The final team in the NL Central is the Chicago Cubs, who were a founding member of the NL in 1876 as the White Stockings, before becoming the Cubs in 1903. The Cubs have appeared in 11 World Series, however are most famously known for their 108 year drought between their wins in 1908 and 2016. Their only other win was in 1907, being the first team to appear in three straight fall classics and the first to win two in a row. They have 17 NL Pennants to their name, although every one of them except 2016 came before 1945. In their long and storied existence there have been a large numbers of Hall of Famers, some of which you will see here. This team is a very solid team, although after seeing the other members in their division, they're going to have to fight their way out.
Original Cubs Logo from 1903-1905
After going through the Brewers and Cardinals lineups, the Cubs seems to be severely lacking. Upon further however, you realize there is a lot to work with here. Fowler leads things off with a very respectably 5.28 expected runs, and with his 20 speed and 10 OB he should get on base often for the power hitters behind him. Derek Lee follows him with 6.12 expected runs and a surprising 18 speed which give two speedy 10 OB players to set the table for Rizzo's awesome 2016 card which clocks in at 6.28 expected runs. His chart gives a ton of extra base opportunities, which pairs well with Ernie Banks absolutely ridiculous card batting clean up at 6.13 expected runs. Despite his 9 OB he will undoubtedly rack up the RBIs. Giving him some protection is Ben Zobrist at 5.90 runs, who gives them one of the most powerful middle infield duos you'll see. Sammy Sosa's 1998 card gives a ton of home runs on a 9 OB chart, just is a pity it takes 6 to get on base. At 5.85 expected runs and batting in the 7th hole, you are still dealing with an extremely deep and powerful lineup.
The hard throwing Kerry Wood and Mark Prior round out the rotation at 5.75 and 5.76 (Greg Maddux's classic card is identical to Prior but I couldn't split these guys up). This gives the Cubs phenomenal cards top to bottom, and a lot of high controls to keep them in contention against their other NL Central foes. The bullpen is led by Lee Smith and Bruce Sutter who come in almost identically at 4.84 and 4.85, with Chapman just behind them at 4.90. Gordon and Lancaster come in almost identically at 5.20 and 5.21 despite very different card make up. This pitching staff is loaded with high controls, which will help against the OB stacked Brewers and Cardinals.
Rounding out the bullpen is Montgomery and Strop, who give some extra IP and another high control arm to leverage. Strop comes in .08 behind Montgomery at 5.93 expected runs, giving this bullpen a deep set of arms that can all be relied upon in tough situations. This leaves us 4 spots to fill, with Maddux and Rick Sutcliffe being the top starting options (5.75) and Rick Aguilera the top bullpen arm at 6.18. For hitters off the bench Mark Grace is the top remaining bat at 5.28 expected runs, with Leon Durham, Chris Coghlan, Kyle Schwarber, Gary Matthews, Ryne Sandberg and Javy all being within a half run of each other between 4.73-4.22. Maddux provides an improvement over even the bottom half of the bullpen, and gives you 7 IP which I think makes him a no brainer for a bench spot. Mark Grace will get a spot because he's over a half run better than anyone else, and I think the other two will go to Coghlan to add another 10 OB option and Javy due to his versatility on defense and his speed. Overall I think this sets the team up to be really flexible for managers, both defensively and with their pitching usage.
This team is very good, and undoubtedly will put a damn good fight in the NL Central due to its' disgusting pitching and very capable lineup. The lineup comes in at a very good 4,390 points to prove they belong with the other big bats in the division. The rotation comes in at 2,980 which proves they will be absolutely dominant (no 890 point Bob Gibson to inflate their stats), and their bullpen comes in at a healthy 1,620. The bench is 1,630 points for a team total of 10,620. This proves they belong and will undoubtedly make a playoff push.
Hitters
SP
RP
Sammy Sosa's 2001 season actually comes in above 1998 from a WAR and OWAR standpoint, but the 1998 card definitely outshines it's '01 counterpart. Ron Santo's 1966 is another top 10 Cubs season and could actually help the lineup a lot by bumping Bryant to the outfield and knocking Rodriguez to the bench. In 1966 Santo slashed .312/.412/538 in which his OBP led the league, and he picked up 175 hits including 21 doubles and 30 home runs. He also scored 93 runs and drove in 94 more. The rotation doesn't need much help, and the only seasons better than what we see here are from a long lost generation that wouldn't lend to showdown cards (like when John Clarkson won 53 games in 1885). In the bullpen Randy Myers did rack up 53 saves in 1993 and Rod Beck added 51 in 1998 which could definitely bolster the already deep bullpen. Overall we seem to have most a lot of the top Cubs performances displayed here, and it shows with their incredible team.
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