Arrieta still confident he can turn things around
After getting knocked out of the game in the second inning of Tuesday's 15-10 loss to the Phillies, Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta promised to find his old form. He hasn't posted great numbers this year but has delivered some highlights, such as a win in San Diego against Yu Darvish.
"This stinks, really it does," Arrieta said after the Cubs' 11th straight loss. "But I'm not going to hang my head, I'm going to continue to work. I'm going to do whatever needs to be done. The stuff is too good. Still have a lot left in the tank, there's no question about that. The stuff plays, the execution's not there."
Arrieta was coming off the start in Milwaukee where the Cubs gave him a 7-0 lead in the top of the first inning and ended up losing 15-7. So on a hot night with the wind blowing out, the confidence level around Wrigley Field was probably low.
But this one was really bad. On his 11th pitch of the night, Arrieta gave up a grand slam home run to Andrew McCutchen. He got out of that inning, but the Phillies scored 3 more in the second and Arrieta was couldn't get through 2 innings for the second straight start.
After the game, the former Cy Young Award winner was asked if this might be the end for him.
"I've been in similar situations in my career. I've been in worse situations than this," Arrieta said. "I'm not going to hang my head, I'm not going to get too down in myself and my teammates shouldn't either. This is a really tough stretch. The offense showed up, played really well.
"They didn't give up and I'm not going to either. I know where my stuff ranks in the game. I watch a lot of baseball and it's still there. It is. This is a tough stretch for us as a team, for me individually.
"I understand the question and I expected it, but whatever has to be done will be done. There's no question in my mind. That's really all I can say. I'm not going to put my head down and pout about it. I'm going to show up and do what's necessary to figure things out."
Manager David Ross was asked about watching his former teammate, who was such a vital part of the Cubs' success, struggle so badly.
"I've seen him at his best," Ross said. "I still feel like there's a better version of him in there somewhere. It's on him and us to try to figure out how to unlock that. I've seen too many good outings to believe this version. Maybe that's just me being naive, but I know there's more in there. The gun says pretty good numbers."
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