The one bright spot in the Cubs’ opening series against the Rangers was the offense. They finished the three-game set with the second-highest OPS (1.003) and the second-most runs per game (9.3) in the National League. However, pronouncements that their performance at the plate had gone from broke to woke remain entirely premature.
I am not even talking about obvious caveats about small sample sizes. Recognizing that the Rangers’ staff is hardly representative of elite major league pitching is a step in the right direction. Texas had the third-highest ERA in the American League last year, but even this doesn’t adequately capture the aspect that may have most benefited the Cubs: scant few power arms (more context here).