Chicago Cubs: Let’s stand behind the boys as they struggle

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(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Chicago Cubs: Proving my performance theory

Let’s look at another National League Central team – one that finished lower in the standings and in just about every statistical comparison one can use to compare teams – the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs didn’t do much to improve their team this winter, either. In fact, they lost a key contributor and clubhouse guy in Josh Harrison, who joined the Detroit Tigers in free agency.

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Knowing all that, you can realistically expect the Cubs to beat the Pirates. At best, they’re probably a five or six on my 10-point scale.

The reason Chicago has been losing? Simple. Teams like Milwaukee made significant additions to their rosters (Yasmani Grandal, bringing back Mike Moustakas) – while the Cubs stood pat with their group from last year. Teams that stayed stagnant like our Cubs and the reigning World Series champion Boston Red Sox are getting beat bad and will continue to lose until we face, essentially, some cannon fodder opponents (hopefully the Pirates on Monday in the home opener).

So this problem could be easily fixed by making changes that would add up to performance, like the Descalso acquisition. However, how long will it take before management makes truly significant changes to improve the ball club? Maybe it will take a few more losses or a sweep at the hands of Milwaukee or St. Louis for someone in the front office to finally make such an addition. Craig Kimbrel stands out at one such option for the Cubs.

Folks, these losses belong to management. They’ve got to put a high-performing mix of players in the field to stay competitive every year. Clinging to a group that managed to win it all three years ago is not a recipe for success.

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So stay behind the boys. They are doing the best they can to compete with what new tools management has given them. Which, if we’re being honest, isn’t much.

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