Chicago Cubs News: Spring performance matters; Almora tanked

We might like to think that the spring performance of the Chicago Cubs doesn’t matter. But Ian Happ won the leadoff job, most of the time, with a good spring. So what does that mean for the players having a bad spring?

It’s easy to say that numbers in the spring don’t matter. But for the Chicago Cubs‘ Ian Happ, they did. So if he’s gaining opportunities by playing well, wouldn’t it reason that guys playing poorly would lose them? That’s the question I looked at when talking about Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward. Both have been critical pieces of this team at the plate or in the field. But their spring has been lacking, and I wonder, will it cost them at-bats?

Albert Almora no longer had veterans blocking him in center field. It was his job to lose. And he might have lost it. Almora has done himself no favors with the spring he’s had. After a good portion of fans thought the leadoff and center field position was his, it looks like Happ has seized that opportunity from underneath him. What happened to Almora this spring?

With everyone starting to get a little bit punchy with spring training almost over, we decided to have some fun. Our Jeff Burdick put together a “10 things we learned this spring”, although it might not be the type of list that you think. None of that “he got that spot,” or “he’ll pitch more than him.” No, this list is a different kind, one we think you’ll enjoy.

These and other stories you might have missed:

‘Heyward, Zobrist costing themselves at-bats?’ – Cubbies Crib 

‘Almora hurt his chances with a poor spring’ – Cubbies Crib

’10 things we learned this spring’ – Cubbies Crib

‘A baseball hole-in-one?’ – MLB.com

‘A sad day for minor league baseball’ – ESPN

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