Jason Heyward has a .207 batting average. John Lester has a 5.14 ERA. As I type this, the Chicago Cubs are currently 4-10 in Spring Training. Time to panic right? Not at all!
From my perspective, you could actually consider it a good thing that the Cubs are way down in the spring standings. I’m not going crazy, and let me fill you in on why. The current leader in games played this spring is John Andreoli. Think about that for just a moment. Instead of putting Kris Bryant into every game just to see if he can hit a ball, we’re playing a non-roster invitee who hasn’t played above AAA ball in his entire career. While other teams have players scrambling for a roster spot, Munenori Kawasaki is singing karaoke and the major story has been the final season antics of David “Grandpa” Ross. It’s a fun time for not just the fans but the entire Cubs organization.
Yes, over the past few years the eventual champions tend to do decent in Spring Training. Again, we’ve only been through 19/34 games so far. In a week or so we’ll start to see the big names hit the field, but for now we can all kick back, take in the fun side of the sport, and be ready to go come April 4.