Chicago Cubs: It’s time to start thinking outside of the box

The Chicago Cubs have gone 0-6 on the current road trip, and they need to come up with something to spark the offense. Returning home should help. But what else can this team do to get on track?

First, before some of you go jumping off the bandwagon, the Chicago Cubs were just about this bad at one point last season. In July of last season they were 12-14, and over the course of June and July, they played just 28-26 baseball. That’s not much different than this current stretch the Cubs have found themselves in. 12-16 in May. As Jim Deshaies says, “If May were a player, he’d be designated for assignment.” Can’t say I have any objection to that.

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So not much has gone right in these first two months. The Cubs find themselves just two games out of first place in a crowded NL Central. Not the place they hoped to be in, but things could be a lot worse. So now what? Joe Maddon says he believes the solutions are on the 25-man roster. Assuming that to be true, what are the logical moves for him to make?

These aren’t necessarily “cutting edge” ideas, but they haven’t been delved into yet, so we feel they’re worth a shot of considering to help get this stagnant Cubs’ offense going once again.

The sandwich needs a new topping

Ben Zobrist seems to have found a home at the top of the lineup. Last season with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Zobrist the “Rizzo sandwich was complete.” With almost everyone else struggling on offense he hasn’t had that. Now, Jason Heyward isn’t ripping the cover off the ball, but he’s been about as consistent as they come in this lineup. It might be time for Maddon to move him up behind Rizzo and see if it can’t help the group as a whole.

This will, of course, change the righty-lefty matchups that Maddon likes to use. But let’s be honest, how’s all that working now? Sliding Heyward up will put two lefties back-to-back with he and Rizzo. So it might be a case of matchups when he decides to do it. But it’s an option that Maddon must consider.

Heyward’s .257 isn’t exactly setting the world on fire, but he’s putting good swings on the ball and hitting the fastball with regularity. Outside of Bryant, Heyward has been one of the more consistent hitters in the Cubs lineup.

Run, Cubs, Run!

The Cubs aren’t a fast team, but they weren’t last season either. Maddon needs to start using the hit and run to move runners along. The “status quo” isn’t going to work anymore. You often hear of teams playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That’s the feeling I get with this team, and it’s very unusual of Maddon. It’s not his M.O., and he needs to get back to what he does best.

At this point, the Cubs are hoping to get men on base and hit home runs. Without those, they’ve been dreadful. This most recent road trip they went just 3-for-40 with runners in scoring position. That isn’t going to cut it. It’s time they look to change the narrative.

Next: Cubs swept by Padres, lose sixth straight

Joe, if you’re out there bored, reading some random Cubs’ blogs–start here. There’s likely to be some changes on the roster, although I do agree that most of the pieces that will make a difference are already on the 25-man. It’s time for the Cubs to break outside the box–as Maddon should be very comfortable with–and try and turn this offense around.