Well, I think it is time that Chicago Cubs fans stop poking fun at teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros. As following today’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have now beaten the Cubs 6 count em 6 times in a row, the Cubs now fall to 7 games below .500, and only 1.5 games out of last place in the division.
And the reason the Cubs continue to lose as their season continues to free fall, usually rotates between lack of hitting with runners in scoring position, or the lack of sustaining a lead due to their bullpen.
The matter of the fact is, that even though some suggest it is too early for any team to be eliminated, and while that is a true statement, The Cubs just simply have a lot of wholes on their team, and I do not see any answers coming to solve them in the near future. Because, look at what the Cubs have done so far to turn things around, they moved their opening day starter Carlos Zambrano to the Bullpen, something that hasn’t quite worked out for them, and they brought up their top prospect in Starlin Castro, and granted he is doing well, it still did not help the Cubs inept offense. And, with that said and still no solutions, that leaves manager Lou Piniella to say this…
"“What are we going to do,” he said. “What are we going to do! We’ve tried a little bit of everything.” ESPN CHICAGO"
That basically sums it all up with that statement, what else can Lou Piniella do with the team that he has been given by general manager Jim Hendry. As long as the Cubs lack a right handed reliever for the eighth inning, they will continue to struggle and lose games. And as long as their middle of the order hitters in Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez continue to struggle hitting .230 and .170 respectively, the Cubs will continue to lose games.
This leads to another key point for Cubs Fans, Keep an eye out for the activities after June 1st. Because, typically that is when teams really start to decide what their plan of action is at the trade deadline. And, if the Cubs keep up this poor play, they will almost certainly be looking to move some contracts and become sellers instead of buyers.
If the Cubs become sellers, and yes that is very possible, we may potentially see Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Aramis Ramirez, and/or Derrek Lee all become available through trade. And to be honest that may not be a bad idea if the Cubs continue struggle.
Because, think about it, the window for this team to win has been shut for the past two years since 2008, so why wait till this off-season to start re-building, when you can start clearing payroll during the season, and provide yourselves with lots of flexibility in free agency.
I’ll tell you one thing, thank god we have all the rumors swirling about Lebron James potentially becoming a bull, because it gives Chicago Sports fans at least a glimpse of hope.