By The Numbers, Chicago Cubs Are Scary Good (So Are The White Sox)

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Cubs, fresh off a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are more than just a good ball club; they are, statistically speaking, scary good.

The Cubs lead all of Major League Baseball in average runs scored (6.1.)

That's really impressive when you consider the Chicago White Sox rank No. 19 in the league at 3.1. You know, the White Sox, the team with the best record in the American League.

The Cubs also are allowing the fewest runs per game at 2.5. Again, the White Sox top the American League at 3.0 runs allowed.

One of the best starts ever? Yes, that, too.

Many number crunchers predicted the Cubs to win around 100 games this season. One even went so far to predict 116.

They're currently on pace to win 124.

The analysts at Five Thirty Eight also note how far the Cubs have progressed in just four years. They use a system called Elo to rank teams at a given point in time.

When Theo Epstein took charge, the team's Elo rating was second-worst in baseball. As of Wednesday night, the Cubs are atop the Elo chart, by nearly 40 points.

All of this makes the Cubs' four-game series with the Washington Nationals, the team with the second-best record in MLB and second stingiest (2.6 runs allowed), so compelling when it opens Thursday night at Wrigley Field.

Incidentally, Five Thirty Eight favors the Cubs to sweep the Nationals on Sunday.

If that happens, it would be truly scary. Same with this.