- My expectations for the 2023 team weren't crazy. I mean, 80-85 wins, stick around in the Wild Card race and maybe you're in striking distance in a bad division. Well, it turns out that the NL Central is bad and actually as we're nearing the halfway point of the season, 9 of the 15 NL teams are below .500. So, the Cubs should be in good shape, right? Wrong, oh man was I wrong.
- I mean, if you're still optimistic about these Cubs, more power to you. And although I don't think the Cubs are going to get it together before the trade deadline, even at 26-34, they are only 6.5 games back in the division and 6 games back of the third Wild Card spot.
- I think it was a week ago, maybe two weeks, and it is still remains the case. The Cubs don't necessarily have to be good to be a playoff team this year, they just have to get to OK. Well, it's been well over a month that the Cubs have flat out sucked.
- Ever since Drew Smyly flirted with a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs have gone 14-27. That's seven weeks of being one of the worst teams in baseball.
- This team at its best was supposed to be supported by a strong defense and solid pitching staff. We've seen glimpses of both, but both facets have also floundered throughout the season. Monday night was a perfect example of that. The Cubs were up 4-1 in the fifth inning and although Hayden Wesneski gave up a leadoff double and hit the next batter, he executed the right pitch to get out the jam with one out. A double play ball to Matt Mervis turned into the bases loaded.
- Couldn't even get one out at first base after the ball was mishandled. A wild pitch followed and this might be a nitpick, but Yan Gomes had a good chance of getting the ball after it bounced right back to him. That could have been an out.
- And then, I know I haven't been a huge fan of David Ross this year, but what else is he supposed to do when he brings guys in who are supposed to be good and just haven't been. Yeah, sure, bring in Mark Leiter Jr. who has been great against lefties, to face Shohei Ohtani, but Brandon Hughes is supposed to be another guy who should be relied upon. Hughes has stunk this season and after he was brought in to face Ohtani with two outs he walked him, then gave up a game-tying single to Mike Trout, walked Anthony Rendon, and then gave up the lead on a two-run single.
- We all know that the bullpen has sucked and much of the focus early in the season was on Michael Fulmer failing in high leverage situations. Well, to me, the biggest issues have been that after 2022, we felt pretty good about Keegan Thompson and Brandon Hughes. Now, in June 2023, Hughes has been bad and Thompson is stuck in Triple-A after struggling and he's no closer to figuring out his issues than when he was first demoted back in May.
- You can't have a shit defense and have a shit offense. The Cubs scored four runs! Hell yeah. In most games, that should be good enough based on how the front office built this year's roster, but it wasn't and even when they get chances and they do execute, they hit into bad luck. I mean, c'mon, Gomes drilled this pitch, 105mph line drive with the bases loaded and it's a double play that killed the Cubs rally in the seventh inning.
- 8 hits, 5 walks, 1 HBP, only 4 runs scored, 9 runners left on base after going 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
- It's ownership, the front office, coaches in the dugout, players on the field. Up and down, just a massive disappointment so far for the 2023 Cubs and I just do not see them turning it around in the next eight weeks. I hope I'm wrong, but damn, there aren't many signs that they will.
- I'll keep going back to this because this is what makes it so frustrating. The NL Central overall sucks a lot, too, and the Cubs aren't taking advantage when they, themselves, made it a priority to compete this year. Maddening.
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