Chicago Cubs: Top 3 issues David Ross must address right away

New Chicago Cubs manager David Ross will have his hands full right away. What are the biggest issues he faces as he takes the top job at the Friendly Confines?

Well, he did it.

Count me in with the disbelievers who never thought David Ross could land the job as the new Chicago Cubs skipper. Ross must have more going for him than even ‘we’ know about; which is a good thing for the Cubs, fans and the whole organization. Everybody in – right?

When Ross begins his tenure as Chicago Cubs manager, there are a million things that are going to require his attention. How he goes about handling those issues will go a long way in helping him manage the club. As the North Side’s former backstop and new Chicago Cubs skipper begins work: what are the three biggest issues he must handle quickly?

3.   Can the catcher now manage his old pitcher?

Ross will have to overcome more potential personal conflicts as a manager than his predecessors. He comes into a situation that is quite unique after just recently being a big part of the Cubs’ historic World Series, so it’s hard to say how Ross is going to fare.

Only a few years since his Game 7 home run off Andrew Miller, Ross now has to manage a team with a ton of the same pieces. No longer is he calling signs for his pitcher, Jon Lester; now he decides when to pull the veteran southpaw from the game and we all know Lester never wants to come out of the game.

So how will that dynamic work? What if Ross has to recommend Lester not come back after next season?  There are so many unique scenarios that are bound to happen between these former battery mates. I hope their relationship adds to the trust and maybe even a better performance out of Lester. I’m sure the two-time 19-game winner will be professional and say something like, “He’s the skip – whatever he says goes,” or similar but that’s just for the media and rags.

I’m waiting for that game when Lester is getting pounded and believes he can work his way out and Ross walks out for the ball.  Then we’ll see how this dynamic is really working. For me, the third biggest thing that Ross should handle quickly is how he is going to manage Lester.

Chicago Cubs: Can Ross get consistency from his former teammates?

The second biggest issue that the team’s new manager will have to handle quickly is how he is going to get his team to be more consistent with offensive production.  If there is any glaring issue out there that needs to get fixed – it’s the inconsistency of the bats.

Everyone knows the boys are not robots. We can’t install new batteries into a remote and all of a sudden it’s dinger heaven. It just doesn’t work that way.  No one thinks former manager Joe Maddon didn’t do everything in his power to get his players to be more consistent. So what can Ross do that Maddon hadn’t tried?

I’ve seen tweets and heard the bleacher talk that the Cubs are just going to magically be consistent because they like Ross and feel comfortable around him; therefore they can now begin to hit the ball more than when Maddon was in the job.

This is such nonsense. To buy into that scenario is to say the Cubs were not really trying when they took their turns at bat and we all know that isn’t true.

We’ve seen outfielder Kyle Schwarber nearly tear an umps head off because they called a bad ball on him. Tell me that guy isn’t trying to hit? What about our beloved shortstop Javier Baez? He swings at everything! Do you mean to tell me Baez doesn’t want to hit? And yet they both are examples in their own way of inconsistent at-bats.

Schwarber sometimes hits when you need him to and sometimes he strikes out when you need him to hit. Baez may need instruction on seeing the ball better, so he knows when to spend his precious swing. Either way, they both need more consistency.

Ross needs to dig in right away and look at lots of tape to try and figure out how he is going to get the consistency back into the club.  If he doesn’t figure it out quickly, the team could be well into the season, when it’s too late.