Cubs Stop The Bleeding But Can't Find Their Groove Against The Division

The Cubs flew to Pittsburgh with an 8-game losing streak in tow to face a gauntlet of Pirates pitchers. The offense mustered up 1 run apiece in the first two games to make it an even 10 before finally waking up in Game 3 with 14 hits and 10 runs. Fielding miscues helped the Cubs beat Paul Skenes in the finale to split the series. With momentum and new energy in the dugout, they went to St. Louis and dropped an uninspiring series. Pete Crow-Armstrong put the team on his back in Game 2 with 4 hits and a game-sealing catch, but they left too many opportunities on the table as they lost 2 of 3. Jordan Wicks got obliterated twice (6.1 IP, 11 ER), and Shota Imanaga can’t shake the HR bug (8 HR allowed in his last 3 starts).

How does one team win 10 straight twice and lose 10 straight in just the first two months of a season? Well, ask the 2017 Dodgers, who achieved that feat over a whole season and won the World Series! With the unpredictability and randomness that are inherent to the game of baseball, streakiness is expected but also difficult to achieve. When the Cubs were good, they were GREAT. Almost every hitter was on fire, and anyone with an arm was standing on the mound and delivering effective innings. Craig Counsell had a whole host of out-getters.

Now that the streaks are over, I expect regression to the mean. Alex Bregman has turned a corner (11-game hitting streak), Pete Crow-Armstrong has been strong at the top of the lineup (6-game hitting streak), Michael Busch has been their best hitter for a month (172 wRC+ in May), and Ian Happ went on a tear against his favorite opponents (3 HR, 11 RBI this week). Half of the offense has picked it up.

Unfortunately, they need more help on the pitching side to put together series wins. Matthew Boyd and Edward Cabrera should be back in the next couple weeks, and they desperately need them. The makeshift staff isn’t winning them games or eating any innings, which leaves the patchwork bullpen in no man’s land. Drew Pomeranz and Chris Flexen aren’t walking through that door. Ben Brown is the only starter missing bats while Taillon and Imanaga serve up home runs on platters. Injuries shook up a questionable rotation, and now they’re free falling.

OTAs began this week! At the podium, Ben Johnson raved about Luther Burden and shared that he is emphasizing completion percentage with the entire offense. I’m guessing the 70% goal from last season has shifted to this year. Social media clips and soundbites really don’t matter in the summer, but do you know who we should pay attention to? Bears beat reporters. They all say the offense is light years ahead of last year!

Prospect Jack Pridham will most likely re-enter the NHL Draft instead of signing with the Blackhawks or going to college. The 2024 3rd round pick exploded in the OHL this season with 46 goals and 44 assists (90 points) in 65 games played, so the Hawks will miss out on a promising forward from their own system.

The head coaching search has expanded to a reported 12 candidates as BYU head coach Kevin Young joined the list. Sean Sweeney, the San Antonio Spurs associate coach who is heading to the NBA Finals and was a strong contender for the Bulls’ job, will be the next head coach for the Orlando Magic.

Craig Counsell is the best head coach / manager in Chicago.

Counsell takes a lot of punches from the fanbase on a nightly basis, but an ugly stretch of baseball like the last two weeks results in ridiculous notions about his abilities or lack thereof. He doesn’t show emotion during games, he has short answers with the media, and he preaches the world’s most even keeled approach. It may not be popular to those spectating from home, but it’s effective.

He’s the same manager who led the Cubs to a 20-3 stretch behind perfect bullpen decisions, timely pinch-hitting choices (Michael Conforto magic!), and somehow extracting 9 innings of low-scoring outings from a group of AAAA pitchers. After one year with status quo methodology in the organization and a leftover coaching staff, he turned the Cubs into a 92-win team that was one win away from the NLCS.

Players love him and always want to come back to his teams. He’s been huge for young players’ development like PCA. Even though he hasn’t won a championship as a manager, he has made the playoffs in 6 of his last 8 seasons.

Chicago has a very respectable group of head coaches and managers, and some might give this accolade to Ben Johnson after a single season. I think he’ll be great, but he’s still dipping his toes into the water.