Chicago Cubs: Brutal loss the boiling point of the season

Chicago Cubs: Letting off steam before getting rational.

Okay, so let’s get mad before we get rational…because that is how it usually works. Let’s go back to that road record, 19-30. Yeah that’s right they are 11 games under .500 on the road and this is a team that is trying to win a championship. Why is this happening? How do they dominate at home and look completely awful on the road? Either way, it is not acceptable and a recipe for disaster.

Second of all, these types of losses. The Cubs could easily have 10 more wins had they not blown so many late leads, saw their offense go ice cold at inopportune times, or their defense make some crucial mistake. Defense was not as much an issue last night but the offense getting four total hits, getting owned by Gio Gonzalez and blowing the late leads sum up the negatives of this season so well. We KNOW this team is better than this. Yet the same problems persist.

Don’t forget about Joe Maddon. The “Fire Joe Maddon” takes have flared to an all-time high this season. Now, the Chicago skipper is not the one going out and playing, but I think criticism lately is fair. Last night he was trying to avoid the struggling Strop from pitching, but Kintzler was struggling as well, so it was a bad situation.

Sure he could have brought in someone else and maybe he should have but the bullpen was playing with fire all night. What seemed more confusing to me was pulling Kyle Hendricks as early as he did, knowing you would have to trust the pen in a tight game for four innings. On top of the odd batting orders and trying to fit square pegs into round holes time after time in general, there is certainly reason to be frustrated.

What amplifies this entire season with losses like these is how we remember the way 2018 ended. Losses like these can kill. We were promised change, accountability and production over talent. As the deadline approaches, we wait on some of that.