MILWAUKEE – During the Cubs’ misplaced weekend in Milwaukee, just a few Chicago writers sought Brewers supervisor Craig Counsell’s ideas on the Cubs’ three-series face plant into the 2019 season.
One even bemoaned the trials of the street journey on the media.
“The reporters are struggling, too,” he mentioned, explaining he’d run out of fresh underwear on the prolonged journey.
Seriously.
Kyle Hendricks continues to be engaged on rediscovering high type two begins into the season.
But if he was in search of sympathy, he was wanting within the improper place.
“Well, generally, that’s a soft group,” Counsell deadpanned. “As a whole, it’s a soft group.”
The Chicago baseball group bought handled with even much less regard, and much much less sympathy, for a lot of the weekend at Miller Park.
By the time Brewers bullpen ace Josh Hader and his fastball blew previous the Cubs’ ultimate eight batters Sunday, the Brewers had a 4-2 victory, a collection win and a 5½-game lead within the NL Central over the Cubs.
And this time the bullpen really did its job, with 4 scoreless innings. But starter Kyle Hendricks struggled once more, and the sum of the Cubs’ offensive output got here on one swing by Willson Contreras within the sixth for a two-run homer.
Just 9 video games into the season, the Cubs are 2-7 – their worst nine-game begin in 22 years.
“I wouldn’t say there’s any panic,” left fielder Kyle Schwarber mentioned. “We’re just ready to get home and start over.”
Talk about soiled laundry. Talk about getting uncovered.
The Cubs haven’t performed a house sport but, and so they’re already as far out of first place within the division as they’ve been at any level since 2015.
Their rotation has the best ERA within the majors (6.80) and the fewest innings (41). Their bullpen ERA is way worse (8.37) – and that’s after bettering by greater than a full level with Sunday’s efficiency.
They have 12 errors dedicated at seven completely different positions in 9 video games.
They’ve already used the injured checklist for one pitcher and demoted one other. They’re strolling virtually 6½ batters per 9 innings. Their supervisor was caught on digital camera cussing concerning the bullpen Saturday night time. And they’ve solely received once they’ve scored 12 or extra runs – twice shedding once they scored 10.
The solely place they give the impression of being worse lately is on social media, the place the 2016 World Series not appears to have any energy to cowl the group’s flaws.
“We’re the Chicago Cubs,” shortstop Javy Baez mentioned. “Obviously, everybody’s going to talk about us and talk about 2016 and all this bullcrap. But I don’t control that. I like it because when people talk about you it’s because they care – they either care or they hate you, whatever it is.”
There are 153 video games left within the season. Which is both the excellent news or the unhealthy information, relying on which path they go from right here.
Consider that for the reason that Cubs led the Brewers by 2½ video games on Sept. 22, the Brewers have gone 16-2 and been 9 video games higher within the standings.
“We’re a very tight-knit group; we care a lot about each other,” mentioned Cubs ace Jon Lester, who throws the primary pitch of the house season Monday towards the Pirates. “Just a little adversity early on I believe goes to make us higher in the long term. I don’t suppose anyone in that room’s panicked by any means.
“It will probably be good to get dwelling and sort of virtually begin over there,” he added.
The larger points is likely to be the Brewers and Cardinals – to not point out the Pirates, who deliver the top-ranked beginning rotation within the majors (2.06 ERA) into this week’s collection.
The strengthened NL Central was a root trigger behind all that urgency discuss all spring.
“It sucks,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo mentioned. “You go into spring coaching, `rah-rah, let’s get off to a very good begin.’ It’s not ‘rah-rah,’ however it’s that mentality, proper? Every group has it. Some groups [start fast], some groups don’t.
“But we all know how good we’re.”