The Cubs’ last homestand sent a dizzying set of mixed messages.
Series victories against the Rays, best team in baseball, and the Mets, a team in the playoff running, bookended a sweep at the hands of the formerly cellar-dwelling Reds.
“That’s just part of this dang game that we play, that can be frustrating sometimes” manager David Ross said.
That kind of identity crisis has been a hallmark of the Cubs’ season. The Cubs (24-31) started out the year outplaying expectations. Now they sit in last place in the division.
“We’re only two months in,” Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. “We have an opportunity to go on a little bit of a run and have a really good June and then see where we’re at by the time the [All-Star] break comes.”
More than a third of the way through the season, if the Cubs were in almost any other division, they would be approaching the point where pointing to small sample sizes won’t be convincing. But they’re in the National League Central.
Even after a brutal second month of the season, they are just 4 1/2 games back of the Brewers, who have a precarious hold on the division lead. Look at the AL East for contrast. The second-place Orioles (35-21) have almost that much ground to make up to catch the Rays (40-18).
“Like I tell the boys, we just need to try to not get in those big losing streaks,” reliever Adbert Alzolay said, reflecting on the season so far. “I feel like the last two years that is something that has been affecting us. … It’s just keeping the same energy from the get-go. I believe we have a great group of guys in this locker room, and I believe we have the talent to do this.”
The few remaining players who were on the team in the first half of 2021, including Alzolay and Happ, saw how a June performance could dictate the front office’s approach to the trade deadline.
That season, the Cubs had almost the inverse record, 30-23, entering June. But an 11-game losing streak that started June 25 and extended through July 6 solidified the front office’s plan. It was time to break up the core.
Now, nothing so dramatic is at steak. The Cubs aren’t going to tear down what they’ve spent the past couple years building. But the next month or so could set the course for either a playoff push or another year of trading away talent.
“You want to act with conviction when you get there – either direction,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said last week. “And so, like I’ve said all along, I want nothing more than to be on the other side of the transaction.”
He also makes those decisions with the standings and on-field product in mind. No pressure.
“The responsibility of the players is to go out and keep doing the same things,” Happ said. “Keep doing the little things that help you win games and not press. … I think [with] the guys in this room, with the experience, that won’t be a problem.”
Their June campaign begins with a 10-game West Coast road trip to face the Padres, Angels and Giants.
For a team doing a Jekyll and Hyde impersonation, the outcome will depend on which version shows up more often – the one that got off to a well-rounded start, or the one left searching for the big hit for games on end.
The one that was swept by the Reds, or the one that won two out of three close contests against the Rays.
CUBS AT PADRES
Friday: Jameson Taillon (0-3, 8.04 ERA) vs. Michael Wacha (5-1, 3.45), 8:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM
Saturday: Drew Smyly (5-2, 3.45) vs. Yu Darvish (3-4, 4.61), 9:10 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM
Sunday: Marcus Stroman (5-4, 2.59) vs. Ryan Weathers (1-3, 4.28), 4:30 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM
Monday: Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 3.86) vs. Blake Snell (1-6, 4.50), 8:10 p.m., Marquee 670-AM
