Middle of nowhere: With infielders in deep slump, Cubs lose to Colorado
The Cubs embraced the philosophy of being strong up the middle. How valuable can that be with barely any hitting?
To be clear, we're talking about the double-play combination of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner. Their defense is fine, but over the past month, they've been the two worst regulars in the lineup — Swanson is hitting .145, and Hoerner .188 in that time frame.
Tuesday brought more of the same. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the first inning with a home run for the second straight day, but the Cubs went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and lost to Colorado 5-2 at Wrigley Field, despite outhitting the Rockies 7-6.
“We've got to do something better offensively,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We just weren't good enough.”
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was asked about the prolonged middle infield slump before the game, and repeated the reasons why both players are on expensive, long-term contracts.
“We prevent runs really well,” Hoyer said. “You can't just forget about that when we start to struggle a little bit offensively. My guess is, at the end of the year, their numbers will look like they usually do.”
Manager Craig Counsell tried giving Swanson a few days off for a mental break, and moved Hoerner over to shortstop. Counsell confirmed he has no plans to sit Swanson and Hoerner at the same time, using maybe Pedro Ramirez and Matt Shaw instead.
“Things happen during the season that none of us expect to happen,” Counsell said before the game. “That's OK. We can freak out about it, (but) they're going to happen. You're going to have to go through things. You're going to have to go through adversity.”
No one says the fans have to enjoy it, though. The Cubs looked like they were finally on the way to an easy home win, compared to the usual comebacks and walk-offs. Six of the last seven Cubs home wins were walk-offs, including Monday.
After PCA's early home run, the Cubs put two runners on in the first inning, and didn't score again. In the second, they had second and third with nobody out after a Miguel Amaya double disappeared into the ivy, and scored just once on a wild pitch. They put two runners on in the fourth and once again, nothing.
Cubs starter Edward Cabrera breezed through the Colorado lineup on his first attempt, then gave up 5 runs before leaving in the fifth inning with a right hand cramp.
“I think all things considered, he's good,” Counsell said after the game. “It's a cramp, as far as we can tell. He had a cramp sort of on the palm side of his hand. He didn't feel it until the fifth inning.”
Long way to go, but an 11-24 record since May 9 isn't what the fans signed up for, or what the Cubs thought they were paying for.
“We have enough base runners, we just haven't gotten hits when it matters,” Hoyer said. “Overall as a team for the entire year, I think we're like 25th in wOBA with guys in scoring position. We've underperformed in those situations, and if we had those runs, we would be in a different position.”
Swanson has always been a streaky hitter. He might carry the offense for the next few weeks, or sometime down the road. Hoerner, with his minuscule strikeout rate, was supposed to bring some certainty with batting average and clutch hitting. His slump seems to have really impacted the team’s offense.
“I think he provides an element that we don't have,” Hoyer said of Hoerner. “I do think our offense misses those hits. Obviously, last year, we were so good with guys in scoring position.”
Hoyer mentioned hitting slumps can be psychological, if hitters let the lack of success weigh on them. And he's considered whether guys are spending too much time in the batting cage. Whatever they're trying, it hasn't helped.
“This is such a diligent group,” Hoyer said. “They work so hard, and yeah, I think there are times you wonder, could it be overly serious? Are they doing too much? We've asked all those questions. what might work for one struggling player might not work for another, and I think that's the challenge.”