Chicago Cubs: Attention Cubs’ fans, it’s a long season

It’s been a tough week for the Chicago Cubs. Just after Jon Lester was named NL Pitcher of the month for June, he was shelled and was lifted after just getting four outs.

The Mets moribund lineup woke up courtesy of the Cubs pitching, and Lester was gone. After that outing, he said, “Reality is setting in. We couldn’t continue at the pace we were playing. This is what you see.”

When beleaguered Mets infielder Wilmer Flores goes 6-for-6 against you, something isn’t going right. The Mets outscored the Cubs 32-11 in a four-game sweep, the longest losing streak of the season.

Okay, the Cubs came home and beat the last-place team in the Central Division, the Cincinnati Reds.

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Today, the Reds came back and beat the Cubs, 9-5. John Lackey has yet to win a game in a while. He is now 7-5. Suddenly, the Cubs look kind of ordinary.

Chicago has lost five of their last six games, and 10 of the last 15. The bullpen gave up three runs, and Jay Bruce hit a two-run home run in the top of 9^th off reliever Pedro Strop to essentially put the game away.

After the Mets fiasco, Miguel Montero, the catcher said, “It was terrible. They outplayed us.”  Now, the question seems how long can the Cubs hang on? This is baseball. No one has a crystal ball. After the red-hot start, loyal Cubs fans, silent Cub fans, and sports media people, were practically anointing the team to play deep in the post-season.

Chicago has a 52-31 record, the bulk of wins coming in April and May. As the weather got warmer, the bullpen and pitching staff kind melted a bit.

Jake Arrieta has been hittable lately. He has given up too many walks and his pitch count is high in the 6^th inning. He knows he has command issues and is working to straighten this out.

Teams make adjustments, they wait, they take more pitches – as Arrieta has a strategy when he faces a team, the opposing team also has a strategy vs. Arrieta. Lately, they’ve been successful.

Next: Cubs sending seven men to San Diego's All-Star game

There are new faces on Cubs: Contreras, Almora, and Edwards. The rookie catcher Contreras has already given the Cubs a lift. The Cubs even moved Jason Heyward down to the 6^th spot in the lineup. The front office has been making moves to keep the team on the right track.

I know one thing; the Cubs have to beat the Cardinals and the Mets. And, they face these teams again.

We are heading towards the All-Star Break and the now the “real” season starts.