The good news for the Cubs is that they’re in first place in the NL Central at the All-Star break. The bad news is that the Cubs are hardly playing like a first-place team, with only a 22-29 record over their last 51 games. Chicago holds a half-game lead over second-place Milwaukee and, remarkably, a lead of only 4.5 games over last-place Cincinnati — with so little room for error, the Cubs can’t afford many more struggles.
President of baseball operations Theo Epstein has been vocal about his displeasure with his team’s recent performance, and Epstein continued to discuss the subject this weekend with reporters (including ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers and 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine). Subpar defense, fundamental mistakes, and general “sloppiness” continue to be an issue for the team on the field, though Epstein felt these aren’t the sole problems.
“Right now, we are in a collective slump. We are not playing in a way I feel represents who we are,” Epstein said. “It has gone on for a while. So we are all searching for answers. We are looking for every lever we can pull to get the thing going in the right direction.”
Epstein’s remarks earlier this week led to speculation that Joe Maddon’s job could potentially be in jeopardy, though the front office boss stated Saturday that “Joe has been remarkably consistent. I’m not going to sit and say this is about him. I look at it collectively.”
To this end, Epstein also directed blame at himself and the front office as a whole: “Ultimately, everything in baseball operations is my responsibility. If we are not getting the results we wanted, in every meaningful way that ends with me. It is my job. I selected the players and coaches. I selected Joe….If we are underperforming, that is absolutely on me.”
“Front offices can go in slumps. Sometimes you go through Murphy’s law period — everything that can go wrong does go wrong. The same thing can happen with front offices. I believe in this group. I believe in this organization. I think good times are ahead. There are cycles that come and go. The key is not to let the down periods cut at the fabric of the organization.”
The break may well have come at the perfect time for the Cubs, who can use the next few days off to regroup and refocus on the an improved second half of the season. The July 31 trade deadline also looms as a way of shaking up the roster, as while Epstein said the team isn’t yet close to making any moves, the Cubs are “in a proactive stance” about possible deals: “We’re looking for things we can make happen just because we haven’t playing that well for a while now.”
Pitching would seem to be the most obvious areas of need for Chicago, both in the rotation and the bullpen. That said, if Epstein, Maddon and company continue to be dissatisfied with the quality of the position players, there is also room for potential upgrades on that front. While Ben Zobrist wasn’t hitting well before going on the restricted list in May, his possible return could help both second base and left field, as Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber have both underachieved. If the Cubs aren’t certain about Zobrist’s return, they could pursue a similar type of utility player at the deadline who could fill holes on the bench, essentially taking the role earmarked for Zobrist and David Descalso prior to the season.
Yet another article about the Cubs. Hey mlb trade rumors how about an article about the Sox?
Check again when the Sox are relevant.
Are the Cubs any closer with their 515 winning percentage? It’s literally every week a new stupid article. How about one about the Brewers or the Cardinals? Pirates and reds are close in that division.
I’d prefer an article every month on who has how much IFA space remaining, but nobody asked me.
If the Cubs were 9-7 against the Reds and Pirates instead of 6-10, we wouldn’t be seeing these types of Cubs articles.
I too would like to see more attention to the other clubs in the NL Central. It’s such a close division that really can be won by anyone. The Cubs should be playing better, the Brewers and Cards are both good teams, the Pirates would be making more noise if they’re rotation wasn’t decimated, they have one of the top offenses in the league right now, and the Reds are making things interesting.
I can’t wait for the September, 2019 article about how the Cubs finished dead last in their division with such a high payroll!!!!
@chicagofan1978: FanGraphs has the playoff odds of the Cubs at 72.5%, and the White Sox at 0.0%.
So what? Predictions don’t make it so.
Opinions are like you know what. Everyone has one.
Not sure which September you’re gonna be waiting for though…
I’d say. They’re in first place. The records aren’t great but the division has beat up on each other because it has 5 quality teams.
And yes, more relevant than the Sox, who your asking for articles on and have a .488 winning pct
You’re
It says “2019” – can’t you read?!
There’s not one good team in the NL Central. There are 2 average teams, a mediocre team, and 2 below average teams.
May be but they are not!
You’re full of it Nick Stevens, I’d say there are 3 good teams, one slightly above average & 1 slightly below average. Look at their records vs the East & West & interleague play.. Best division in baseball, it’s not even close.
Hm…they are pretty relevant.
Yeah talk when they close to winning they’re crummy division
Congrats on leading the most mediocre division in baseball. That .522 winning percentage would be good for 3rd or 4th place in every other division outside of the NL West, and that includes the AL Central.
That’s not really fair. How many times have the Indians and Twins played DET and KC? I’ve always found it interesting when divisions have such huge gaps in standings between wins and losses. Do the teams at the top have more wins because the teams at the bottom are terrible?
Collectively it’s the 3rd best division in baseball if you go by winning percentage. The 1st place team generally isn’t going to have a high win percentage when the whole division is solid.
Agree. Where would the Sox be if not in the Al Central?
Winning the World Series.
*Their
That’s because way more people care about the Cubs than the sox.
White Sox fans are always crying about the Cubs in one way or another, or another, or another, or another…
When Jon Jay is your RF/DH and batting 5th, then there is no reason to even acknowledge a team that dumb.
Theo behind this posting. Panicking. Doesn’t know what to do. Looking for help and suggestions from baseball fans.
Chi Sox just chill buddy your Sox have a ton of young talent your best days are coming..crying cause the cubs are relevant now only discredits you and makes you seem small
ouch
Who dat is ?
Yeah this article is on the cubs page genius.
The Cubs are a team equivalence of Bryce Harper…..filled with hills and valleys. When they are on they are one of the best teams in the game, but when they aren’t, they look like a below average team with potential
Solid comp
And they are both very overrated based on name and reputation as opposed to consistent results.
Exactly
I’m a Cubs fan, and a Harper-type player hater. This comparison hurts because it is very accurate.
Consistency throughout the season is optimal, but a timely hot streak can back you in to the playoffs, and can steal W.S. Trophies #cardinals
First off trade Addison Russell. He’s unproductive and darn right immoral (dumb punk inprexgnanted another girl while being married with a child at the age of 23, #pos)
Move Heyward to center and Bryant to right. Bote got an extension so play him at 3rd and bat him 8th till he doesn’t hit. Then make a move for a 2rd basemen with more hitting ability. Maybe Joe Panik or if they really want to make things interesting…. Jeff McNeil. Otherwise there isn’t a difference maker out there.
Schwarber is a pro hitter, numbers or not. He’s their 5 hitter and left-fielder at least till the end of his team control
Except he’s not their 5 hitter…
And NOBODY wants Russell.
Except Schwarb’s already hitting slightly above league average with a .355 xwoba that lags his .340 WOBA. He hasn’t really been an issue nor has he really been bad offensively.
And that has what to do with him being their lead off hitter instead of their #5 hitter?
Oh yeah. And his wRC+ is 98, which puts him at 2% below league average on offense.
The problem with Schwarber is that the shift is killing him. Tears the cover off the ball when he makes contact, but he is positioned against well.
Schwarber 1/9 vs Sox over the weekend.
1 bloop double and 4 K’s.
He sux.
What an awful awful take. We can do that too:
Giolito 2 starts versus cubs:
0-2 8 1/3 IP 12er 11 hits 8 walks
Era 12.96 whip 2.28
“He sux”
Maybe so, but we are talking about Ur crappy leadoff hitter.
Russell is still solid on defense. Plenty of teams will call for a guy that can play 2nd , SS and 3rd. It will cost them a top reliever though.
Pretty sure everyone in the MLB is a pro, it’s their job.
If Schwarber isn’t producing, then what exactly makes him a “pro hitter” by your definition?
He’s producing above league average offense with metrics like hard contact % that suggest he’s been largely unlucky. Unless you’re one of those clowns that still think batting average is a highly meaningful stat.
He’s producing 2% below league average.
He’s also been a low BABIP guy his entire career, so calling him “unlucky” is just a lazy analysis.
That changed in literally one game, Priggs. He was at a 101 WRC+ as of Sunday. Give it some time. His batted ball profile is better than it was last year. He’s hitting the ball hard, hitting less groundballs and is spraying the ball all over the field. I know it’s easy for white Sox fans and cubs fans to just go at each other but these are just facts.
Schwarber should be firmly above average w the bat in the second half. Not a stud, but he should hit around a 110 WRC+ if his batted ball profile continues. It’s lazy analysis to simply say his BABIP Is always low. His hard hit rate is 41% compared to 39 for his career. His soft hit % is 11% compared to 17% for his career. That analysis isn’t “lazy” if you needed to hear it. I don’t care if he turns it around personally I have no feelings involved here.
Good luck getting Jeff McNeil. He is leading the majors in hitting. If there is one thing the Wiplons know it is this…no, not evaluating talent….it’s how to be cheap. McNeil is older and must importantly…cheap. The Wilpons are all about cheap.
Got that right. They hired an agent as a GM. I do think it’s hilarious they are still paying Bobby Bonilla.
Heyward hasn’t done well in center this year. Almora is a much better defender in center. Bryant at left is a better choice, it’s his more comfortable position and leave Heyward at right. Bote at 3rd is good. Garcia at 2B would be good if no trade available. Zobrist back would be my preference.
Yes to Almora in CF.
Yes to Heyward in RF.
Schwarber has to play LF so Bryant stays at 3B.
Bote and/or Garcia can play 2B and provide depth off the bench.
Russell should have been launched when he was suspended and still should be.
Hopefully Zobrist returns for the stretch and postseason.
If the Cubs don’t get to the World Series Maddon will be replaced. If it were up to me the “Genius” would have been gone last offseason. This team has a solid roster but underachieved for the past 2-1/2 years. Maddon is most to blame with his poor lineup decisions and in-game strategy. The front office is a close second for not emphasizing pitching enough in the amateur draft and international free agency. This led to overpaying for two rental closers and a middle of the rotation starting pitcher in trades, to say nothing of their FA choices the past couple of offseasons.
I think the time to move Schwarber for some pitching help could be now.
Bryant, Almora, Heyward in the OF. Robel, Bote, and Russell can be mixed and matched at 2B and 3B. Russell only has value to the Cubs and it is substantial as he is a Gold Glove caliber defender, probably the best pound-for-pound.on the team.
Also, Maddon is effectively a free agent. Miss the World Series and he won’t be re-signed. Make the World Series and he will be the first one signed by another team.
Really the cubs aren’t as far off from being real good as it seems…when you consider how many games were lost because the bull pen has been so horrible, they could easily have a 10 game lead.its been said by many besides me.what has killed them most is the lack of a lefty who can get it done preferably a guy who can eat more the 3 outs,when this team was at its best Montgomery was getting it done,maddon likes to use his pen match up based and with no effective lefty’s to turn to it kills his coaching philosophy.
Agreed 100% on all fronts. I really am interested in seeing if Joe Girardi, as a possible replacement, can get something more from these current group of players
This team isn’t getting near the WS.
Will never happen.
More likely Renteria return to Cubs after he leads Sox to World Series in 2020.
Hard to disagree with your assessment. I would put the front office at the top. Maddon has done some really weird moves but that’s what he has to work with. The offense hasn’t been the same since Fowler left. The front office hasn’t put a premium on drafting pitching. They have in the past two years and now are paying the price.
Lol I know you’re a troll but the white Sox wont even be .500 til 2021.
They won 95 games last year and people considered it a bad season because it ended so abruptly. The Cubs played 41 games in 40 games. Theres not a single team they not be tired after a run like that.
That was last year. What’s the problem this year?
Bryant needs to stay at 3rd
wow, Matt makes a lot of logic sence! Well said Matt…. Yes indeed, Jeff McNeil would definately make things interesting! That could just be the punch they need with a little bullpen help too!
Joe Panik?? And no, the Cubs aren’t getting McNeil..
Almora and Heyward may not be the best hitters in the OF, but they make up for it with their defense.
By getting joe panik they would actually get worse at 2nd.
Trade Russell for what? He has little value.
The White Sox are 12.5 games behind the division leading Twins. Who cares about the Sox?
You meant to comment on my comment. Ok fair enough. Write an article about the Brewers or Cardinals. There was literally the same article last week about the Cubs
Fair point….
Sox fans do. They are excited about the future, same as Cubs fans were five years ago.
As well as they should be. The Cubs were playing .500 ball in the second half of 2014. Not every prospect will pan out, but they have several who should…Just have to get a good prospect for Colome and spend a little more in the free agent market.
Daniel Descalso, not David 😉
I’m loving all the Sux fans crying about the Cubs getting another article when their team didn’t. Boo Hoo crybabies. I’m putting this comment on the board Yes!!
Aww…thanks for the love!
Don’t sleep on the Indians they may be making move toward the playoffs but Imo they do not have the fire power to offensively contend against the big dogs like The Dodgers, Yankees and Houston, look what happened last year against Houston.
I believe they can retool still on the fly and still maybe pull out that last wild card spot.
Guys like Kipnis ( rental ) Santana who will be owed 17 mil next season but only about 3 mil the rest of this one ( for the right haul )
Robert Perez + defensive catcher have his best offensive year ( who has Eric Haase at AAA blocked.
You have Trevor Bauer & Brad Hand for a massive haul multiple years of control could be had.
Why would you trade one of those 2 ?? have you seen the Indians massive pitching depth.
Salazar rehabing right now Kluber long tossing will be rehabing shortly Clevgr just off the DL.
Retool on the fly while staying relevant is the name of the game for the cash poor Cleveland Indians.
The Indians Front Office basically let Michael Brantley & Jay Bruce walk for nothing to save a combination of 30 mil per year, boy they would look alot different right now if they would have had those 2 in left and right this season instead of the merry band of misfits Naquin, Luplow, Martin, Allen, Miller, Bauers who should be at 1st base along with a couple utility guys they ended up trying out and cutting.
Cleveland is 22- 9 since June 1st with the merry band of misfits. They are starting to get healthier as well with Mike Clevinger back and others closer to returning.
You saw your lack of knowledge about the Indians as Martin has been long gone and Allen has spent most of the last month in Columbus though he had 4 hits yesterday. No mention of Oscar Mercado, who has been great in center field.
The Indians value defense at catcher so Perez beats out Haase. Perez is hitting as well. Why trade Hand when he has 2 1/2 years of control? Santana loves playing in Cleveland and is having his best year to date.
Once you make the playoffs it is a crapshoot. When you have starting pitching, you are never out of a game, Also look back to 2016. The Indians, with all their pitching injuries, went to the seventh game of the World Series.
Get to the playoffs and anything can happen.
There is no reason to tear it down in 2019. They have cut Minnesota’s lead by more than half and still has 13 games with the Twins. The Astros have starting pitching concerns beyond their top 2 and the Yankees starting pitching is definitely lacking top of the rotation talent. and rotation depth.
Isn’t Epstein the guy who sent a lame duck manager to lead his team?
A lame duck coach/manager is a tried and true recipe for dooming a team to dysfunction and underachievement.
Even if the coach/manager fully intends to leave after the year and the GM intends to drive him to the airport, you work out some sort of show extension. Otherwise the players (consciously or subconsciously) know he’s not their real boss (the next guy is) and quit on him.
Not so simple. Joe Maddon also makes $6 million a year. That’s a consideration. And he’s done a good job. So, you can’t just can him at this point. I think it would do more harm than good.
Cmon Cubs. Have some fun and make things interesting especially with a new TV deal starting soon. Fire Joe Maddon and hire Ozzie Gullien. The pregame and post game interviews would be must watch tv.
Seriously ozzie Guillen. No just no. David Ross or Joe Girardi are the only reasonable candidates. make Rossy at the very least the bench coach. If Zo is done make him the bench coach
Hire Hawk Harrelson as the GM too.
The changes I’d like to see is something that has driven me nuts since day one! Fire Len Casper, he’s like fingernails on s chalk board! At least I could stand to watch the Cubs win or lose!
Len Kasper is great. Chip carey is more like nails on a chalkboard
One move I would like to see the Cubs make is trading for Whit Merrifield. He is a perfect fit. A 2B who leads off, steals bases, hits for average, and has a high OBP. He also has OF experience if they want to move him when Hoerner arrives. His asking price could be Schwarber and /or Almora and some other prospects. He is totally worth it. He would be a great acquisition.
Who would you trade for Merrifield? Russell, Happ, underwood and cash