I'm hoping that there's someone out there who has followed the time who can chime in here, but in the meantime, here are a few observations just from looking at the stats:
- Don't be fooled by the 91-71 record. The lineup was far and away the best in the NL by fWAR (33.0; Cubs were second at 27.1). Their pitching staff was also best in the NL by fWAR (20.5)
- The bullpen, which had been a weakness during the regular season, now has Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda, and Julio Urias (who had only 25 bullpen innings combined during the year) for the playoffs, on top of a healthy Kenley Jansen.
- They have eleven players with 113 wRC+ or better, including waiver-trade pickup David Freese (126 wRC+ for the season) and of course Manny Machado (140 wRC+ for the season). That gives David Roberts a lot of options for playing the matchups
- Biggest weakness? Easily the defense, which was either 11th or 12th in the NL in Def per Fangraphs. (Not sure why it's giving two different numbers.) Grandal at catcher grades out as one of the best catchers in the majors, but Puig is downright brutal. Other than Grandal, Machado, and maybe Kike Hernandez, the rest of the team is kind of meh. But what the team lacks in defensive talent they gain in flexibility, with Hernandez and Chris Taylor able to play both IF and OF, Max Muncy able to play at 1b, 2B, and 3B, and Bellinger at both OF and 1B. And the ability to put Puig at DH in Fenway will be a big help.
Other thoughts?
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- Don't be fooled by the 91-71 record. The lineup was far and away the best in the NL by fWAR (33.0; Cubs were second at 27.1). Their pitching staff was also best in the NL by fWAR (20.5)
- The bullpen, which had been a weakness during the regular season, now has Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda, and Julio Urias (who had only 25 bullpen innings combined during the year) for the playoffs, on top of a healthy Kenley Jansen.
- They have eleven players with 113 wRC+ or better, including waiver-trade pickup David Freese (126 wRC+ for the season) and of course Manny Machado (140 wRC+ for the season). That gives David Roberts a lot of options for playing the matchups
- Biggest weakness? Easily the defense, which was either 11th or 12th in the NL in Def per Fangraphs. (Not sure why it's giving two different numbers.) Grandal at catcher grades out as one of the best catchers in the majors, but Puig is downright brutal. Other than Grandal, Machado, and maybe Kike Hernandez, the rest of the team is kind of meh. But what the team lacks in defensive talent they gain in flexibility, with Hernandez and Chris Taylor able to play both IF and OF, Max Muncy able to play at 1b, 2B, and 3B, and Bellinger at both OF and 1B. And the ability to put Puig at DH in Fenway will be a big help.
Other thoughts?
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