What kind of manager is the Chicago Cubs' David Ross? The jury is most definitely still out.

"What do you think of David Ross as a manager?"

That query was posed by a fellow reporter as we drove to the United Center to cover a Blackhawks game last week.

And it wasn't an easy one to answer.

David Ross the person?

That's easy. Great guy. Respected by most, if not all, Cubs players. Fantastic with the media, to the point where when he first meets you, he asks where you grew up and what sports you played.

Almost nobody else does that.

It makes even the completely unbiased reporter pull for him just a little bit.

As for Ross the manager? My initial response was - just like with the Hawks' Luke Richardson and the Bears' Matt Eberflus - it would be interesting to see what he does with a playoff-caliber roster.

Having said that, a couple of Ross' latest decisions have raised eyebrows.

• The first came with the Cubs trailing Milwaukee 3-2 in the sixth inning Sunday at Wrigley Field. Ross inserted reliever Julian Merryweather, who had a 5.64 ERA in just 52⅔ major league innings. The 31-year-old walked two of the first four hitters and allowed 5 runs. There were much better options available, and if Ross chooses the right one the Cubs may have prevailed.

• Then on Monday in Cincinnati, Ross left starting pitcher Drew Smyly in too long and it proved costly. Smyly had already thrown 89 pitches when Jason Vosler came to the plate with two runners on base and two outs. Yes, it's a lefty-lefty matchup, but Keegan Thompson is your best arm in the bullpen and should be used in this situation.

Instead, Vosler stroked a 91-mph sinker into the left-field bleachers to give the Reds a 7-6 lead. Thompson then came in and pitched 3⅓ innings of 1-hit relief.

Too little, too late. Obviously.

Ross did make one impressive move Tuesday during the Cubs' 12-5 victory at Cincinnati, pulling starter Hayden Wesneski after Wesneski gave up a two-out single to T.J. Friedl in the fifth inning. Reliever Michael Rucker got Jake Fraley to ground out, and the Reds' lead stayed at 3-1.

After that, the Cubs' bats exploded, allowing Ross' squad to snap a three-game losing streak in emphatic fashion.

Eric Hosmer's RBI single in the sixth cut Cincinnati's lead to 3-2, and the Cubs then scored 6 runs in the seventh and 3 more in the eighth. The first six batters reached in the seventh, with Ian Happ (RBI double), Trey Mancini (RBI single) and Patrick Wisdom (2-RBI single) driving in the first 5 runs.

("It) was just a matter of time," said Happ, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of walks. "We had good at-bats yesterday and we hit the ball hard all day today. They just started to fall there."

Nico Hoerner went 3-for-6 with 3 runs, Cody Bellinger was 3-for-5 with a walk, and Wisdom was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs. Dansby Swanson was held hitless for the first time as a Cub, but he did walk three times and scored 2 runs.

Happ is now hitting .438 and has reached base safely in 14 of 23 at-bats (.609 OBP).

"It just feels like (Happ's) building off the quality at-bats he had last year," Ross told reporters. "He had them in spring training (too). It's a very calm at-bat. ... He's doing a really nice job of just controlling the strike zone like he always does and using the whole field.

"Just a complete player right now."

Adbert Alzolay (2⅔ IP, 2 runs allowed, 5 strikeouts) recorded the win.

Circling back to Ross' decision making, one that was heavily scrutinized Monday was having Wisdom bunt with runners on first and second and nobody out in the seventh inning. Wisdom popped up to the pitcher on a 3-1 count, and the Cubs failed to score.

Some hated this move, but it's easy to say that after it doesn't work. It actually made plenty of sense. Put the ball on the ground and the tying run is on third and the go-ahead run is on second.

Yes, it's old school, but sometimes old school is still OK.

The bottom line is there's no doubt that Ross is an A+ human being.

But his grade as a manager is most definitely "incomplete" for now.