Chicago Cubs: Give Brett Anderson credit where credit is due

Most Chicago Cubs fans hate him at this point, but I have to say. Give Brett Anderson credit where it’s due. He hasn’t pitched well- and he owns that.

After another horrendous outing that ended with his walking off the mound to boos at Wrigley Field, Brett Anderson isn’t on any Chicago Cubs fan’s Christmas card list.

On Saturday against the Yankees, Anderson recorded one out, serving up five earned runs on six hits. By contrast, catcher Miguel Montero pitched a scoreless ninth, despite walking a pair. So, the backup catcher outperformed the starter.

Obviously, that’s about as bad as it gets for a big league starting pitcher. And Anderson knows it.

In an era where more than a few professional athletes spit out excuses on any day of the week that ends in ‘y,’ it’s honestly refreshing to see Anderson step up and own his poor outing.

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"“Whenever the backup catcher gets more outs than you, it’s not positive,” Anderson told MLB.com afterwards. “You need to figure some things out and get healthy and get some more people out going forward. It’s as simple as that.”"

Where do we go from here?

Anderson will be placed on the disabled list just a month into his tenure in Chicago.

He told reporters after the game the pain he felt was on the opposite side of where he experienced issues in the past.

"“The last two starts at home have been embarrassing from my perspective,” Anderson said. “It’s something you deal with. Unfortunately, I have a history of back issues, but this feels a little bit different. It’s a different side, a little higher up. Hopefully, it’s not a disk issue. I’ll come in [Sunday] and go from there.”"

The Cubs have more than one option to replace Anderson in the rotation. Minor league offseason acquisition Eddie Butler seems to be the front-runner in my opinion. The team also brought up left-hander Rob Zastryzny prior to Saturday’s contest, along with right-hander Felix Pena, who joined the team earlier in the week.

Is this the end of Brett Anderson?

I’ve heard this question more than a handful of times in the last 24 hours. And, the likely response, unless this injury is far more serious than believed, is probably not.

Chicago will hope to get some value out of Anderson, who joined the Cubs on an incentive-laden deal this winter. I, for one, value his mindset. He enjoys the successes like any competitor, but when things go wrong, he takes the blame.

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That mentality is important to any team. And when you fail to pitch two innings in two-straight starts, but continue to not make excuses, you deserve a little credit in my book.