The last few games have been exciting. Not the kind of exciting I really want. With the Cubs continuing to let unforced errors play havoc on how these games play out, the games have been tense at times. The tendency for fans to see shadows of past failures is all to clear.
What might have been a better defensive ballclub has looked positively ham-handed of late. The pitching has been spotty. The offense has had hiccups on the bases and at the plate.
I have boiled down a few takeaways, though. Notes that seem like bright spots in the early going.
Wood looks good. He admits he isn't necessarily comfortable in the role yet, but he has performed well as he gets used to being the closer. Additionally, Marmol looked stellar yesterday. I don't think closer will be a glaring hole for this club.
Fukudome is everything that he was advertised as...and maybe more. We knew he would be a player, but thought it might take him a bit to get acclimated. However, he is jumping in head first with outstanding play offensively and defensively. His bunt on Saturday was tremendous. He has shown patience and a head for the game. Watching him annoy the pitcher with a good lead off of first late in yesterday's game was enough to make me grin. He has sprayed the ball around and hit with authority. He should help Ramirez a ton batting from the 5 spot.
Other positives can be seen from Reed Johnson, Soto and Theriot. Lee and Ramirez are looking good, but that was to be expected. I also like Hart and Lieber out of the pen so far.
Hopefully, they can get some solid starting pitching and cut down on the errors and the apparent mental spaceouts. I don't think Houston and Pittsburgh are great teams, so the Cubs should be winning these games. However, in years past, these are exactly the games they failed to convert.
It's early, but they aren't out of it yet, which is always a plus for Cub fans.
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