Good pitching. Good defense. Good power. All those things are needed to be a World Series baseball champion.
In my opinion, a good lead-off man should be added to that category--especially if you are a Chicago Cubs fan.
I'm a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan.
Nobody was happier when the Chicago Cubs broke their 100-year World Series championship drought by winning the 2016 World Series. The Cubs did it thanks to their good lead-off man Dexter Fowler.
Fowler is now with the rival St. Louis Cardinals, who have a four-game lead over the Cubs in the National League's North Division. As for the Cubs, they are dangling like a baby tooth for the final Wild Card Playoff spot with a 79-68 record.
Not bad, but without a legitimate lead-off man you have a better chance of winning a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Since Fowler left the Cubs, they have played a lot of losing numbers: Albert Almora, Jr., Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward, Ian Happ, and Ben Zobrist all trying to replace Fowler in the lead-off spot. Great players but not lead-off men.
The Cubs are one of the most powerful teams in the Major Leagues. Six players have more than 20 home runs heading into October. Kyle Schwarber (35), Javier Baez (29), Kris Bryant (28), Rizzo (26), Willson Contreras (23), and Heyward (21) make for a potent lineup.
The problem is the Cubs are slow, turtle slow. Baez (11) is the only Cubs player with more than 10 stolen bases.
Speed is important for the lead-off man. First you have to get on base. Next, you have to be a threat to steal second base. Last, you have to be able to score on a single from second base, or tag up and score on a fly ball from third base. A lead-off man has to be fast.
In 2016, Fowler did these things. He was on base 39 percent of the time. In only 125 games, he scored 84 runs. Translation: he scored a run in about 75 percent of the games he played.
That's a problem for the Cubs. When the Cubs go into a power-hitting slump, they struggle to score runs. They don't have the ability to manufacture runs with sacrifice-fly balls, taking walks, and advancing to the next base without a long ball.
When Fowler played for the Cubs, Manager Joe Madden told Fowler, "You go--we go!" This meant, if Fowler got on base, the Cubs had a good chance of scoring runs and winning the game.
But with Fowler playing for the "Red Turds" (Cardinals), it means "You go--they go--and we watch them win the division championship."
And that's not cool!
And that's not cool!
