Pitching Game Spectacular for Streaking Cubs

Chicago Cubs General Manager Theo Epstein began to polish a starting rotation club that failed to surpass top twenty in pitching since 2009. Prior to the 2015 season, the Cubs brought in pitching minded manager Joe Maddon and backed up his hiring with off-season acquisitions. Chicago acquired starters Jason Hammel and Jon Lester in order to bolster their rotation. Along with breakout candidate and 2015 National League Cy Young Winner Jake Arrieta, Hammel and Lester formed a formidable trio and helped the Cubs reach the postseason for the first time since 2008. After shocking anaylsts with the third best Earned Run Average (3.36), Epstein was poised to continue enhancing their modest staff in 2016. 

Even though right fielder Jason Heyward was the prized addition for Epstein, the former Red Sox general manager reeled in two key early season contributors in veteran John Lackey and long reliever Adam Warren. The benefit of depth quickly induced Chicago fortune in the early stages of the 2016 season. The Northsiders stormed to a 17-5 start in April and recorded an outstanding +79 run differential. Chicago' stingy pitching (2.44 ERA and 0.99 WHIP) was compensated with immense run support (6.1 runs per game). Despite having four out of five losses in the entire month against three of the top ten offenses,(St. Louis, Colorado, and Arizona), Chicago held opposing batters to a  mere .201 batting average. While Warren stunned batters with his slider and fourseam fastball, the veteran Lackey was fortunate to rely on a high scoring offense. 

Chicago' tear in the months of April and throughout May has been impressive, considering their strength in schedule. They're currently 35-14 and will host the Dodgers tomorrow at 8 PM ET. Each starting pitcher on the Cubs has endured at least fifty five innings pitched, recorded five quality starts, and own an ERA under 3.20. More importantly, they minimize opponents opportunities with runners in scoring position. Yielding a stifiling .201 batting average in 333 at-bats, Chicago has shown multitudes of confidence in challenging situations. Even though stellar pitching does not always correlate to stellar defense, the Cubs consistent pounding at the strike zone alludes the strategy of being dependant on fielders. Although Chicago has pitched signficiantly well for nearly two months, previous clubs have stymied batters for a similar duration of time. A familar foe that showcased as much dominance as this years Cubs was last years St. Louis Cardinals. 

During a two month strech, St. Louis rocked the opposition with a commanding 2.65 ERA and owned a 33-17 record. Although their offense was not top tier (2.98 runs per game), their young rotation and bullpen upended all stars at the plate. The loss of All Star righty Adam Wainwright was compensated with underrated flamethrowers such as Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez. Each team benefited from stamina, depth, and servicability from their respectable staffs. St. Louis ended the season with a 100-62 record, only to be eliminated by the Cubs in the divisional round. Chicago early season success stems from three key components: patience, composure, and confidence. Exhibiting these three traits needs to be consistent in order to keep pace with their current strategy.  

It Was Wirth the Wait

September 22nd, 2015, a day that commemorated my first face-face conversation with NFL agent/scout Jack Wirth -- a professional football scout and agent who attended four Super Bowls, twenty seven scouting combines, and had 238 clients in his 35 years of experience. Having lived in the same town as Wirth (Harvard, Illinois), my grandpa gave me the unique opportunity to hear him speak at the Harvard Diggins Library. I couldn't resist the offer. Wirth’s story grabbed my attention when he explained how he never gave up on his ultimate dream, scouting for an NFL organization.

Despite starting out as a construction worker, Wirth began to devote his time into scouting in his early thirties. His experience as a high school football player gave him the insight to write several evaluations of college football players and he sent letters to National Football League teams who were looking to hire scouts, in hopes of landing a full time position. 

Although teams told Wirth he did not have the superlative experience that was required for the job, he never gave into discouragement. During his thirty five year journey, Wirth attended four Super Bowls, twenty seven scouting combines, and had 238 clients who played in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, or the United States Football League.

When I told Wirth about my aspiration for a management position with an NFL organization, he explained how difficult and competitive the field was. Wirth was, however, intrigued by my most recent project: rebuilding every NFL team from scratch. I explained the analytics and strategic methods I used during this hefty process. After noting my interest in scouting and explaining how I categorize some players strength and weaknesses, Wirth and I exchanged emails and asked if I was interested in comparing and exchanging mock drafts in April.

The idea of predicting all 253 picks of the NFL Draft is a perplexing, yet interesting process. For thirty years, Wirth predicted every pick of the draft, via a draft board. Wirth analyzed player's attributes, strengths, and weaknesses prior to making his predictions. With an immense bundle of player cards (each including scouting combine statistics and physical information about the player), Wirth placed the player card on his draft board, based on his predictions.

Wirth’s hobby and draft techniques encouraged me to incorporate more description to future draft predictions. As the draft approached, Wirth and I analyzed each teams weakest position and identified the best available prospect. I am grateful to be given the opportunity to work with such a distinguished mentor.