Things haven’t been difficult for the Chicago Cubs these past few weeks. The Cubs started the season among some of the top teams in the league thanks to a dominant display of efficiency in the batting game.
Offensive Mishaps Cost Cubs Game Against Pirates
Fast forward to the middle of August, and the Chicago Cubs have looked stale and prone to making key mistakes. The Cubs went into the halfway point of the season with an overall record of 57-39. Since then, they’ve won only 11 of their last 25 games played. Friday’s tough 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates is among the latest blunders for Chicago.
Chicago encountered only six hits and six strikeouts against the Pirates. The Cubs’ offense had a chance to regain some offensive momentum against the Pirates’ starting pitcher Braxton Ashcroft, who was starting only his third game of the season. Instead, the Cubs were helpless at the plate.
Several players questioned the pitches, even when Ashcroft was pulled out. It didn’t help that the Cubs also shot themselves in the foot. At the bottom of the ninth inning, down 3-2, Cubs centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong tried to steal second base and got to the plate, but overextended, causing him to be off the plate and get out.
Offensive Problems Becoming a Trend
This performance from the Chicago Cubs would be the fourth loss in five games. In those four losses, the Cubs would accumulate only six runs scored. This is just the same trend as the Cubs.
The Cubs have certainly been one of the most disappointing teams in the second half of the season. Several factors could’ve played into this huge backslide, including a season-long fatigue, other teams catching onto their batting trends, or the lack of support from the front office at the trade deadline.
In the previous 24 games (before Friday’s loss to the Pirates), the Cubs accounted for a batting average of .235, an on-base percentage of .302, and a slugging percentage of .386. They’ve accounted for only 93 runs and 28 home runs during this time.
In the first 96 games of the season, the Cubs accounted for a batting average of .256, an on-base percentage of .325, and a slugging percentage of .446. During this time, the Cubs have accumulated 512 runs, 142 of which were home runs.
Are the Chicago Cubs Broken?
Not only do fans and media outlets believe the team is struggling physically, but there is a belief that the team is having bad mental strides.
Locked On Cubs host Sam Olbur spoke of the team’s latest loss to the Pirates and believed that the team is broken, “When a team is this broken mentally, you have to question the leadership. A manager’s job isn’t just to press the right buttons. It’s to manage personalities and people. It’s fair to question all of that right now. I’ve never seen a team this completely broken.”
Other fans are critical of the front office when they feel a trade should’ve been made to add some new life to the rotation. Nevertheless, the Cubs don’t have much time to regain the momentum they built and then lost.
After the loss to the Pirates, the Cubs are now 8.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central Division. It wasn’t long ago when they had first place control for a while. The Cubs are in first place in the NL Wild Card along with the Los Angeles Dodgers. If they can’t regain any momentum, they could lose a key contending spot.
Cubs’ Key Problem Grows After Latest Setback to Pirates