Imrem: Offensive pitfalls may be catching up to Chicago Cubs

Two potential pitfalls hovered over the Cubs during the postseason.

The first was something a scout for another National League suggested in midseason over lunch in Wrigley Field's press-box lunchroom.

We were marveling at the Cubs' baseball-leading record and agreed that it was fueled by outstanding pitching, especially the starting rotation.

But, the scout warned, the Cubs' staff has some age on it.

No problem.

For the most part, Cubs starters continued their impressive work right through this point of the postseason.

The other potential pitfall — the Cubs' offense — has become a problem.

An article on Foxsports.com just prior to the Cubs' first playoff game cited a scout who said their lineup “could be pitched to.”

Well, that could be said of any major-league team. Heck, it could be said of the '27 Yankees and 1970s Big Red Machine.

What matters is how often in how many games a team can be pitched to.

The answer for the Cubs during this postseason is “too often.”

So here the Cubs are in the World Series, down 3-1 in to the Cleveland Indians.

The Cubs were shut out in two of the losses and in Saturday night's Game 4 the Indians battered them 7-2 at Wrigley Field.

Joe Maddon said the Cubs hit some balls hard but “the hits just weren't there.”

The Cubs manager has noted throughout the postseason that the Cubs are facing really good pitching.

“They're pitching great,” Maddon said of the Indians. “They've been outstanding.”

Cleveland's pitching has been so outstanding that the Indians need only one more victory to close out the Cubs.

Mathematically, the World Series isn't over. The Indians still have to beat a good starting pitcher — Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta or Kyle Hendricks.

Those guys might have to throw shutouts just to get the Cubs into extra innings.

“We need that offensive epiphany to push us in the right direction,” Maddon said.

The World Series scoring drought comes after the Dodgers pitched two shutouts in the National League championship series, but the Cubs did prevail in six games.

The scout in the Foxsports.com story pointed out that the bottom of the Cubs' batting order isn't particularly intimidating, though it was good enough for the Cubs to win 103 games during the regular season and two series during the postseason.

In some cases, the Cubs' offense spurted for runs in bunches. In other cases, those aging pitchers were effective enough to compensate.

During the playoffs, Javier Baez had a nice run early. During the World Series, Kyle Schwarber returned from injury to provide a spark early.

Overall, though, the Cubs have had trouble sustaining offense.

To the surprise of many Cubs fans, this is a problem that goes beyond Jason Heyward.

With a few exceptions the bottom of the order, the middle of the order, the top of the order … each was futile.

Before Game 3, Maddon talked about what the future holds regardless of what happens during the rest of the World Series.

“As we continue to move forward together,” Maddon said, “the one area of our club that I anticipate's going to get better is offense.”

It better or the Cubs will keep falling short of their first World Series championship since 1908.

mimrem@dailyherald.com