The Chicago Cubs posted the National League's second-best record during the regular season. But their pursuit of a second World Series title in three years is over following Tuesday's extra-innings loss in the Wild Card Game against the Colorado Rockies.
It should go without printing that this is not the outcome the Cubs or their fans desired. Still, it's one that will leave invested parties wondering what would have happened had the Cubs benefited from a better fortune in one of a few aspects.
Before we recap the misgivings the Cubs faced late in the season, let's post the obvious caveat: Every team, to some extent, can gripe about this or that. The Cubs just seemed to face an unusually potent mixture. Stating such doesn't excuse Chicago's lifeless performance this week, nor does it take away from the Rockies or the Milwaukee Brewers.
In short, the world is a complex place.
Scheduling
Mother Nature and the Scheduling Gods weren't Cubs fans late in the season.
Following a rainout on Sept. 9, the Cubs played on 10 consecutive days. That may seem like nothing major, but it started a stretch where Chicago suited up 21 times across 22 days to end the season -- yes, that includes Tuesday's Wild Card Game.
For comparison's sake, the Brewers had three days off over that same period. How much did that extra rest help the Brewers? There's no telling, really, and the answer could be not at all. Besides, the Rockies ran the same gauntlet as the Cubs, with one day off over the season's final three weeks. They found a way to finish strong, winning eight in a row and nine of their last 11.
Even so, the Cubs could point to the lack of rest as a bigger deal for them than other squads because of ...
Injuries
One of the main talking points throughout the tiebreaker and Wild Card Game was Chicago's bullpen. For good reason, too -- down the stretch, the Cubs were consistently without two or three of their top four relievers, as determined by leverage index.
To wit, closer Brandon Morrow didn't appear in a game after July 15 due to arm problems. Meanwhile, Morrow's replacement Pedro Strop hurt himself running the bases on Sept. 13 and didn't return until Tuesday, and setup man Carl Edwards Jr. saw his effectiveness tank late in the season. He blew his only two saves of the year in September, with one of those coming in a loss against the Brewers. He was deemed unavailable on both Monday and Tuesday because of his own arm troubles.
Combined with the schedule, those developments forced the Cubs to lean more on their few remaining trusted arms, like Jesse Chavez, Steve Cishek, and Justin Wilson.
In fact, Cishek's appearance on Tuesday marked his fourth consecutive day of work, and his sixth outing in seven games. Wilson, on the other hand, faced a heavy September workload himself -- and that may have contributed to his poor outings to end the season, including the one that saw him charged with a loss against the Brewers in the tiebreaker game.
Had just one of Morrow, Strop, or Edwards Jr. stayed healthy, the Cubs may have been able to eke out an extra win. Important, because ...
Geography
The Cubs would have won both the East and the West by a handful of games. They don't play in those divisions, however, and that cost them. More specifically, playing alongside the Brewers forced them into a tiebreaker, and subsequently into Tuesday's win-or-go-home game.
Hey, you have to play the hand you're dealt. Sometimes, that's a good thing; sometimes, it's a bad thing. The Cubs found out that the hard way this year. Next year, who knows, maybe Lady Luck will be on their side again.
Bagikan Berita Ini
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