MILWAUKEE — Before Saturday’s recreation between the beleaguered Cubs and the hot-starting Brewers at Miller Park, one Chicago media member speaking to Cubs supervisor Joe Maddon casually urged the Cubs “win a game and give us a different story to cover.”
Damn.
Cold.
That wasn’t the intent, the reporter insisted after the shock and laughter died down. No, actually – no offense.
Jason Heyward and Victor Caratini every reached base 5 instances, together with two homers by Heyward and one by Caratini (proven celebrating with Heyward after that two-run shot).
But after six consecutive losses, 11 errors in seven video games and two roster strikes earlier than the house opener to attempt to patch a leaky bullpen, how else may anybody be anticipated to take it?
Heck, by the point three extra runs crossed the plate in opposition to his bullpen within the eighth inning Saturday, even Maddon was caught on digital camera channeling Cub Nation: “I’m so tired of this sh–.”
But then it stopped. The Brewers lastly ran out of outs. And not even six extra runs surrendered by the bullpen may overcome Cole Hamels’ sturdy begin and the relentless backside of the Cubs’ order in a 14-Eight victory that snapped the Cubs’ longest shedding streak in two seasons.
“In the infamous words of Larry Bowa, we needed that like oxygen,” Maddon mentioned afterward.
It’s nonetheless simply eight video games right into a six-month season, however the seven-game “worst-case scenario” for pitching and fielding was within the crosshairs of group president Theo Epstein even earlier than the Cubs took the sector attempting to chop right into a 5½-game deficit the first-place Brewers already had laid on them.
“It’s got our attention and then some, and we know we need to change the script,” mentioned Epstein, who demoted struggling reliever Carl Edwards Jr. and put reliever Mike Montgomery on the injured record earlier than the sport.
“It’s important to do that pretty soon,” he added. “In a really competitive league and an even more competitive division you don’t want to dig yourself too great a hole.”
Or to nonetheless be within the gap when it begins to get stuffed up once more – which was trying all too potential, even this early, for a group off to its worst seven-game begin since 1997.
“It’s not the start that any of us wanted,” Epstein mentioned, “and we’re sorry we’re putting our fans through this.”
Consider the Cubs have scored 10 or extra runs in 4 video games to date, and received two of them. And that even once they received Saturday, their bullpen ERA climbed almost a full level, to 9.51.
Maddon, whose lame-duck contract standing figures to be a storyline all season, was requested earlier than the sport how a lot stress he felt to show issues round, given his contract standing. It was already the second time he’d been requested about his contract this season. And it was April 6.
“Zero,” Maddon mentioned. “Zero. The last four years have been pretty good. If I have to rely on a week’s worth of baseball games, that’s a bad process.”
Maybe Hamels’ sturdy six innings of pitching and the hitting heroics of Jason Heyward and Victor Caratini from the seventh and eighth spots within the lineup Saturday will get Maddon at the least to Monday’s dwelling opener earlier than he’s requested about his contract for a 3rd time.
“I’m willing to shoulder the blame,” he mentioned, “but I really have zero concern.”
It’s not like anybody who has watched the video games may moderately blame Maddon for the outcomes.
And Epstein mentioned it’s additionally mistaken responsible two different widespread targets of first-week finger-pointing: first-year pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and megabucks Ricketts possession that capped payroll spending earlier than bullpen wants could possibly be absolutely addressed.
“There’s always a search for scapegoats when you get off to a tough start,” Epstein mentioned, calling Hottovy “a big part of the solution” and defending possession. “It’s not a useful resource drawback. If folks have an issue with the allocation of the sources, then that’s me. And it has been each since I obtained right here.