Ross: Cubs hitters ‘too talented’ for early team slump originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Anyone who’s been following the Cubs this year has seen this movie before: The Cubs take an early one-run lead, then the offense falls quiet and can’t make up a lopsided deficit.
On Monday, the Cubs also wasted an efficient start from rookie right-hander Adbert Alzolay, falling 6-3 to the Brewers at American Family Field.
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The Cubs offense is off to a slow start this year. In fact, the slowest start of any team in the first week and a half of the season. The Cubs entered play Monday ranked last in team batting average (.167) and runs per game (2.89).
“Still really early,” Cubs manager David Ross said over the weekend. “I like the process of which these guys are going about it. We’ve just got to stay on the attack, and we'll get our timing down. I'm optimistic about this offense. I believe in this offense.”
This early in the season, averages don’t mean much. Ten games into 2020, the Cubs had just two losses and were averaging five runs per game. But their offensive struggles later in the year became the lasting story from the season.
The offense’s streakiness last year is part of the reason the Cubs’ slow start this month has raised eyebrows. Then, of course, there’s former Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein’s infamous line from 2018 -- “Our offense broke somewhere along the lines” – and the fact that the Cubs have made few changes to their hitting core since.
Now, the Cubs face a similar issue to one they grappled with in a 60-game season: small sample sizes.
Asked if hitters have to remind themselves that they have 162 regular season games this year, not 60, Cubs center fielder Ian Happ said: “You have to remind yourself you have 162 and not 10 or five. I think that's the biggest part of early in the season, that's the biggest part of baseball in general, is everything is magnified.”
It doesn’t help that the Cubs lucked out with a few warm days at Wrigley field with the wind blowing out – perfect hitting conditions.
“As much as we want to get hits and be productive, it’s not that easy,” Cubs left fielder Joc Pederson said last week. “The game’s really hard. We have some really talented people in the group, and when we get clicking, it’s going to be fun to be a part of.”
It just hasn’t happened yet. A soft schedule in the first two weeks could have eased the Cubs into the season, padding their numbers before meeting the reigning World Series champions in May or reuniting with Yu Darvish and the Padres in the first week in June.
Instead, playing two series against the Pirates in the first week and a half of the season backfired. Now, the Cubs aren’t only the team with the coldest bats in baseball. They’re also the team that lost two games at Pittsburgh by six runs each this weekend.
“It’s frustrating not to get hits,” Ross said before Sunday’s loss. “It's frustrating to compete and fail. And I haven't seen that frustration on these guys’ faces yet, which has been really, really encouraging.”
Kris Bryant (.265 batting average) and Javy Báez (.243) have provided some rare bright spots for the Cubs offense. They’ve driven in five of the Cubs’ six runs in the past three games.
On Monday, Bryant hit a solo homer in the fourth inning against the Brewers, the only run support the Cubs gave Alzolay as he faced the minimum through five innings.
“It feels like we are very homer-dependent right now,” Ross said after the game. “And I understand that's part of our part of our M.O. and how our team is built. But we've got to find ways to put the ball in play, put the pressure on the defense, make things happen, and spark something.”
One-run leads leave little room for error. Alzolay loaded the bases in the sixth inning and induced a ground ball from Brewers veteran Lorenzo Cain to get the first out. The Cubs held onto their flimsy lead.
Then, left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin replaced Alzolay, and the Brewers hit through the order. With the Cubs’ track record this season, and the team down by five runs in the sixth inning, it was a safe bet that the Cubs weren’t coming back to beat the Brewers.
Chicago made a late push, with Báez hitting a two-run double in the ninth inning. But the final result was never truly in question.
“This is too talented of a group to do what we’re doing so far,” Ross said. “We’ve got to climb out of that.”
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