Posted by It’s safe to say that we have watched a frustrating last few games of Cubs baseball, and last night’s 6-4 loss was the most frustrating for me.
Keyword: Missed opportunities, guys left on base.
It’s been the story lately with this team, leaving tons of guys on base in scoring situations. Again we see Eric Hosmer hitting into double plays and striking out in bases-loaded situations. I have never questioned David Ross as a manager, but we have to start asking the question of why is Hosmer hitting in the 5 and 6 holes.
Taillon was just fine, he put us in a pinch though. Javier Assad on the other hand pitched lights out last night. I feel like he almost got overworked, but he pitched really well. We still need a big piece in our bullpen, but Jed won’t go out and grab a big-name guy for the pen. He will be cheap when it comes to bullpen arms.
The bats tonight were pretty nonexistent (minus Dansby Swanson). Dansby had a great night at the plate going 3-5 with 3 RBI on the night.
I will say it was good seeing Morel bring back his energy last night. That homer was awesome and a great way for him to start out in the majors this year.
I am already playing the idea out in my head of us missing the postseason by two or three games because we didn’t capitalize on bases-loaded situations because we had Eric Hosmer as our DH. I know there are a lot of games in the MLB, but every game really does matter, especially against our division opponents.
I see and hear a lot of people asking the question, “What did you expect this year”? or “This is still a rebuilding year”. This team is not a rebuilding team. Last year was, but now we need to be competing for the division, especially because it is such a subway sandwich, mickey mouse division. Signing guys like Dansby and Bellinger and then saying “This is a rebuilding year” is absolutely dumb. They are fully capable of making a run for the division.
The bats have to come alive tonight to avoid the sweep against the Cardinals.