Cubs star Kyle Tucker's career-worst slump has become a very sad story

Go back in time to May and tell a Chicago Cubs fan that Kyle Tucker, who at the time was playing like an MVP, would be getting booed at Wrigley Field in August. Or tell them that the four-time All-Star would be slumping so bad, that it would feel like a relief to many that he would be getting days off in an attempt to right the ship. They’d ask if you were from another universe.

Unless we have been transported to another timeline, this is the reality right now. The horrific slump (.189/.325/.235 with one homer since July 1) reached a boiling point this weekend when hitless efforts had the Wrigley faithful voicing their displeasure, including on a grounder which he didn't run out, and manager Craig Counsell finally decided to sit him after Monday afternoon's game. Perhaps a decision that took too long?

Fans are frustrated, and naturally, frustrations will be voiced. This is not an indictment of fans booing; it’s just a heartbreaking reality that this is where we are. Just yesterday he was the unofficial King of Wrigleyville, and a player the fans wanted to see reign for many years on the North Side. Now there are more questions than answers regarding his struggles and how he can reset.

He has been dinged up this year. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer alluded to the finger injury and the adjustments to his swing to compensate for it. The question is how hurt is he right now, and if he is still hurt, why was he playing through it if it made this negative of an impact? He’s also clearly frustrated, with the bat and helmet slamming, paired with just the look of disappointment in himself. The longer it has gone on, the worse he has looked both results-wise and body language-wise.

Cubs, Kyle Tucker have one goal: get the All-Star back on track

Only Tucker and the organization can provide the full answers, but we fans know he is not himself. This isn’t Kyle Tucker. It’s not only hard as a fan to see his performance suffer over the past two months, but seeing what seems like a genuine hard worker and incredible baseball talent go through it. Not running out the grounder might not be a good look, but it felt like a bad mental lapse and not laziness. It's completely inexcusable, but in my opinion not an indictment of his overall work ethic.

Back to the subject of fans booing. It’s probably fair to say the frustration isn’t just his struggling at the plate. While a huge factor, it’s a byproduct of the fact that this offense as a whole has been in a rut for a notable period now. There is also much frustration from the fans towards management for not handling this situation and others differently, they are whether right or wrong. To tie it all up, watching this team fall so far behind those dang Brewers has plenty of fans on edge…

Nobody wants Tucker to fail. He sure as heck does not want to either; it’s not his goal to go 4-3 or strikeout constantly. As mentioned, it should not be a question of desire or effort, because if it were, I don’t think we would see the expressed anger from him that we have seen. Plus, being in a contract year, a player like him will want to get his value as high as possible.

The Cubs need Tucker, and he needs to be himself for his sake. Will these days off help him reset mentally and physically? Time will tell, let’s hope. But something needed to happen. Rooting hard for him to rebound.