Cubs Hits of the Past 14 Weeks

A look at the ten Cubs hits from the season so far that did the most to enhance the team's chances of winning, according to FanGraphs' Win Probability Added statistic.

#10.) May 11th, 7th inning v. Arizona, man on first, one out, Cubs trailing the Diamondbacks, 4-2. Facing former Cub Juan Cruz, Reed Johnson cracks a two-run homer to tie the game, which the home team will go on to win 6-4, after Daryle Ward delivers a two-run double one inning later. Johnson homer = WPA .321

#9.) May 2nd, 9th inning at St. Louis, man on second, one out, Cubs trail the Cardinals, 3-1. Jason Isringhausen is in for the Cards, trying to preserve a 3-1 St. Louis lead for starter Adam Wainwright, but Alfonso Soriano will have none of it, clobbering an Isringhausen pitch for a game-tying two-run shot. Chad Fox, who clearly has no sense of drama in addition to his physical challenges, winds up serving a game-winning two-run homer to Skip Schumacher in the 11th inning. Soriano homer = WPA .342

#8.) April 23rd, 10th inning at Colorado, men on first and second, two outs, Cubs and Rox are tied, 6-6. The Cubs get two men aboard for Ryan Theriot, who lines a single to right field that scores Mike Fontenot with the lead and eventual winning run, extending a Cubs winning streak to six games. Theriot single = WPA .351

The countdown continues after the jump.

#7.) June 20th, 9th inning v. White Sox, none on, none out. Entering a game that's tied 3-3, Sox setup-man Scott Linebrink, who had been virtually unhittable to that point in the season, makes a mistake, and Aramis Ramirez hits it. Far. Cubs win! Cubs win! Sox lose! Sox lose! And Hawk Harrelson goes into that no-talking thing which leads you to believe that spontaneous combustion is just around the corner. Ramirez homer = WPA .358

#6.) May 30th, 7th inning v. Colorado, man on second, one out. The Cubs spot Aaron Cook a 9-1 lead through five-and-a-half innings, then storm back with three runs in the sixth inning and four more in the bottom of the seventh, when DeRosa steps to the plate against Manny Corpas with Jim Edmonds perched out at second base. DeRosa tags a two-run shot to put the Cubs up, 10-9, and Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood make the lead stand up. DeRosa homer = WPA .359

#5.) April 9th, 15th inning at Pittsburgh, bases loaded, two out. In the second of back-to-back extra-inning games against the Pirates, the Cubs try to salvage a contest they led 2-0 going into the last of the eighth. After taking a 4-2 lead with a pair of runs in the 14th inning only to allow the Bucs to tie the game with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, the Cubs load the bags and give Felix Pie a chance to become a hero...which he does. Pie dumps a single into left-center field, scoring Kevin Hart and Ryan Theriot and securing the 6-4 victory. Pie single = WPA .387

#4.) March 31st, 9th inning v. Milwaukee, men on first and second, none out. Kosuke Fukudome could contribute 15 productive seasons to the Cubs and not duplicate the drama of his first Opening Day in a Chicago uniform. With the Cubs down 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th inning and new Brewers closer Eric Gagne in to protect the lead, Derrek Lee singles to right, Aramis Ramirez works Gagne for a walk, and Fukudome mashes his way into Cubbie folklore. Fukudome homer = WPA .454

#3.) June 12th, 9th inning v. Atlanta, none on, one out. About a month after the Cubs picked Jim Edmonds and his .178 batting average off the scrap heap, Edmonds cracks a game-tying home run off of Blaine Boyer, paving the way for the Cubs to win a 3-2 decision in 11 innings. Edmonds homer = WPA .466

#2.) April 9th, 14th inning at Pittsburgh, man on first, two out, Cubs and Pirates tied 2-2. Having blown a chance to close out the Pirates in regulation, the Cubs play into the 14th inning at PNC Park. Finally, after Derrek Lee draws a two-out walk from Phil Dumatrait, Aramis Ramirez clubs a two-run blast that seems to ensure a 4-2 Cub win. Only not. (See #5 above.) Ramirez homer = WPA .484

And finally, the #1 Cubs hit in the first half of the '08 campaign according to FanGraphs...

#1.) April 23rd, 9th inning at Colorado, man on first, one out, Cubs trail the Rox, 5-4. The home team is within two outs of defeating the Cubs, when Derrek Lee singles, Felix Pie enters the game as a pinch-runner, and then Aramis Ramirez connects with a pitch from that Corpas character for a two-run shot that gives the Cubs a short-lived 6-5 lead. (The Rockies tie the game in the last of the ninth, giving Ryan Theriot the opportunity to collect the game-winning hit in the 10th; see #8 above.) Ramirez homer = WPA .640