Little has gone right in recent weeks for the Cubs, who fell to 22-28 in their past 50 games with yet another defeat Wednesday. Chicago dropped its fourth straight game overall and third in a row against the Pirates, though the stage was set for a Cubs victory. Leading 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs had newly signed closer Craig Kimbrel in line to slam the door. Instead, Kimbrel allowed two earned runs on a walk and a double en route to a 6-5 defeat. It was the second straight less-than-ideal showing for Kimbrel, who hasn’t turned in a clean performance in any of his three appearances since the Cubs activated him June 27.
Signing Kimbrel to a three-year, $43MM contract was a bold strike by president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, an attempt to inject some much-needed life into the club. The move hasn’t done the trick to this point, though. Neither have multiple team meetings in recent days, as Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com detailed after its 18-5 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
With the Cubs having floundered since May, their front office is running out of patience as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. Epstein took to WSCR-AM 670 on Wednesday and stated there could be a “ton” of changes, even threatening to sell this month, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times and Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune were among those to cover. Epstein called the Cubs’ recent skid “not acceptable,” adding, “There have been too many words about it and not enough action.”
Epstein didn’t excuse manager Joe Maddon from blame, saying “all of us haven’t done the job.” On the field, Epstein pointed to “sloppy” base running and defense as reasons for the team’s slump. Epstein must have been apoplectic Wednesday night when a pair of defensive miscues with one out in the ninth helped sink the Cubs. Catcher Willson Contreras, who was playing right field, failed to come up with a bloop fly ball. Then, with Pirates catcher Elias Diaz on third, Cubs second baseman Addison Russell fielded a grounder and fired home instead of taking the easy out at first. Diaz beat the throw, tying the game, and the Pirates later triumphed on a Corey Dickerson sacrifice fly.
The Cubs sit a lukewarm 45-42 on the heels of their latest loss, yet they’re still in wild-card position and a mere game back of the NL Central-leading Brewers. The fact that the NL features far more middling teams than juggernauts has been a saving grace for the Cubs. However, that’s not going to cut it for Epstein, who has important choices to make in the coming weeks.
As things stand, the Cubs still seem far more likely to buy than sell, especially after having signed Kimbrel. The team could reasonably look to make upgrades throughout its roster. Even with Kimbrel in the fold, the Cubs’ relief corps has done little to inspire confidence aside from Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler and Kyle Ryan. The Cubs’ rotation took a significant hit when Cole Hamels went on the injured list with a left oblique strain last weekend, though there’s optimism he won’t miss a ton of time. Regardless, the club’s starting staff has been shaky beyond Hamels, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester. Fellow established starters Yu Darvish and Jose Quintana haven’t come close to meeting expectations this season.
Statistically, the Cubs’ position players rank sixth in the majors in fWAR, but that doesn’t mean the group is devoid of issues. Among regulars, Contreras, third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant, shortstop Javier Baez, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Jason Heyward and utilityman David Bote have all ranged from fine to excellent this year. On the other hand, when the Cubs haven’t used Bote at second, they’ve gotten little at the position from Russell, Daniel Descalso and Ben Zobrist. They promoted 26-year-old rookie Robel Garcia on Wednesday as a result. Center fielder Albert Almora has joined Descalso and Zobrist in struggling at the plate (especially against lefties). Adding to the disappointment, left fielder Kyle Schwarber hasn’t hit like the offensive cornerstone Epstein & Co. have regarded him as throughout his career.
Second base and the outfield may end up as areas the Cubs try to bolster this month, but Zobrist’s potential return complicates matters. Although Zobrist has been on the restricted list since May 7 as he deals with a divorce, Epstein indicated Wednesday he expects the 38-year-old infielder/outfielder to rejoin the team at some point. The Cubs have saved approximately $1MM per month during the absence of Zobrist, who’s on a $12.5MM salary in the last year of his contract. Zobrist’s disappearance helped the Cubs gather up the funds for Kimbrel, though they’ve largely shied away from spending since last offseason. Epstein has said the Cubs usually have “significant” money saved for in-season pickups, though, which implies a Zobrist comeback wouldn’t hinder their deadline plans from a financial standpoint. Even if it doesn’t, the Cubs will need vintage Zobrist to return – not the version who showed absolutely no power over 99 plate appearances before he took his leave.
Just as Epstein is optimistic Zobrist will put on a Cubs uniform again this season, he expects injured reliever Brandon Morrow to factor into their bullpen. Morrow was a highly valuable member of the Cubs’ relief corps in 2018, but elbow problems put an end to his season in mid-July. While the oft-injured 34-year-old has been throwing in Arizona lately as he tries to work back, per Gonzales, there’s still no clear timetable for a return.
They’re mediocre. They’re just as close to the second best record (Braves) as they are to the second worst record (Mets). They’re obviously buyers in a few weeks but I don’t know what they could do when they allegedly are strapped for cash and are nowhere near as good as the Dodgers or even the Braves at this point. They probably have the most going for them in the division though which helps.
This loss is on Madden. He apparently does not do defensive substitutions in critical situations. Contreras has a great arm but wasn’t Heyward, Bryant or Descalso available to play defense? Anyone of them likely catches that “double” Kimbrel gave up. Madden moves Baez all over the place. We needed an OF called up not Garcia!
The D was in double prevention. That was a well located hit.
The bone headed move was by Russell going home when his body movement was going away from the throw. He takes the out at 1B then the final run would not have been a easy Sac fly. The fact that he is on the bench shows that Joe holds him accountable.
I was fine with the extra offense that Contreras and Caratini gave. Normally it is either or. Finding a suitable solution would go far for them. A 141 wRC+ and a 133 wRC+ should both start.
I can’t believe what I am reading here and hearing on the radio!
While I was watching the Sox win 2 yesterday, the Cubbies were apparently soiling their underwear!
I know right ! I always thought this Cubs team was the greatest team assembled since the 1927 Yankees.. That’s what their arrogant ” Go Cubs Go” singing fans kept telling me. They are not singing much these days .
Most Cubs fans burning their “W” flags or flying them upside down.
Don’t need them anymore.
Upside down is “M” for mediocre.
You’ve got more issues than the Cubs. Thats saying something.
The Cubs frequent dirty play was the beginningof the end. They are hated by most true baseball fans.
Must be proud of beating a team with 27 wins.
I thought Kimbrel was ready Nick? Keuchel is wainwright 2.0 right now also
Yeah, it feels pretty good to win games. Maybe you just forgot since its been a while.
Dallas Keuchel just turned in a start of 7 innings allowing only 2 runs against the Phillies.
Cards81,do you just make things up about me? When and where did I say anything about Kimbrel and his readiness?
You have got to be kidding me right nick?
Actually sorry nick that wasn’t you,my apologies…it was the guy “strike four”…my bad
I was going to say, that wasn’t me.
Omg. Sell sell sell. Bryant, rizzo, baezzz, wayward, Brizzo. Get prospects now. The season is over.
You are truly a moron…like seriously stop making such stupid comments for the whole world to see. You’re the worst of worst when it comes to “fans”. Rizzo, Bryant, Baez are all having great years, and controlled for at least another year or two. Really, just step away from the keyboard, get some warm milk and have your mom tuck u in for the night. FFS
Only a moron would overlook the obvious sarcasm
Nah, it’s just a demonstration of Poe’s law.
Yeah seasons over. 1 game back from first. No one on the team named wayward. “Brizzo” is actually Bryzzo and bryzzo is kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Baez has one z not 3. You name 75% of their core players..but not Russell or Bote or Darvish or chatwood.
You’re a bitter brewers fan or Indians fan.
3.5 games from LAST!!
Why would brewers fans be bitter lmao they’re in first
When I got my plates in 2016 in Florida BRYZZO was taken, I took BRIZZO.
The team looks lethargic. Bryant should not be our 4th OF and I think putting him in the OF risks his health and has hurt his hitting. That said someome more experienced should have been in RF in the 9th last night. Contreras and Schwarber in the same OF equals bad defense. With work Contreras would be fine in the OF but like Bryant, he should only play his natural position, DH or pinch hit. The Cubs need to bring up an OF not an IF like Garcia.
That’s the plates I wanted for Nevada. They were unavailable bryzzo and Brizzo was unavailable..
Willson once and Javy twice hit shots off the wall and didn’t run. Unacceptable! Joe will be the scapegoat, new manager after All-Star break. Serious talks of trading KB, he’s testing FA in two years. Possibly traded before deadline, Russell, Almora, Caratini and I hate to say it, Schwarbs to the AL.
Gotta love when parents buy their 12yo’s a new phone.
“Schwarbs” to the AL. Contreras as a late-inning defensive OF replacement.
And some say the NL has no DH.
Maddon wasn’t being clever. KB has a sore knee and Heyward tweaked his back. Only bench player he had was Descalso at that point. So, hence why Willson was in the outfield.
Someone decided we needed a power hitting high K 2B instead of an OF. As I keep saying, Bryan does not belong in the OF, I doubt his sore knee is from playing 3B.
Someone decided La Stella wasn’t worth the money
Surely this comment is just a sarcastic statement.
Where’s Wilson??? Sell, sell,selllllll !!!!!!!
I said it then and I’ll say it again. You have to stop the bullpen dance party tradition. Someone’s gotta go in there and bash that stereo. Question is, who does it?
Do they even still do that? They haven’t shown it on TV at all this season. I had assumed they weren’t doing it anymore. And I liked it.
Are the “playoff contending padres” in reference to the team that is currently T3 in the West and 2 games below .500? Just want to make sure I am thinking of the correct team.
Yes, and the same Padres who just got swept by the last place Giants in rather convincing fashion
2.5 games behind the Cubs
1. Kyle Schwarber has never put together a full year of great offense so why are people still expecting one?
2. Craig Kimbrel had no spring training and is clearly going to take some time to ramp up. Kimbrel may not have a great season at all since he is away from his usual routine.
3. Why is Wilson Contreras playing RF in the 9th inning of a one run game? Joe Maddon always thinks he’s so clever, but he’s more responsible than any player out there for this season
4. The Cubs defense has been very hard to watch at times this year. Especially their OF.
Man, as hard to agree with a Yankees fan, this guy has got it.
I just saw on Twitter he said kimbrel was a waste of time. Lol he’s had 3 appearance. 1 save. 1 appearance just to get in work in a blowout loss. He shouldn’t have been in the game. And last night. He made a few bad pitches. Jung ho Kang managed a miracle double with a catcher in right field
@yankeepride
This cub fan agrees on each point you made. Spot on.
To point 3—-Heyward was unavailable due to injury and Bryant, also sidelined by injury was only “possibly” available to pinch hit. The only other option was Descalso.
Other points, pretty dang valid.
The brought up Garcia and not an OF who could have pinch hit and then gone into the game.
Outfield defence? What team were you watching?
Defense
The Cubs are an overrated team who peaked in 2016. Everyone in baseball outside of Chicago should have seen this coming.
Unacceptable Underachievers, not overrated. Very talented core. New manager, new focus after break, start 9 game home stand with 7 July off days and 3 more off in August.
And a brutal September schedule.
Of course. That’s what I’ve been saying. It’s quite obvious.
Selling at the deadline? Kimbrel getting traded already?
I don’t see why anyone would want to take a chance on him until the offseason.
Or…maybe give him more than 3 innings to see how it goes. These boards are hilarious.
To all those Cubs Fans who were rocking the “just one before I die “ tee shirts a few years back, should have wished for two….
“Just four before I die”
Eh. They still won one. More than I could have counted on in my lifetime. The flags flying forever thing still holds true.
Yeah yeah, nobody has 27 flags but the Yankees. WTF ever.
Have asked this before.. How many during ur, or any other fan here’s lifetime? I suspect most was 50+ years ago.
Will give credit where due to that large amount some keep mentioning, as 8 have been won within the last 40y. Go further? Start getting out the history books when nobody but NY it seemed won for years and them, along with a cpl NL teams (Bkln and Giants) had better minor league systems than many major league ones due to buying up of all the talent.
There are various books out regarding this from the 70’s and 80’s and how/why this happened.
Nobody ever in any sport ever went 108 years without a championship either. A record that will stand as long as the 56 game hitting streak most likely and most laughable.
I really hope Kimbrel and Keuchel perform this year. If not, they’ll ruin what ever leverage players have by holding out. Hopefully it’s just a little rust.
Why would you want players to hold out? The player who holds out is obviously looking for a bigger contract than they’re actually worth. If 30 teams are not interested in your asking price, then that’s a good indicator that you may be expecting too much. I hope Kimbrel and Keuchel do well, but not for that reason.
I don’t hope they hold out. I’m fine with it though if they aren’t getting fair offers, which we don’t know is the case or not.
YKTD…..You are absolutely correct!!! By not dropping their asking price, is stupidly on their agents part. Precedence of pitchers who miss Spring Training has proved that when they do finally sign, they mostly are ineffective for at least a half a season. Kimbrell and Keuchel are no exception and futher proves that fact.
The players weren’t holding out. It was teams unwillingly lose draft picks to sign them at the time. When July came around, teams where able to sign these players and not lose draft picks. Crazy how the baseball world runs now, eh?
Kimbrel was also reportedly looking for a 9 figure contract before the season started, and he ended up with less than half of that…. Crazy how the baseball world runs now, eh?
Threats from this team are about as useful as the excuses this team comes up with for falling short. It’s always someone else’s fault and now if they don’t turn it around they will shake things up. They don’t have a whole lot of options on players to send down with out DFA.
Mr. Ricketts might as well step in now and clean house from top down. Fire Theo, Jed and Joe. Get the team under luxury threshold, before even considering adding more salary. Win with what they got or cut bait and rebuild. Cub fans would rather see good baseball than continue to suffer through this garbage brand they are playing. For being only a game off pace in the NL central, there will be no wild card come from the Central this year. 45 wins right now is only good enough for 2nd in one other league, 3rd or 4th in the rest of baseball. This team as is, should dominate the NL central.
“WIn now”, didn’t seem to mean much coming out of spring training when this team started off slow, like every other year under Joe. About the same as “shake things up”. If this team is going to make threats, follow through already, if not it just becomes a joke just like this team is being managed. Why is WIllson in RF?
Need to decide whom to build the team around and unload the rest. If its not going to be KB, trade him. Cubs traditionally don’t keep catchers long, as soon as they have value off they go and call the next up. Willson would fetch some prospects. Trade Javy while his value is inflated might be able to get a couple good arms to fill the rotation in 2020 & 21
I think you have it mostly correct. I put more blame on Jed & Theo.
1. Bad Heyward deal.
2. Rumors on the street a whole season prior to Russell’s wife indicting him on Twitter. Why did they wait to trade him when they knew?
3. Schwarber should have been dumped after he returned from knee surgery and stock value was still not on a downward trend.
4. Gleyber Torres was extorted for a bum who couldn’t pitch 6 outs and couldn’t close game 7 of the WS. That was our future at 2nd base.
5. Eloy Jimenez was traded for an inconsistent #5/6 starter. He would have been a far better upside coming up early instead of Heyward.
6. Epstein continues to get pitching retreads who had one good season 4 years ago before Tommy John surgery.
7. Our farm has been raided.
8. Bryant is going to command a huge payday and he is going to get it. Once again, inconsistent shouldn’t equal a long term deal.
I can’t put more blame on Maddon than that atrocious management.
As improbable as it seems, the rebuilding White Sox could conceivably have a comparable or even better W-L record than the Cubs as the teams head into the All-Star break following their two game series on the South Side this weekend. As it stands now, the Cubs record is two games better than the White Sox with both teams having the same amount of losses at 42.
If the Cubs continue to flounder in their remaining 3 games of the first “half” the most prudent move for Theo Epstein might be to simply fire lame duck manager Joe Maddon at the break and see if this talented group of players can respond to a different voice in the dugout before the front office begins the process of moving pieces on their active roster by the July 31st trade deadline. Bringing in a familiar face like David Ross to at least finish the 2019 season might be the logical move for the organization at this juncture.
I think the divisions they play in has a bit to do with the similar records. I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of the Sox though this year. If they can bring in an arm or two this offseason they might make more of a push
There’s a ton of talent… And not much else.
This team feels like they’re still hungover from their WS win
How can Theo “The Ego” even look himself in the mirror. HE and ownership are the problem. One terrible move after terrible move. They haven’t had a leadoff man since 2016. No true CF. Every other team has flame throwers in the pen. The Cubs have all these underarm pitchers. Though I don’t think Maddon is great, he is NOT the problem.
Front office mismanagement
No way the Cubs sell. However, selling at the deadline would not be the worst idea.
Let’s face it, a lot needs to happen for the Cubs to turn it around. Maybe a manager shakeup (Girardi, Joseph). Once you begin to tell people “If _____ can do this, and _____ can do that….”, it’s already game over.
The Cubs have enough talent to offer other teams and enough young talent to keep. The turnaround could be as quick as 2021. Again, not the worst idea in the world. They won’t do it, and I do not blame them.
Cubs would hire Loretta, Mark or Ross, David before spending big money on a veteran manager. Actually it’s assumed that Loretta will be the next manager.
Well played Steven. You’re probably right. Girardi would be my choice. He’d give that team the kick they need.
Joe maddon has lost his clubhouse. Magic shows no longer work to motivate his team. Sloppy base running, players playing in the wrong positions, and costly defensive lapses. Maddon will be the scapegoat. Theo, Jed, and the players above all else should take a majority of the heat here.
The cubs are now 10-22 when Addison Russell starts. While there is humor that most cub fans didn’t want to part with Russell after personal issues, the poor play has many fans calling for his release.
Schwarber looks horrific on defense. It remains to be seen if he can put together a full season of offense. Curious to see what his trade value is, and what they could possibly get for Almora, Happ, and Russell. I’d think at least another bullpen arm but unlikely to land a lead off hitter for the under achieving group above. So who do the cubs deal to solidify there top of the order bat, and bullpen arm?
Russell has no trade value and Almirolasand Schwarbers would get you a marginal reliever. Schwarber has no defensive value and is a marginal DH at best.
Losers bring losing. Dump Russell.
Couldn’t agree more. I feel like in September you’ll see Contreras at 1B Bryant in the OF Schwarber trying to revive himself at C and Anthony Rizzo as their SP.
First and foremost the Cubs are absolutely not gonna sell. There is no way they are gonna get people to pay to watch their network next year if they start trading their popular players. I don’t care if they finish dead last. Maddon will not return next year and it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets fired shortly. But the players are safe. At least the main ones.
Robin Ventura available.
Ozzie Guillen would make the players run the bases!
Rick Renteria would have insisted including having the players bust their butts running to 1B. Yes, that means you too Mr. Baez.
But wait, the Cubs already had Renteria who did a fine job helping develop many of their current players in his lone 2014 season on the North Side before the front office foolishly dumped him for resident “Genius” Joe Maddon.
The Cubs loss is now the White Sox gain.
“There is no way they are gonna get people to pay to watch their network next year if they start trading their popular players”
Their network.
You mean ESPN?
Don’t waste your concern, everybody stopped watching ESPN long ago.
Love the twitter feed on the ESPN website’s scoreboard for MLB. It’s always all Cubs tweets, lol, as if anyone outside of Chicago cares about them! And when the Cubs lose or are losing, the tweets are all still about the Cubs. What a joke. There is 29 other teams in MLB, but you would never know it if you just saw the ESPN website’s tweet feed.
I think the twitter feeds are customized for different cities. I don’t get much Cubs stuff in Florida.
The Cubs may not be sellers during the trade deadline but they can move a player or two during the offseason to retool their farm system. The Cubs’ window of not paying Bryant, Baez and Contreras is coming to an end while their most crucial need is to get young pitchers. One of those guys may be traded even if it is unpopular with the fans.
If they can find someone dumb enough to take Heyward…
The Cubs are hoping Heyward has a great year so he can a chance with opting of his contract and test the market.
Heyward is never going to opt out of his contract and no team is going to trade for him unless the Cubs eat 80-90% of his contract.
Hah the irony is he’s actually playing fantastic this year. He usually has been one of the ones to blame when the offense was struggling. Right now I have more faith with him up than I do KB or Rizzo unfortunately.
A team would easily be willing to pay him $10 mil per year if the Cubs ate the rest. But I just don’t see the point of that. He ain’t what’s broke right now.
I don’t know if I buy that to be honest. 10M*4 for basically what other teams would probably view a platoon guy, albeit the larger end of a platoon. Not to mention the NTC that is complicating matters. His value at 10M would largely revolve around whether teams view him as a semi regular CF. Even now in “a good year” he’s 113 wRC+ guy, which is more than respectable, but that’s the trick with the COF market in expecting more offense especially since the prices and trade value have been severely reduced
He’s an ok player who’s had a good year, but how many teams would willing to bet on this years renaissance as the new normal for a soon to be 30 y/o complimentary piece. My guess is you’d still be hard pressed to find a match.
I cringed when they signed Kimbrel to a 3 year deal. I watched the Greg Holland train wreck as a Cardinal fan on a 1 year deal last year. I hope he gets better. 3 years of that will be rough.
You hope “as Cardinal fan” that a Cubs player “gets better”. wow
It’s called the love for good baseball and good competition. I don’t wish ill on players. I have to admit though, I still kinda smile when Lester puts someone on first base?
Here’s what makes it worse…
The Pirates “don’t want to win”. And “don’t have any good players.” Ask their “fans”. So, to lose to a team that “doesn’t want to win” is pretty bad.
But, the Cubs will be OK. Joe Maddon did invent baseball, after all.
Clearly, it’s beyond the scope of us mere mortals to understand the genius of having not one but two catchers in the OF with a 1 run lead in the bottom of the 9th.
Could Maddon be moonlighting as a “Super Genious” with such profound and deep understanding of all things baseball?
Excellent points and sarcasm. One less obvious issue is Maddon who’s act has grown stale just as he did in Tampa. Merlot Joe brings a different vibe to the clubhouse and today’s players need a different one.
Even Ricky smart enough to replace Eloy with defensive replacement in 9th inning!!!
How about Javy Baez admiring 2 long singles last night? Where is the accountability with this mope? I get it, he hits 30+ HRs, but when is enough enough with this guy? Cocky, arrogant and full of himself. I’d let it slide if his OBP was above .310, and wasn’t leading the league in strikeouts, but he’s not! Sad as it is, the Cubs will trade Bryant before they trade this prima Donna
I happy the Cubs won it all in 2016 but the current makeup of the team and management is going to lead to ‘what if’.
Though it will never happen, they really need to move on from Theo and have someone who isn’t afraid to do some house cleaning. There is a decent core here.
Heyward is like herpes. He isn’t going anywhere. That contract with Sandoval and Elsbury are in competition for the worst of this century. They all were head scratchers when they were made.
Theo has nothing to do with the Panda and Ellsbury contracts.
Goose didn’t say that, Mrs Schwarber.
Okay. The Heyward contract may be an albatross but at least it is off the ground right now.
To be fair to Kimbrel, those were some questionable “earned runs” last night. It wasn’t his fault that a catcher was playing right field behind him. It wasn’t his fault that Addison Russell was a moron last night. It wasn’t his fault that Maddon (and I usually love him) had the infield playing back so that a routine grounder allowed a run. A lot of things were stupidly wrong last night.
You all should have been watching the ex-Cub prospect (Cease) win his debut!!
Looking forward to 10+ years of Cease, Jimenez, Moncada, Kopech, yada yada!!!
All of the Sox contributed to win both games of DH with great enthusiasm and never say die hustle!!
Ricky’s boys don’t quit!!!
Exclamation points are so fun!!!!!!!
EVEN BETTER IN CAPS!!!!!!!!
CHUMP!!!!!
ncaachamp!!!! How about dem Cubbies!!!! Whoooooooohhhhhh!!!!!! Go count comments snowflake!!!! Your 2019 Chicago Cubs, Titanic part deux!!!!!
Why don’t you guys save your tag team for the weekend when the Sox will have their World Series?
Never a completed Cubs post without Boob #1 and Boob #2 chiming in. We need to give them a break a bit as they are for the first time in like 7 years thhhhhhiiiiiiisssss close to .500. Oh looks like not today! Someday guys, someday.
10 years? Are you euthanizing Jerry soon?
You do realize unless Reinsdorf dies, there is absolutely NO WAY they are keeping all of the players you boobs listed above. He is one of the CHEAPEST owners in any of the 4 major sports. At least the Cell or whatever it’s called now will have more than 10k fans this weekend! Wooooooooo!
last night… the innig before he threw out a runner at home, and the missed catch wasnt exactly routine.. addison made the right choice to throw home, he hesitated the throw was ‘a bit’ off and the catcher missed the tag and it was still a pretty close play while still having a dounle play in line. the sac fly was misplayed by the left fielder too he wasnt set for the throw and a bobble iirc. as a pirates fan im not complaining 😉 just saying…
cubs still a dangerous team
You saw that bobble in left too I see, Russell just hesitatated on the throw for a second and that was the difference. An extra hopp. Must not have been able to get a good grip on the ball quick enough. It happens.
Hesitated
Yeah I’ll say it. Madden is an OVERRATED JERKOFF. Time for him to GO.
Well said!!!
@ sandy—-boy, you know how to hold a grudge. All Madden did was win a Super Bowl, had a nice, colorful broadcasting career and has been away for years. Idiot. If you’re going to rip someone, please have the decency and respect to get the name correct. Or even the knowledge to check autocorrect.
Sandy seems to be a DANDY.
mike127- It’s MADDON, dumb ace!
The misspelling of JOE MADDON was his point, or can’t you read. Dimbulb!
Then he should spell it correctly!!!!!!!
You’re so far in the woods on this one it’s comical!!!!!!!!
YOU ARE DUMB CHISOX
This confirms it. Chi Sox fan is still in junior high. No adult male past an 8th grade education would use so many exclamation points. And not being able to pick up that John Madden was being referenced. Gotta turn the lightbulb on buddy.
He really knew how to get his turkey leg on Thanksgiving.
Whit at 2B and SP ( Stroman /Madbum) that can give you 6 quality innings and the Cubs will face the Dodgers in the NLCS
Cubs don’t have the assets to trade nor money to buy. Rebuild coming soon.
Whit at 2B and leading off would do more than anything to help this lineup. And of course they’d have the assets to pull that off. I just wish Whit was 3 years younger I’d feel better. Although it doesn’t look Luke he started playing til a few years ago so might not have quite the mileage a normal 30 year old would have.
Luke, like, whatever
“Whatever”. That’s the same attitude you BOY Javy has when he’s told he needs to run when he hits a ball! “Whatever” hahahahahhahahahahahh
There ain’t no boy on your team within 100 miles of Javy I’m sorry man. It’s possible in maybe 2020 when your first chance of sniffing the wild card that maybe Eloy will have advanced that far? Doubtful though. Be proud though seriously. Your team is improving and yeah in a league where 5 teams lose 100+ you might be able to squeak out .500. I’m pulling for ya.
Knee jerk reaction. Cubs will be fine.
Cry me a river Cub fans…..Cry me a river.
Cubs are pissed they are 45-42, yet Mozeliak and company(media and fans), say about their team that is 42-42, “all is fine. We’re only 1.5 games out of the wild card.”
People on these boards are way to serious and defensive. If your team is having a rough stretch, expect people to have some fun with posts. No one seriously. Expects a full house cleaning for any team so why get so bent out of shape if someone jokes about your team selling off? Lighten up all you Francis’s out there! Happy 4th y’all!!!!
Well said—actually as a Cub fan (and this would be different hadn’t they won a World Series) this is a nice, humorous time for me watch people having fun with the posts. One of the most ultimate signs of respect is people wasting time caring about stuff they “really don’t care” about. I don’t for a second think that Cardinal fans, White Sox fans, etc really care more about the Cubs than there own teams, but there is a sense of satisfaction knowing that groups of fans don’t hate the Patriots, the Cowboys, the Yankees, Notre Dame, etc because they stink. At this stage, to be in a five year run of contention, it’s much easier for me to focus on the 900 game sequence and appreciate it compared to the rest of my life of watching than get microfocused on 50 games played in May and June of a particular year.
This is the golden age. It’s just a “valley” part of the season like the opening road trip. They will snap out of it. Nothing like the Crosstown Classic to get them started winning again.
The 2019 Chicago Cubs, Titanic part 2!!!
Boob #1! And he’s not even the young one! Chisoxfan is the kid in junior high since no adult male would use exclamation marks that frequently. 311 is just the typical insecure Sox fan afraid of the presence that is the Cubs. There are plenty of knowledgeable Sox fans that post on this site, just not this epic clown! Shoot sorry I used an ! there. Did I use it right boob # 2?
I LOVE the anger from Cubbie fans this year. Soooooo angry!!
Lack of innovation or management by Joe hurts the Cubs. He doesn’t rotate his lineup or batting order, fails to steal – lots of double plays, fails to use his starters and bullpen effectively to name a few. Hold your players accountable – not be their best friend and therapist! For the most part you have the players – quickly learn how to use them and play some small ball!
In at least 15 games every season the Cubs have won in spite of Maddon, not because of him. Robel will do fine and Almora will do a lot better when as the season progresses. Billy Martin used his starting pitchers MUCH longer than anyone does now and faced media critics constantly. Maddon should learn from him. Martins pitchers were seldom injured and many of them are in the hall of fame. DUMP THE SABREMETRICS Joe and try managing. Better yet, hire David Ross.
Plenty of things are wrong with the Cubs Maddon has wore out his welcome for one thing This laissez faire approach has run his course Theo has made some moves that may have won him our 1st world series in over a Century but it was with a price They traded away the future and it started with the the Dylan Cease Eloy Jimenez trade for Jose Quintana which was a disappointment Then the Gleyber Torres for renting Aroldis Chapman, now the Yankees have both players This leaves the Cubs without any back up plan Ian Happ is rotting away in triple A because he “Strikes out ” too much but yet Javy Baez can strike out as many times as necessary and he is an all star? Maddon playing Willson Contreras in RF on 7/3 against the Pirates confirmed to me that he is out of his mind Playing Bryant in the outfield is crazy too! Almora has a mulit hit game and the next two days he is on the bench? Bottom line is you play the people who got you there in 2016 If they can’t get it done what else can they do. They traded away there future for the World Series The pitching staff is terrible Jon Lester needs 10 days between starts as long as it’s not to hot and humid Darvish is God awful Cub fans face it we have our World Series and it looks like we will have to wait anothe 100 + years
The Torres/Chapman trade was 2016.
Then the 2017 Quintana trade. Cubs fleeced by Hahn in that trade!!!
Comparing a defensive plus to Happ is well interesting. A defensive liability King at 36% last year, seems like a difficult sell. I’m guessing the reason why Happ is not up, is because the bat doesn’t make up for his defense. I just can’t fathom an argument that Baez Ks to much and excusing away Happ.
Ok we all can just take the hand off the panic button,not the first time team has slumped.they have always been a bit of a streaky team,all the guys that needed to show up have.they are built around rizzo,Bryant,Contreras,and Baez,are getting it done heyward is having a bit of an uptick at the plate.i fully expect they will get hot out of the break.i do expect they will move a piece or two to upgrade the pitching and get rid of the log jam of average or underachieving players,they over rated the value of guys like scharb and almora I think they will settle for much less to make some sorta pitching help,caratini possible if they are looking for a bigger hull,young catchers who can hit and field have a ton value,as seen by the realmuto trade and high level of interest
The Cub problems started before the season. Prior trades and free agent signings were short term oriented. The Cubs – White Sox trade is one such example while signing Jason Heyward (great fielder / average hitter) and acquiring Yu Darvish were not exactly great signings. Joe Madden seems to ignored the basic teachings of baseball, now being displayed on the field. The Cubs management have also ignored team speed. Look at the White Sox, they have team speed at the top and bottom of the lineup. So when you summed it up, the Cubs have a very good hitting team without much speed, fielding prowess and with aged pitching. Given that Cubs leadership needs to do needs to replace some of their hitters for team speed and great fielding. Better fielding and team speed should help their pitching.
Theo magic ran out in Boston in 2011. Doing the same in Chicago. Time for him to find a new team to rebuild.
Thank you Cubs for making my pitiful Pirates look good and putting them into contention again. Now my fellow half wit fans believe we are bound for the World Series! Now I have to go through rest of July wishing the season would end and my fellow half wit pirates fans, would go back to hibernation. For your efforts to make the Pirates club to look so good, I hope you guys fall out of the wild card now lol
It takes a lot for a GM to get full on apoplectic.
Epstein’s lost it. Lost control of the team and made a lot of bad moves. He ought to be canned for it.
Listening to Cubs fans talk about the 2016 season is the equivalent of listening to Al Bundy scoring 4 touchdowns in one game for Polk High
Typical Cubs. They won a single World Series, yes, but as Tom Petty sang, “Even the Losers Get Lucky Sometimes.”
Everyone acts like this team is a jaugernaut. They just aren’t. They have lived off the 16 season forever. Maddon is horrible and by the grace of God beat the Indians and all Theo does s waste money on mediocre players. So they win a wild card spot or event he division this club isn’t going anywhere.
I know how to fix this. Let’s draft 27 more catchers. Then we’ll be all good.