Chicago Cubs News: Next lever to pull, David Haugh is loud wrong and more

Next lever for the Chicago Cubs to pull

The Chicago Cubs are once again in the midst of another consecutive-game losing streak and while the team has not had a losing streak that matches the longevity of the streaks of ineptitude that the team had in 2021 and 2022, the 2023 team has seen multiple losing streaks of three-plus games already this season.

Entering play on Friday, the Cubs are 10 games under .500 with a record of 26-36 and currently sit 7.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central division. Prior to this latest losing streak for the Cubs, the saving grace for the team has been the weak division of the National League Central. The Brewers are only five games above .500 but the Cubs play seems to be pushing them toward the ledge of being out of the race completely.

For the Cubs' front office, the talk this season has been around what levers they could pull in order to turn things around at the Major League level. The front office may have already played their hand with the promotions of Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel and that was not enough to turn things around despite Morel's historic start to the season,

The next lever should be a firing. There are metrics that would suggest that the Cubs should be better than their actual record indicates and that is loosely projected in their expected record of 30-32 based on run differential. That is a sign that the firing of David Ross should undoubtedly be the next lever to pull.

Local Chicago Sports radio host loud wrong when it comes to Chicago Cubs first baseman Matt Mervis

There have been plenty of reasonable arguments when it comes to Chicago Cubs first baseman Matt Mervis but for a take that is simply loud wrong, look no further than David Haugh of 670 The Score.

Let's take care of the first issue, Matt Mervis is not the reason why the Cubs have not been winning. To even suggest that a rookie first baseman's demotion would cure the losing at the Major League level is exactly the ideology that we were speaking about yesterday.

Secondly, there are reasons to believe that Mervis is in line for a course correction. As Evan Altman of Cubs Insider highlights, Mervis has been hitting the ball hard at the Major League level, and the results haven't been there yet. Typically, in those situations, Major League Baseball has a way of balancing out and that is why Mervis must remain at the Major League level and get consistent plate appearances.

Thirdly, who exactly is going to replace Mervis at first base? Trey Mancini has been better than many Cubs fans would want to believe but he is not elevating the ball far enough to warrant him having everyday plate appearances. Patrick Wisdom has been unplayable since May 13 given his offensive struggles. At 10 games under .500, now is the perfect time for the Cubs to remain course with Mervis.

Chicago Cubs continue to let us dream