The Chicago Cubs continue to slide in the standings, but manager Craig Counsell is choosing to remain optimistic.
After the Cubs fell to 28-29 after their seventh loss in eight games at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, Counsell tried keeping things in perspective.
“We’ve just got to keep going,” Counsell said, via The Associated Press. “We’re in a tough stretch. When you’re in a tough stretch, it feels like you don’t get breaks. We’ve got to make our own breaks, and we’ll keep doing that.”
This is more than just a “tough stretch.”
The Cubs were 17-9 at one point this season. Since then, they have gone 11-20 and have allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to pass them in the NL Central standings. Chicago sits five-and-a-half games behind the Brewers for first place in the division.
To be fair, many viewed the Cubs as a team that would be in the mid 80s in terms of games won this season, but they have been playing miserable ball for a month now.
What exactly is wrong with the Cubs?
Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. (38) visits the mound to relieve relief pitcher Hayden Wesneski (19) in the seventh inning at American Family Field. Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
So, what has gone wrong for Chicago this season?
Well, for starters, the Cubs’ offense has been mostly subpar, as the team ranks 26th in batting average, 23rd in OPS, 18th in home runs and 15th in runs scored. Shortstop Dansby Swanson, who Chicago signed to a massive deal in free agency last year, owns an OPS of just .598. Cody Bellinger, who re-signed with the Cubbies after a resurgent 2023, is slashing a pedestrian .262/.328/.446. Ian Happ is having the worst offensive season of his career.
Not a single Cubs hitter owns an OPS of .800 or better, with first baseman Michael Bauch topping the list at .787.
Obviously, the offense is a big issue.
The starting pitching has actually been pretty good, especially at the top with Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon. It does lack depth beyond those three, though. Kyle Hendricks is sporting a mind-boggling 10.16 ERA over nine starts, and Justin Steele and Jordan Wicks have not inspired a ton of confidence.
Then you have the bullpen, which ranks 25th in the majors in ERA.
To make matters worse, Chicago’s Pythagorean record entering Thursday’s action was 27-29, so, basically, the Cubs are what their record says they are.
Counsell is in just his first season as Chicago’s manager, so it’s hard to imagine he is on the hot seat at this point, especially after the front office gave now-former manager David Ross quite a bit of leeway. But patience in the Windy City is running thin.
The Cubs have missed the playoffs each of the last three years and four of the last five overall. Ever since finally winning the World Series in 2016, Chicago has been on a steady downturn, and it’s looking more and more like it will end up missing the postseason yet again in 2024. This team just doesn’t look very good.
Of course, there is still plenty of time for the Cubs to turn things around, and they could make some moves between now and the trade deadline. We’ll just have to see if they end up being buyers or sellers by then.
