Slumping Tucker takes time off in stride
The Kyle Tucker vacation day, originally scheduled for Monday night's rainout, finally took effect in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader.
How long the Cubs tell him to stay away from right field is still to be determined. With a .148 batting average and no extra-base hits in August, it was clear something needed to happen. Tucker took news of the time off in stride and it was something he discussed with manager Craig Counsell on Sunday.
“I'm just here trying to help the team win,” Tucker said before Tuesday's doubleheader. “I haven't really done a great job of (being productive) lately, so that part of it sucks. But I'm still rooting for everyone around here.”
Tucker began his first season with the Cubs as one of the MLB leaders in OPS and started the all-star game. Over the past seven games, he's just 2-for-25 at the plate. The day off might have happened sooner, but he collected a pair of hits Saturday against Pittsburgh. Counsell tried to illustrate what Tucker's been going through.
“Kyle's still doing a pretty good job of swinging at the right pitches and getting himself to the places he wants,” Counsell said. “I thought his first at-bat Sunday really defined what he's feeling, because he got himself to 3-1. Then he got a fastball where he wanted it and hit a ground ball.
“So just trying to put a player hat on a little bit, (Tucker is thinking), 'I don't know why that keeps happening. I did exactly what I wanted to do for four pitches, did my job really well, got myself a pitch to hit, and I got the same result.'”
It's gotten to the point where even with the massive success Tucker has had in the major leagues, he might need a mental break. Counsell refused to say how many days or games he'll keep Tucker out of the lineup, since an injury could always change plans.
Fans could be heard grumbling when Tucker hit a soft grounder to first base during Monday's loss to Milwaukee. The fielder bobbled the ball, and Tucker wasn't running hard, so he was an easy out. It wasn't a consequential play and Tucker might have run full speed and still been thrown out, but Counsell felt it was the frustration on display.
“I think we've seen the mental struggle, too, and sometimes it results in (poor) body language and things like that,” Counsell said. “So you try to help, try to support, try to motivate in any way we can. But like mechanics things, there's no perfect answers.”
It would be a stretch to say fans booed Tucker after the first base bobble, but there was a reaction.
“It's fine. I've got to do my job regardless of cheers, boos or whatever,” he said. “It's kind of exhausting. I don't know how many times I've rolled over (a soft grounder) at first or second. Regardless, you've still got to run down the line, whether you're out by 50 feet or not. It's just a little tougher now.”
Caissie cashes in
Owen Caissie's first MLB hit Monday was a line drive to left-center field. The 6-foot-3, left-handed hitter has gone the opposite way often since being called up last week. He says that's by design.
“It keeps me on the fastball and on the changeup and that off-speed stuff, and doesn't get me pull-happy,” Caissie said. “I feel like that's when I get in trouble is when I get pull-happy.
“Going the other way with stuff, like that left-center field gap, is really what I try to do with everything. No matter where the pitch is, that's my focus. My timing might be different, but that's my focus.”
Caissie was not happy with his previous at-bat Monday, when he swung and missed a 3-2 pitch outside the zone with the bases loaded.
He got another chance with the bases loaded in the first inning of Tuesday's Game 1 and pulled a 2-run single into right field. Out of character, but effective.
Roster move
The Cubs called up left-handed pitcher Tom Cosgrove before Tuesday's games and sent reliever Luke Little back to Iowa. Reliever Gavin Hollowell, who pitched 2 innings Monday as the doubleheader roster add, also returned to Iowa.