MILWAUKEE — David Ross’ parents called him around 9 p.m. Tuesday after his profane postgame rant went viral.
“‘Are you OK?’” he said his mom asked. “My dad was like, ‘Hey, buddy, everything all right?’”
It was a reasonable question, and the Chicago Cubs manager assured them he was OK, even if that wasn’t obvious to anyone watching the video of him going off on umpires after a 7-6, 11-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers in which he was ejected.
“Just checking on me,” he said. “The league will check on me too. Make sure I’m OK.”
If Ross seems a little more animated of late, it’s for good reason.
The Cubs are at a critical juncture of their season and could fall out of contention if they don’t get back on a prolonged hot streak.
All-Star left-hander Justin Steele, who faced the Brewers on Wednesday, said Tuesday he believes the Cubs’ luck is about to change.
“We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing,” Steele said. “Everybody is showing up with a good attitude every day. We’re trying to remain consistent. I feel like if we keep doing that, the cards are going to fall in our favor because we’ve got a really good team here.”
In another crazy ending, the Cubs were down to their last strike Wednesday before scoring three two-out runs in the ninth inning of a 4-3 win.
Michael Tauchman’s two-run, opposite-field double off Devin Williams tied the game, and a throwing error by third baseman Brian Anderson on Nico Hoerner’s grounder brought home the go-ahead run. Steele allowed three runs in six innings in a no-decision, and Adbert Alzolay notched his fifth save.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson, who grounded into two inning-ending double plays with runners in scoring position, was forced to leave in the seventh with a bruised left heel.
The Cubs hoped their wild, wild win Tuesday — after blowing a six-run lead Monday and losing for the seventh time in eight games — could be a momentum changer. If that happens, maybe Ross’ rant will go down alongside Lou Piniella’s cap-kicking episode during a 2007 ejection that kick-started the Cubs to a National League Central title.
Regardless, the harsh comments Ross made about the umpiring are almost certain to result in a fine or stronger discipline from MLB.
“I have not heard from the league,” Ross said. “They usually give me a call. I expect one. Like, I didn’t use great language and obviously I was frustrated. I don’t want to speak like that. I don’t think that’s the person I want to be. I was frustrated. I don’t love that f-bombs came out.”
Marquee Sports Network aired the video without any bleeps moments after it happened, and the video was on the internet before some Cubs had left the ballpark. Ross formerly worked as an ESPN analyst, so he’s well aware of how the media works.
“I just speak to you guys and let you guys do what you want to with the information,” he said. “That goes with Marquee, that goes with (the beat writers). I don’t follow broadcasting anymore, how it goes. I should watch my language, though. I apologize.”
It has been a turbulent season for Ross, who has been a human pinata for Cubs fans on Twitter, with some calling for his firing.
That won’t happen any time soon, though the pressure on Ross to get this team playing to its potential is real. Even if Cubs President Jed Hoyer believes in his manager, Ross won’t get the same support from fans until the team starts winning consistently.
In his fourth season on the job, Ross acknowledged before Tuesday’s game that the “wins are not showing up the way they could or should right now.”
Asked if he had a message for Cubs fans upset by their record, he said: “It’s easy to jump off board when things aren’t going well, right? The sign of good character, and the group that has a lot of winners around here, has continued to stick together through the tough times. Fans can choose to do that or not. They have the choice.
“We all want to be accountable, especially me. I’m the head of the group and I’m responsible for wins and losses.”
