Sadness. That’s what I’m feeling through the first 10 games of the season. Just sadness. I sat here as the 2021 season approached watching Spring Training and convinced myself that things would be different this year with the same guys. A lot of the same guys that had won us a World Series in 2016 and made 5 playoff appearances in the past 6 years. These guys have struggled in consecutive seasons since winning that title but it wasn’t their fault right? It was Chili Davis’s fault. Had to be Joe Maddon’s fault. Maybe it was just a slump? But at the end of the day, we should’ve taken a look in the mirror at the jersey on our backs and realized that this is a player issue. These guys just aren’t the same. And to start the 2021 season they are worse than just not good. They have been historically bad and the worst team in the league…
According to Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN), The Cubs through 10 Games this season have 49 hits - fewest through first 10 games of a season in franchise history and a .164 BA - lowest through first 10 games of a season in franchise history. That’s historical shitty baseball. And I try not to overreact after 10 games, but the problem is this struggle of not being able to hit the baseball extends back years now for many of these “core” players. The problem with the 2021 Cubs team was supposed to be the pitching NOT with these once all-star sluggers.
But how does this slow start compare to the rest of the MLB? Not great….
Note: K's are 8th most - not a good thing.
I could go on and on with these stats but it all spits back the same general idea. This team ranks dead last when it comes to putting the bat on the ball and getting on base. And you can't score runs and win games if you don't do those things well. That's baseball.
Just glance across these player hitting numbers. They’re all bad. A lot of percentages starting with a 1 and a lot of weak contact.
Keep in mind that this team is also doing all of this against the Pirates and the Brewers. This isn’t poor hitting going up against the top pitchers in the league. This is poor hitting going up against Mitch Keller, Chad Kuhl, Freddy Peralta, and the rest of the bums in these starting rotations. This is not a slump, this is the new normal. This is the 2021 Cubs.
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