Chicago Cubs: Top 3 excuses that won’t work in 60-games

Chicago Cubs: We weren’t ready

One thing that I remember clearly during this pandemic was a story I wrote about Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez.  I expect Baez to deliver the kind of performance that we have yet to see from the Cubs Northside household Magician.

Baez was raised by the Cubs and groomed by the Cubs for greatness. He is not looking to go anywhere else at the moment and truly feels like part of the Cubs family. He knows all anonymous people that bring the Cubs to life every season; to Baez, they are genuinely like his family.

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Earlier when asked about baseball, Baez sounded almost scared of not having enough information to know when he should begin training again. It’s not that he was lazy or anything like that, it sounded more like Baez knows and understands how to get ready for his season and was worried that he wouldn’t have the time to fully begin his training regimen as he told Marly Rivera of ESPN news.

"“But this whole situation is making me feel a bit desperate. I’m frustrated because I don’t know what date I’m preparing for. It’s hard to stay ready that way. And I think about how it will be really strange to play without the hustle and bustle of the fans. When I’m on deck, I always take a few seconds to look at the stands. It’s a special feeling. It will be different. But if there’s no other option, we’ll play.”"

This is what I’m worried about fans. I’m concerned our best players are going to say they weren’t able to get ready the way they are accustomed, and that is the excuse for the poor performances. It’s a hard argument to argue against because we have never experienced this type of season before.

However, considering that from day one of the virus quarantine, players were working out and getting ready and have participated in a four-month vacation, is not being prepared to play an acceptable excuse at this time?

I believe that ‘not being ready’ will undoubtedly be the number one excuse for any MLB team under-performing this season. However, fans shouldn’t let their teams off the hook so easily in this, ‘what you have done for me lately’ world of MLB performance.

There are players like the Cubs first baseman, Anthony Rizzo that have completely remade their physique in this short hiatus from baseball or pitchers like the Cubs Yu Darvish, who have mastered a new pitch. These are examples of how some MLB players used their time off wisely. Those who didn’t train as if the season could begin at any moment will be obvious to fans, owners and their teams.

Players who show up not ready for the season should incur a considerable fine. Money has a way of teaching players lessons, good or bad.  As the old saying goes, “Excuses are useless. Results are priceless.”