CUBS - 4/28/03

Last time, we took a tour around the league to see how the Cubs’ hitters compared with the league’s best. This time, it’s the pitchers’ turn (as of Monday, April 28).
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ERA LEADERS:

Four Cubs are in the top 20 in ERA – impressive at any point in a season. Mark Prior, with the fantastic month of April that he is having, is ranked third in the league with a 1.70 ERA. Matt Clement is ranked 14th with a 2.59 ERA, Carlos Zambrano is tied for 15th at 2.61, and Kerry Wood is ranked FOURTH on the team, and 20th in the league, with an even 3.00 ERA.

WIN LEADERS:

Prior is in a six-way tie for first with four victories, while Zambrano and Wood are in a large tie for seventh with three wins apiece.

STRIKEOUT LEADERS:

Wood redeems himself (of sorts) as he nabs the second spot in the league over Prior (Wood 40, Prior 38). Zambrano is close behind with 30 Ks to rank 11th, while Clement ties for 20th with 26.

WALK LEADERS:

In a category one doesn’t want to lead in, no Cubs are in the top 10. Unfortunately, with his four-walk performance Sunday at Colorado, Zambrano leaped over his teammates to be in a tie for 12th with 15 walks. Wood has, as usual, built his 14 in a steady manner to place in a tie for 19th, followed by Clement in 25th place with 13.

HR LEADERS:

There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that no Cub starters place in the top 40 in HRs given up. The bad news is reliever Mike Remlinger is tied for 37th with three.

GIDP LEADERS:

Clement ranks tied for third in the league with five GIDPs, while Shawn Estes, in one of the few positive categories he could rank highly in, is in a tie for 5th with four.

RUN-SUPPORT LEADERS:

Wood, unlike in previous seasons, has received excellent run support, which has enabled him to overcome a rough inning during a start. Wood is tied for third in the league with an average of 9.00 runs per game. Zambrano is 12th with 6.39 RPG, and Prior is 17th with 6.08 RPG.

GROUND BALL TO FLY BALL RATIO:

The Cub pitchers regularly test that sometimes shaky defense as they place three pitchers in the top 10 – Prior is 3rd with a 2.50:1 ratio; Zambrano 6th with 2.14:1 and Clement 10th with 1.96:1.

WHIP LEADERS:

As expected, Prior is among the league leaders, just edged out of the top spot by Shawn Chacon (0.8367 to 0.8378). Clement also ranks in the top 10 at No. 9 with a 1.05 WHIP, followed by Wood in 12th with an impressive 1.09 WHIP (a very low hit total). Zambrano, who had balanced a nearly hit-an-inning average with a medium walk total, saw his WHIP jump up to 1.32 to tie for 30th in the league.

NEXT TIME: A more traditional FIC look at the Cubs, including the minors, now that they are in full swing.