The Cubs are 6-11 over their past 17 games and have fallen to two and half games behind the Brewers for the lead in the National League Central, but it doesn’t sound like the slump is pushing the team into any sort of panic. The Cubs, after all, are still eight games over .500 and still have an excellent +83 run differential on the season. In an appearance on the Mully & Hanley show on 670 The Score, general manager Jed Hoyer spoke of his team’s recent play and his belief that most of the keys to righting the ship are already on the roster (full audio of Hoyer’s 15-minute interview is available).
“I don’t think it necessarily changes what we’re looking for,” Hoyer said of the Cubs’ recent swoon. “I think we still feel as though this team is really capable and has a chance to be really good, and we feel like the answers are internal. But we’ll obviously try to stay nimble. If something happens on our team or there’s some reason that we feel like we need to upgrade a certain position or add to a certain position, I feel like we certainly have the ability to do that. But this year feels different than some, in that I really do feel like this team, as constructed, is capable of doing a lot of good things. I think that most of the answers are probably in that clubhouse.”
Chicago has received lackluster production thus far from its top offseason signing, Yu Darvish, who remains on the disabled list due to a biceps issue. When healthy, Darvish has posted a 4.95 ERA in 40 innings of work. While his 11.0 K/9 mark ranks among the best in the National League, he’s also averaged nearly five walks per nine innings and been far more homer-prone than usual (1.58 HR/9).
Conversely, left-hander Mike Montgomery has stepped up nicely in Darvish’s absence, tossing 35 2/3 innings of 2.02 ERA ball across six starts in that time. Montgomery’s modest strikeout rate, 87.3 percent strand rate and .208 BABIP in that time all forecast some regression, as do his 3.63 FIP and 4.09 xFIP, but there’s little denying he’s looked like a capable rotation piece with Darvish on the mend. Hoyer once again suggested that Montgomery could continue to make some starts even once everyone is fully healthy.
“He’s been, really, a savior of our rotation in that spot,” Hoyer said of the left-hander. “…I think he’s proven that he can start in the Major Leagues. He’s been saying that for awhile, and we always believed him, but we always had the ability to have him in that sort of sixth starter/emergency role, and he understood that. … I thought Scott Boras said that really well when it comes to Albert Almora as well. This guy’s playing on a winning team, and that’s the team’s focus — not entirely on development. I think the same thing goes for Mike. He’s earned a spot in the rotation by the way he’s pitched, and I think we’ll move forward, and I think he’ll continue to do the same thing for us. I’m proud of the way he’s responded to getting an opportunity.”
Certainly, injuries could create a greater sense of urgency for the Cubs as the deadline approaches, but for the time being they look more like a club poised more to operate around the margins than to make a significant splash on the trade market. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein has already gone on record to state that all of the speculation tying the Cubs to Manny Machado from last month was “out there in fantasy land,” and while the Cubs surely figure to at least gauge the asking price on all of the market’s most intriguing trade pieces, reports since that time have downplayed the possibility of an earnest pursuit.
The real question is….are cubs fans getting nervous? Darvish has been terrible, Chatwood can’t find the strike zone, Hendricks and Q have been average at best. Not to mention the pen is shaky and Bryant has struggled
No, because they struggled the first half last year and still won the division. The Brewers are choke artists. The Cubs will be fine. After an awful stretch, they are still right behind the leader in the Central, and WC leaders.
One year does not another make.
Brewers also weren’t as good last year. Didn’t have the bullpen arms they do this year, no Cain or Yelich and Aguilar has found something since he has been given the chance. I’m sure this will fire Cubs fans up but Aguilar is out producing Rizzo in every major offensive category 300 at bats into the year. Just saying.
Oh I am fired up.I don’t even know who Agliua is, and you compare him to all star gold glove Rizzo? ! Habeebo hamburger madness! You are crazy talk!
Jesus Aguilar: .304/.367/.628 (slugging % leads NL), 18 homers, 52 RBI’s, 160 wRC+, 2 WAR
Anthony Rizzo: .233/.334/.407, 12 homers, 50 RBI’s, 100 wRC+, .1 WAR
Rizzo is the better defensive firstbaseman, but overall, Aguilar has been much better this season.
Why should Aguilar be punished because you don’t know about him. He’s doing better than Rizzo, that’s a fact
No way Rizzo is a gamer and Aguila is a nobody. Just look at the rings!
I didn’t know rings define define a player or a specific season in baseball.
yea that’s what someone with no rings says
He is correct. Brewers are for real
Not yet at all. Last year Cubs were below .500 at the break and won the division by 6 games. Brewers look very good so far but to quote Ric Flair, “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” That’s why it was so huge for Cubs to finally get over the St. Louis hump a few years back. Until another team proves they can handle it over a full season and be on top at the end, we have no concerns.
Bryant is down power wise, but is hardly struggling.
The pen is not shaky.
With Monty starting and BM and CJ injured, there were guys up who shoyld have been down in AAA.
Even they did okay, all things considered
Lol at “Bryant has struggled.” They should trade for starting pitching though. Chatwood needs to be removed from the rotation ASAP
Yeah I agree maybe go big and try to replace him with syndergaard or degrom since the Mets apparently made it known that those two are going to be available
Lol the cubs do not, actually aren’t even close to capable of trading for either one of the Mets pitchers…Mets want Minor league studs…Cubs have none…and Schwaber or Russel won’t cut it…both of them together wouldn’t get the trade done
I mean I was unaware that .280 with 9 HR and 36 RBI out of a teams three-hole hitter half way through the year was good? If a 20-80 pace with a .280 average for KB isn’t struggling what is?
Your arguments
The brewers best player is a 35 year old outfielder that you just signed…oh by the way he is injured….struggling is the brewers development of their own players
Are you referring to Cain? Who’s actually 32 and was on pace for an 8 WAR season? Just hop off this page kid.
Brewcrew08, Bryant has a 129 ops plus this year. I guess in the sense that he’s not performing at an MVP caliber rate, you’re right he’s struggling. But he’s still producing at an all star level talent.
Using three stats, including two garbage ones like average and rbi, do not back up your claim at all.
How about his 2.3 WAR this year. He had over a 6 WAR his other 3 years in the bigs. His ISO down over 35 points from his career mark
He’s a gamer just look at his hits. 3rd most among NL 3b!
So he old af…we agree
When have I argued about Bryant not being a gamer? All I’ve argued is that this is easily his worst season as a big leaguer.
Bryant is great and he has a ring to show it.
See that’s the issue w/ Brewer fans. We don’t know if this is his “worst season” because it’s only June, the season isn’t close to over. You clowns should have learned that lesson last year when you were planning your parade at the AS break for what? Yet another season looking up at the Cubs. Haha, how did that work out for you? How about ANOTHER season with no postseason baseball for the Brewers.
Sure, there’s a rivalry… sort of, the same way a windshield has a rivalry with bugs… just because they keep running into to each other doesn’t mean the bug is a threat.
All those desperate moves for established offensive players yet your brilliant GM skipped the most important part of winning division titles, playoff series and the World Fn Series… STARTING PITCHING. Also, the team is unbalanced, 2B and SS are essentially 2nd and 3rd pitcher spots in the batting order, automatic outs, yet you have too many unathletic one dimensional corner infielders.
In other words, you have plenty to worry about before you start obsessing over the Cubs. There’s a reason the Cubs have done what they’ve done, essentially with a young core of players that are under team control and haven’t even hit their peak yet. Just like there’s a reason the Brewers haven’t done what they .. haven’t done.
So, I know Brewer fans obsess about the Cubs, I get it… it’s cute, but we don’t worry about the Brewers. We do appreciate the Brewers, we love being the only team in baseball with two home parks, but we worry about teams like the Dodgers, the Nats to a lesser extent. Teams we have to beat to get back to the NLCS (three times in a row and counting) and back to the World Series, that’s what we worry about. When is the last time the Brewers ever even won a playoff series? Or even made the playoffs? Oh….hahaha, when you desperately rode C.C. like a rented mule, pitching him on 3 days rest down the stretch just to sneak into the playoffs but only to get bounced immediately. Haha, Brewers fans trying to troll, F’N hilarious.
Cubs fans don’t worry about the Brewers said the guy who took hours writing a novel about the Brewers….
Hahaha… “Hours”?!? Oh I get it, you’re confused, I’m not from Wisconsin… I can actually read/write. It only took me a couple minutes to put you in your proper place, but again, thanks for stopping by. Maybe MLBTR will post something about the Brewers so you feel relevant… Maybe
Stfu.
So my arguments aren’t good but all you can come up with is “stfu”? makes sense to me. I asked a legit question. When is Bryant struggling in the eyes of Cubs fans? Don’t get me wrong he is an on base machine. Arguably top 5 in baseball in that category I’m just saying the lack of run production out of your three-hole hitter has to be concerning.
The other real question is, will the Brewers trade top prospect Keston Hiura for pitching? To ge quality, it will c=likely cost more than that.
Maddon has owned Augusat and September. Is this the season the Brewers trade the present for the future?
I’m fine either way.
Nervous? No. But that’s because this team has driven me nuts for years on end. This is not a good team, nor is Theo some baseball genius. The 2016 postseason run was largely fueled by superlative pitching, which was unsustainable because of a defense that outperformed its true talent. The offense went cold in October for 2016 and 2017, and now the pitching is struggling. Of the starting rotation, Hendricks concerns me the least, but from the other 4, there’s real concern. Lester is due for regression, Q is inconsistent, Darvish looks terrible and Chatwood has zero clue where the strike zone is located. But somehow, some way, this team will get hot for a few weeks and easily reclaim the division. Not that this team deserves it, though. And when October comes, and the offense gets shut out in back to back games against the Nationals… Cubs fans will chalk it up to an unlucky postseason and “wait til next year,” ignoring the reality of the situation, which is that this core is flawed. It may be able to win the division, but should not be considered a championship contender.
The Cubs will win the division by 5+ games.
What is there to be nervous about? If the season ends today, the Cubbies are in the playoffs.
i hate to say it but i see the cubs winning the division there lineup is solid play good d just weak in pitching they have the assets and pockets to get any deal done if they feel the need i don’t see the brewers as being big gamblers and the cards well they’ll grab some more low hanging fruit and hope for a second wc
Not as nervous as the brewers should be with the cubs dominating the season series 8-3 so far. They may have an edge with record but are pretty poor when actually playing against the Cubs.
My goodness do Brewers fans have short memories. How did things work out in 2017? But what do you expect from a franchise that still has a flag in their stadium commemorating a wild card appearance.
No because the talking heads overhype the brewers. Brewers in all reality are not much better than the reds.
Hendricks and Q have been total busts for my fantasy team. I hope this team burns in hell
Gtfu
You know on paper our pitching rotation looks like one of the best in baseball but, they have underperformed so far. I wonder if they’ll go after Syndergaard or Degrom?
Why not try to get Kershaw or Scherzer, too?
Well because that’s unrealistic. The Mets apparently made it known that both Syndergaard and Degrom are going to be available. So why not try to go after one of them? Tyler chatwood has been horrible.
Cubs don’t have enough to get either of them without subtracting from the ML roster.
Sure go ahead and trade for a Mets pitcher…Bryant and Rizzo is a start for DeGrom
Can’t afford them prospect-wise. Can’t trade two of your best 4 prospects every year, and either would require waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than that.
Sundergaard is lights out when he isn’t on the DL. Figure out a way to keep him off the DL and trading for him might be worth it.
I think this is not the year to make any drastic moves in search of a world championship. Call me pessimistic, but I don’t think any NL team can beat Astros, Red Sox, or Yankees in a 7 game series. I’ll be content with a division win this year.
Kris Bryant for Jacob de Grom
I’d give up Darvish, Vogelback, Corey Patterson, a PTBNL, and cash.
I would do that but don’t think the cubs would
No matter what moves the Cubs make by 7/31, the fans and organization should be deeply grateful CHC didn’t trade for Sonny Gray last year. The winners in that sweepstakes were the teams who didn’t land him.
I would agree. Although Quintana’s numbers are getting awfully close to Gray’s this year..
I’ll take Q over any SP the Brewers have for the wild card playoff game they’re gonna lose…that is if they dont fall off naturally bc of talent level.
They are playing over their head right now…counsel for manager of the year but th as ts really all you have to be excited about
They don’t have the pieces for Thor or DeGrom, but I’d kick the tires on Tyson Ross…
Tyson Ross? Are you serious? They need to love Kyle Schwarber. Move him for Thor or a legit 1-2 in the rotation. They have made some questionable moves lately and are starting to pay for it. You may even have to move Russell plus for Machado. Ideally though, you’d like to move KB to left field and have Russell at 2nd where he has played in his debut days, and Machado and Baez at SS and 3rd. It would be hard to get Thor and Machado. Machado May have to wait until next season. It’s a shame we didn’t keep Arrieta and didn’t waste Eloy Jimenez and D. Cease on Quintana. We should have used those guys to start a package for Sale. That never made any sense on using the huge haul for Quintana but be so against Sale. Not to mention, getting J. Wilson instead Justin Verlander last year. Man
But Cubbie 75, May have the best take. It may be best just to punt on making moves, and play it out.
See that’s the issue w/ Brewer fans it’s only June, only novices obsess about the standings in June. You clowns should have learned that lesson last year when you were planning your parade at the AS break? Haha, How’d that workout. Yet another season looking up at the Cubs. ANOTHER season with no postseason baseball for the Brewers.
Sure, there’s a rivalry… sort of, the same way a windshield has a rivalry with bugs… just because they keep running into to each other doesn’t mean the bug is a threat.
All those desperate moves for established offensive players yet your brilliant GM skipped the most important part of winning division titles, playoff series and the World Fn Series… STARTING PITCHING. Also, the team is unbalanced, 2B and SS are essentially 2nd and 3rd pitcher spots in the batting order, automatic outs, yet you have too many unathletic one dimensional corner infielders.
In other words, you have plenty to worry about before you start obsessing over the Cubs. There’s a reason the Cubs have done what they’ve done, essentially with a young core of players that are under team control and haven’t even hit their peak yet. Just like there’s a reason the Brewers haven’t done what they .. haven’t done.
So, I know Brewer fans obsess about the Cubs, I get it… it’s cute, but we don’t worry about the Brewers. We do appreciate the Brewers, we love being the only team in baseball with two home parks, but we worry about teams like the Dodgers, the Nats to a lesser extent. Teams we have to beat to get back to the NLCS (three times in a row and counting) and back to the World Series, that’s what we worry about. When is the last time the Brewers ever even won a playoff series? Or even made the playoffs? Oh….hahaha, when you desperately rode C.C. like a rented mule, pitching him on 3 days rest down the stretch just to sneak into the playoffs but only to get bounced immediately. Haha, Brewers fans trying to troll, F’N hilarious.
2011 they lost in the nlcs in 6 games
Gotcha, was that the Sabathia year? Before 2011, when did they make the post season?
Cubs should stand pat, no need to make a panic move and deplete what little is left of the farm system. They’re going to need to get better production from the talent on the roster, regardless of who they trade for. If their current guys step up, they have the talent needed to succeed as it is.
There just aren’t a lot of holes to fill. As Rosenthal said, they’re the most complete team in the NL. They just need to get over this minor injuries, get healthy and do what they do. The pen has been great, the starters as a whole have been very good and they essentially have 6 starters, only need 3 or 4 at the most in the playoffs. They have depth at every position on the diamond, they’re fine.
Like Jed eluded to, if an opportunity to upgrade at a position presents itself, they’re always open to that, but they have no reason to be desperate and make a big move just to make a big move. The team is proven, the front office is proven… just let them get healthy and do what they do.