Cubs
Cubs And Rookie Schwarber On A Tear In August
Is 2015 going to be a special season for the Cubs?
Photo by: David Banks/AP
If not for the outstanding season of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs may be in first place. Prior to Friday’s games, the Cardinals sit on top of the NL Central Division at 73-41, with the Cubs in third place at 65-48, with a sizable 7.5 games behind the lead.
But you wouldn’t know it by the teams recent surge, especially in August. In the last ten games of the month, the Cubs are 9-1, and currently have a seven game winning streak.
Even if the Cubs do not catch the Cards for the division crown, their path to the playoffs lies heavily on their lead in the Wild Card standings. With at least a month and a half of baseball to go, they and the Pittsburgh Pirates have a 4.5 game lead over the San Francisco Giants and the next closest team is the Washington Nationals at 7.5 games behind.
Over the last month the Cubs finished off a four game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers to start August, split a tw0-game set with the Pirates after the first game was rained out, swept the Giants in four games and just completed a three game sweep of the Brewers.
For a team that looked to weigh their season on the success of their rookie phenoms, it is all starting to pay off.
Now the next rookie phenom to take center stage is catcher Kyle Schwarber. Playing nearly everyday now, Schwarber has been on a tear, especially in August.
In the last ten games of the month, he is batting .342, with five home runs and 13 RBI’s. On Thursday, the Ohio native hit two home runs in the game for the second time this season; first time was on July 21st.
Schwarber has been on fire since he stepped onto a major league field, first hitting .364 (8 for 22) with a home run in the month of June, then after being recalled to the bigs on July 17th, he hit .302 (13 for 43), with two home runs for July, then turned it up a notch for August and has been a big part of the Cubs recent surge.
The Cubs are probably one of the dangerous teams heading into the postseason, and it won’t matter how they get in, because with the fire-power they have now, playoff baseball in Chicago will be a very exciting time for this young bunch.
I keep thinking back to the movie “Back to the Future” and the prediction that the Cubs will be World Champions, maybe this is the year. Either way if they keep this pace, it will be a magical run once the second season starts.
David Conde
David is the Founder and Co-Owner of Legends On Deck and Co-Host of the Legends On Deck Podcast. A lifelong sports fan with a special passion for the New York Mets and New York Knicks, David has spent more than a decade covering the sports he loves. From 2010 to 2014, he served as a Senior Editor for MetsMerized Online and Mets Minors, and in June 2014 fulfilled a lifelong dream by covering the New York Mets at Citi Field as a credentialed writer. As Legends On Deck has expanded beyond baseball, David has enjoyed diving into more sports, learning along the way and sharing those stories with readers and listeners. Married for over 27 years and the proud father of two adult sons, he continues to connect with sports fans through Legends On Deck, the podcast and social media.
