The Cubs had a huge problem playing small ball during the regular season. And attempted steals were also down. So I wasn't surprised the the Cubs put themselves in a position to be swept by the Padres.
Not batting Hoerner behind PCA was a huge mistake IMO. The Cubs need to be a lot more aggressive on the bases next year!
Hit and runs! And guys scoring from third on fly balls!
What's going on here???
Who are these guys out there playing old fashioned fundamental baseball!
Nice to see four stolen bases--even by the slowest guy on the team, Ballesteros!
Difficult to hit home runs in San Francisco. So the Cubs better bring their running game!
The principal job of a catcher is to help his pitcher to minimize runs scored. And Ballesteros did exactly that tonight!
Eventually, he's going to figure it out at the plate and be a monster offensive player someday. But developing Ballesteros into a good catcher is equally important IMO.
With the way things are going with the Cubs offensively these days, there's really no logical reason why Ballesteros shouldn't catch against right handing pitching from now on. And that would give Counsell a chance to see what Ramirez can do against right handed pitching as a DH.
Its time to let the kids play!
The fact that Counsell continues to put a guy (the mighty Bregman) with a slugging percentage well below .400 in the critical clean up spot in the line up-- is simply astonishing!
The Cubs should not even think about trading away Shaw and Alcantara!
With his speed and power, Shaw has the potential to be a right handed version of PCA.
And Alcantara has hit 15 home runs in just 157 at bats down in Iowa. That's astronomical power! Alcantara simply needs to learn how to hit for a good average-- even if it means giving up a little power!
But its extremely unlikely that Suzuki will be returning to the Cubs next season. And I think that there's only a 50% chance that Happ will be returning. Plus there are serious questions about the future of Bregman and Swanson in the Cub's infield in 2027.
So you need to keep young players like Shaw, Alcantara, and Ramirez as potential starting players for the 2027 season.
If the Cubs need more starting pitchers in 2027, they'll have a ton of money to acquire at least two quality free agent starting pitchers after Suzuki and probably Iminaga are no longer on the payroll.
Nico Hoerner is a base stealing table setter-- not a middle of the lineup guy.
Batting a slow runner second in the line up undermines the ability to score runs frequently and efficiently!
I think the Cubs got the wrong guy from Milwaukee.
Pat Murphy would have been a much better manager for the Cubs than Counsell! Much better!
I don't blame Bregman for struggling. I blame Counsell for continuing to bat a guy with a slugging percentage-- well below .400-- at clean up.
Sometimes guys have off years. And this is definitely an off year for Bregman!
But Counsell appears to be ready to throw the season away so that Bregman can bat high in the line up when he should be right next to Dansby-- near the bottom of the line up!
PCA is the best lead off hitter the Cubs have ever had! And you want PCA to have the most at bats during a game because the guy can make things happen either at the plate or on the bases!
Counsell's biggest mistake-- last year-- was taking PCA out of the lead off spot!
Down at AAA Iowa, Pedro Ramirez was having a phenomenal year: successfully hitting at a high average against both left and right handed pitching while also hitting for power and stealing lots of bases.
Just let this kid bat DH for a few games in a row and see what he can do!
And send Ballesteros down to Iowa so that he can catch full time and get more consistent at the plate. A left handed power hitting catcher could be a huge asset for the Cubs in the 2027 season.
Its time to give Pedro Ramirez s chance to be the DH until Shaw returns.
The guy has a .312 batting average down at Iowa with a .395 on base percentage and a .547 slugging percentage with 9 home runs and 19 stolen bases. With Ballesteros struggling right now, let's see what Pedro can do as a DH.
You just can't let a guy with this much talent simply ride the pine up in the majors!
With PCA, Hoerner, and Busch at the top of the line up, the Cubs should now have the speed and power at the top to score a lot of runs--- if Happ and Suzuki can break out of their slumps.
But the Cubs still need to do a lot more base stealing and hitting and running, IMO, to place a lot more pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses.
But if 2027 free agents Happ and Suzuki don't start hitting and slugging again within the next month then it will be time for the franchise to-- trade them away-- by mid August to make room for Shaw, Ramirez, and Alcantara!
Very productive top of the line up configuration yesterday.
Now Happ and Susuki have to start delivering again in the middle of the line up.
Bregman with his .346 slugging percentage is obviously having the worse season of his career. And the fact that a third of the season has passed and he only has 4 home runs tells you that something is clearly wrong with him!
Bregman has been a one man rally killer all season long. He's currently prorated at 600 AB with just 64 runs scored and 47 RBIs.
Yet Counsell consistently has him batting high in the order so that he has more at bats than anyone on the team so far. This man needs to be batting near the bottom of the order, IMO. This acquisition by the Cubs has so far been a complete disaster!
Just bat PCA leadoff followed by Hoerner, Happ, Suzuki, Busch. and Bregman (speed at the top and power in the middle). That's pretty easy IMO!
And if these core players don't produce-- a ton of runs-- then its time for the Cubs to start trading away veteran guys like Happ and Suzuki and Bergman-- immediately-- and start playing young guys like Shaw and Ramirez, and Alcantara.
And Ballesteros needs to be sent down to AAA Iowa immediately to learn how to catch full time!
Counsell still hasn't gotten the memo that this is the new age of base stealing. The Brewers understand this and have made their team faster while Counsell has made the Cubs slower and won't even use the Cub's best base stealer near the top of the line up behind Hoerner.
Having speed on the bases puts intense pressure on opposing pitchers and their defenses.
Standing around waiting for the three run homer only works against teams that are also slow.
The Cubs need to be stealing a lot more bases and putting on a lot more hit and run plays.
And they need to bring up Pedro Ramirez as a base stealing DH.