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Cubs Heroes and Goats: Games 87-90

As another Texas vacation comes to a close, it's back to the fun of numbers and charts with a recap of the last four games.

This is almost a "Caption This!" moment.
This is almost a "Caption This!" moment.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

I'm telling you, I could take those week-long vacations to Texas for the rest of my life and not grow tired of them. Even though it was close to 100 degrees every day and sunny for all of them (so, basically, your average Texas July) there were still plenty of fun times had at the two Six Flags parks in Arlington and San Antonio. Major kudos to Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington for the best new ride of the two parks, that being the Riddler's Revenge. If you're anywhere in the vicinity of Arlington and have the time to stop by Six Flags, this ride is an absolute must. Here's a video to give you an idea of what the ride is like. (And no, Heroes and Goats is not being sponsored by Six Flags, the state of Texas, or the Riddler.)

And yes, I did have more waffles that were in the shape of the state of Texas. Because it's a requirement, basically.

As for the important stuff, namely the Cubs, what's happened over the past four games? Here's a quick recap of the last two games of the Pirates series and the first game of the Rangers series:

Game 87 (Saturday, July 9 - Pirates 12, Cubs 6):

  • The Three Heroes - Anthony Rizzo (.239), Javier Baez (.140), Ben Zobrist (.113).
  • The Three Goats - Jon Lester (-.485), Adam Warren (-.378), Addison Russell (-.147).

Game 88 (Sunday, July 10 - Cubs 6, Pirates 5):

  • The Three Heroes - Kris Bryant (.315), Anthony Rizzo (.200), Hector Rondon (.177).
  • The Three Goats - John Lackey (-.331), Jason Heyward (-.147), Ben Zobrist (-.072).

Game 89 (Friday, July 15 - Cubs 6, Rangers 0):

  • The Three Heroes - Kyle Hendricks (.359), Addison Russell (.105), Javier Baez (.072).
  • The Three Goats - Ben Zobrist (-.032), Willson Contreras (-.031), Jason Heyward (-.020).

And as for Saturday...

Graphs for Game 90 (courtesy of Fangraphs):

Game 90 Chart 2016

Stats for Game 90:

Pitcher

IP

H

HR

ER

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

J Hammel

6

3

0

1

1

7

0.94

.235

T Wood

1.1

0

0

0

0

2

0.99

.102

H Rondon

1

0

0

0

0

0

0.92

.069

A Warren

0.2

0

0

0

1

0

0.9

.035

Total

9

3

0

1

2

9

0.94

.441

Batter

AB

R

H

HR

RBI

BB

SO

pLI

WPA

A Rizzo

4

0

1

0

2

0

2

1.32

.173

M Szczur

1

0

1

0

1

0

0

1.54

.109

M Montero

2

1

0

0

0

2

1

0.78

.028

T La Stella

3

1

1

0

0

1

0

1.14

.027

J Hammel

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

1.33

-.009

J Heyward

3

1

0

0

0

1

1

0.71

-.019

W Contreras

4

0

1

0

0

0

2

0.74

-.024

K Bryant

4

0

0

0

0

0

3

1.35

-.065

A Russell

4

0

0

0

0

0

1

0.69

-.066

B Zobrist

3

0

0

0

0

1

1

0.95

-.094

Total

29

3

4

0

3

6

12

0.99

.059

Writer's Note: The daily selections of the three Heroes and three Goats are based solely on the top three and bottom three WPA scores for the game. The selections are not based on my subjective opinion.

Before we get to the Heroes and Goats for Saturday, I've decided to make an addition to the piece called (for now) the Momentum Play of the Game, highlighting the play that had the most WPA impact in a positive manner in wins or in the most negative manner in losses. If you have an idea for a different name, feel free to leave it in the comments; I'm always up for suggestions.

The Momentum Play of Game 90: With the Cubs down 1-0 in the bottom of the third with two out and runners on first and second, Anthony Rizzo shortens up his swing on a 1-2 count and drops a double into right field that scores Miguel Montero and Tommy La Stella, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead.  WPA impact: +.240.

THE THREE HEROES:

  • Superhero - Jason Hammel (.235). A very efficient outing on Saturday, striking out seven over six innings and only allowing two runners to get past first base.
  • Hero - Anthony Rizzo (.173). He might have ended up at the top of the chart had it not been for a nice backhanded stop by Rougned Odor in the fifth.
  • Sidekick - Matt Szczur (.109). Comes up big for the second straight game as a pinch-hitter with a run-scoring single in the sixth.

THE THREE GOATS:

  • Billy Goat - Ben Zobrist (-.094). He was also victimized by Odor in the fifth on a leaping grab of a liner that would have driven in a run.
  • Goat - Addison Russell (-.066). One of the two Cubs to go 0-for-4 on Saturday...
  • Kid - Kris Bryant (-.065). ...and the other one of the two Cubs to go 0-for-4 on Saturday.

RANKINGS THROUGH GAME 90: Hey, look who's back at the top of the chart! And look who's back at the bottom!

Heroes

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Anthony Rizzo

9

13.5

8

62

Addison Russell

7

9

5

44

Kris Bryant

5.5

6.5

9

38.5

Ben Zobrist

7

3

7.5

34.5

Jon Lester

9

3

1

34

Jake Arrieta

9

1

0

29

Jason Heyward

2

8

3

25

Kyle Hendricks

6

2

2

24

Miguel Montero

4.5

4

2.5

24

Jason Hammel

5

1

5

22

Dexter Fowler

1

3

11

20

Travis Wood

4

3

1

19

John Lackey

5

1

0

17

Jorge Soler

2

3

5

17

Javier Baez

2

3

4

16

Hector Rondon

2

2

4

14

David Ross

2

3

1.5

13.5

Tommy La Stella

1

3

3.5

12.5

Willson Contreras

3

0

1

10

Adam Warren

1

2.5

1.5

9.5

Pedro Strop

1

2

2

9

Albert Almora Jr.

2

1

0

8

Trevor Cahill

0

3

0.5

6.5

Justin Grimm

0

1.5

3.5

6.5

Matt Szczur

0

2

2

6

Chris Coghlan

0

1

1

3

Clayton Richard

0

1

1

3

Jeimer Candelario

0

1

0

2

Joel Peralta

0

1

0

2

Ryan Kalish

0

1

0

2

Tim Federowicz

0

1

0

2

Spencer Patton

0

0

1.5

1.5

Carl Edwards Jr.

0

0

1

1

Gerardo Concepcion

0

0

1

1

Neil Ramirez

0

0

1

1

Goats

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Addison Russell

10

10

7

57

Jason Heyward

8

10

2

46

Kris Bryant

6.5

8.5

7

43.5

Ben Zobrist

5.5

7.5

10

41.5

Dexter Fowler

8

6

5

41

Anthony Rizzo

5

9

2.5

35.5

Javier Baez

4

3

9

27

Jorge Soler

4

3

9

27

Adam Warren

4

2

0

16

Pedro Strop

3

3

1

16

John Lackey

5

0

0

15

Miguel Montero

1

4

3

14

Travis Wood

3

1

2

13

Kyle Hendricks

2

2

1

11

Albert Almora Jr.

1

2

4

11

David Ross

1

2

3.5

10.5

Jake Arrieta

3

0

1

10

Jon Lester

3

0

1

10

Justin Grimm

2

1

2

10

Tommy La Stella

2

0

4

10

Willson Contreras

0

4

2

10

Hector Rondon

2

1

1

9

Trevor Cahill

2

1

1

9

Jason Hammel

1

2

2

9

Matt Szczur

0

3

2

8

Chris Coghlan

1

1

1

6

Clayton Richard

1

0

3

6

Tim Federowicz

1

0

1

4

Jeimer Candelario

0

2

0

4

Joel Peralta

1

0

0

3

Gerardo Concepcion

0

1

0

2

Spencer Patton

0

1

0

2

Carl Edwards Jr.

0

0

1

1

Kyle Schwarber

0

0

1

1

Neil Ramirez

0

0

1

1

Overall

Hero

Goat

+/-

Anthony Rizzo

62

35.5

26.5

Jon Lester

34

10

24

Jake Arrieta

29

10

19

Kyle Hendricks

24

11

13

Jason Hammel

22

9

13

Miguel Montero

24

14

10

Travis Wood

19

13

6

Hector Rondon

14

9

5

David Ross

13.5

10.5

3

Tommy La Stella

12.5

10

2.5

John Lackey

17

15

2

Ryan Kalish

2

0

2

Willson Contreras

10

10

0

Carl Edwards Jr.

1

1

0

Neil Ramirez

1

1

0

Spencer Patton

1.5

2

-0.5

Joel Peralta

2

3

-1

Gerardo Concepcion

1

2

-1

Kyle Schwarber

0

1

-1

Matt Szczur

6

8

-2

Jeimer Candelario

2

4

-2

Tim Federowicz

2

4

-2

Trevor Cahill

6.5

9

-2.5

Albert Almora Jr.

8

11

-3

Chris Coghlan

3

6

-3

Clayton Richard

3

6

-3

Justin Grimm

6.5

10

-3.5

Kris Bryant

38.5

43.5

-5

Adam Warren

9.5

16

-6.5

Ben Zobrist

34.5

41.5

-7

Pedro Strop

9

16

-7

Jorge Soler

17

27

-10

Javier Baez

16

27

-11

Addison Russell

44

57

-13

Jason Heyward

25

46

-21

Dexter Fowler

20

41

-21