by Boutros Boutros Ghali
I only have time for a short recap of the game today due to some other pressing concerns in my life (beer and porn), so this will not have the completeness you are all accustomed to in my columns. Of course, some of you may be happy about that because I do tend to be verbose.
Jake Arrieta is the best damn groundskeeper in the league. He went nine complete for the shutout and lowered his ERA to 1.88, which is almost as low as his batting average (.151).
Last night was the 20th victory of the season for Arrieta. The last time a Cub did that was John Lieber in 2001. The last time someone under 30 did it in a Cub uniform was in 1992 and was an unknown named Greg Maddux.
You might remember 1992 as the first year that Maddux won the Cy Young award. I have to believe that Jake Arrieta is the front runner for that award this year. You never know what will happen when old, white men vote (GWB?), but I already consider him the best pitcher this year and will not be surprised if he wins.
On the offensive side of the ball, Kris Bryant hit his 26th home run of the season. That breaks Billy Williams record from 1961. Bryant already surpassed Williams and Soto in the RBI category this season and is on his way to going over the century mark in RBI.
These numbers are significant because both Williams and Soto won the Rookie of the Year at the time they put up those numbers and I think Kris Bryant is the front runner for that award this year. The guy has 145 hits in 141 games this year and one third of those hits has been for multiple bases. Bryant leads the team with 98 RBI. He has struck out more than any other Cub in history, but he also has 71 walks on the season to go with it.
Bryant has committed 16 errors on the season, but he's also generally played very well at third and also spent significant time all over the outfield. His overall WAR is 5.3 which makes him third among all MLB third basemen.
The only way I see Bryant losing this award is if the voters decide to go with Kyle Schwarber, who in 60 games has hit 16 homers, driven in 43 RBI and gotten 32 walks. I doubt he will get enough consideration due to the lack of games played, but those are some great numbers.
Jake Arrieta dominated the Brew Crew. The Cubs have won their 89th game. This is the best team we have seen since '03 and possibly could be the best Cubs team ever if they string a few seasons like this together. And they are all super young.
The Cubs are playing so well right now, and with the schedule they have, it is possible for the Cubs to actually not lose again in the regular season. That would mean a 100 win season if they can pull it off.
If you aren't excited about this team yet, go jump off a bridge.
That's the Reckless Recap. Go Cubs!