of .300 a year ago just wasn't cutting it; no team is going to win more than they lose with numbers like that.
Meanwhile, the team has a .328 on-base percentage this season. That may seem like a small change, but it's not. Especially when you consider their two best hitters, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, are in the top five of the National League in on-base percentage.
Rizzo is getting on base at a .458 clip (third in the NL), and Bryant has reached base at a .435 rate (fourth in the NL).
With more runners on base, more runs can be scored. That's evident by the fact the team is on pace to score 684 runs. Last season, they scored just 614. Those extra 70 runs (if they stay on their current pace) could mean the difference between watching and playing in late October.
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