NEWSLETTER
Now that the first half of the 2011 season is in the books, I thought I’d toss out to you some random, interesting, and ultimately embarrassing numbers from the Chicago Cubs’ season.
12 – Cubs’ games back in the NL Central
18 – Cubs’ games under .500
7 – Cubs’ games ahead of the Houston Astros for the worst record in baseball
2 – Number of wins Cubs have against the Astros in six games
5.29 – ML worst starting pitcher ERA
77 – Number of Cubs’ ML-leading errors
223 – Number of walks the Cubs took (ML worst)
349 – Number of walks the Cubs gave up (ML worst)
9 – Number of wins the Cubs managed in 39 games started by someone not named Dempster, Zambrano, or Garza
12 – Number of Cubs who spent time on the disabled list in the first half (which number doesn’t include Carlos Pena, Aramis Ramirez, and Ryan Dempster, all of whom also missed a little time with various ailments)
9.33 – James Russell’s ERA as a starter
1.47 – James Russell’s ERA as a reliever
5 – Number of times James Russell was trotted out to start
.105 – Tyler Colvin’s batting average for the Cubs in 2011
.922 – Reed Johnson’s team-leading OPS
.822 – Carlos Zambrano’s third-place-on-the-team OPS
10, 4 – Number of homers by Alfonso Soriano in April, and then in May, June, and July, combined
0, 19 – Number of homers by Carlos Pena in April, and then in May, June, and July, combined
2 – Number of homers by Koyie Hill, as many as Starlin Castro and Jeff Baker, and just one fewer than Marlon Byrd and Kosuke Fukudome
10 – Team-leading number of steals (tied) by Starlin Castro in 381 at bats
10 – Team-leading number of steals (tied) by Tony Campana in 76 at bats
2.79 – Chris Carpenter’s ERA
1.97 – Chris Carpenter’s WHIP
3.48 – Jeff Samardzija’s ERA, bettered only by (of those qualifying) Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, and Carlos Marmol
51.2 – Bullpen-leading innings thrown by Jeff Samardzija
5th – Not just the Cubs’ current place in the NL Central, but also the place this season’s pre-AS break winning percentage ranks for the Cubs in the last 50 years (as in, it’s the Cubs’ 5th worst winning percentage at this point in the year in the last 50 seasons)
2,000 and 4,000 – Amount average attendance at Wrigley Field is down by from this time in 2010 and 2008, respectively
104 – Nope. Not going to say it.
