Chicago Cubs: June set the groundwork for July and August

For every dark night, there’s a bright day

But for every good story, there is a bad one to match. For starters, the defending MVP Bryant hasn’t been the same. Everything seems to be down for Bryant as he tries to get past this rough patch he’s in. He hit just .232 in June, with five home runs and just nine RBI. He also struck out 25 times to just 18 walks. “Bryzzo” was a big part of the Cubs success, but it’s not been there this year. But there’s still time.

The rest of the struggles come on the pitching side. John Lackey (1-4, 5.35 ERA, 11 HR allowed), Jake Arrieta (2-2, 4.85 ERA, 14 walks in 26 IP), Hector Rondon (4.76 ERA in 12 games) and even Carl Edwards (5.40 ERA, 7 ER, 7 H, 2 HR) have struggled.

The positive to take out of all of these numbers? They won’t all continue to struggle this bad. But I also don’t have false hope that everyone will turn it around. Former Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan is an excellent example of how baseball gives, and then it takes away. After winning NL Rookie of the Year in 2009, things were never the same for Coghlan. However, he found a niche in Chicago and helped the Cubs win the World Series. Was he a great player? No. But he became what every team needs to have. A great role player.