The Skid: Part Two

I should probably change the title here, since the Cubs have won two in a row. Also, to be fair, this is the first game in my recollection where the Cubs manager, Mike Quade, actually out-managed his rival and came away with a win.

In any case, here is the rest of the skid analysis for what it is worth.

First off, I mentioned in earlier posts and articles at Bleacher Report, that the Cubs were too right-handed and that their overly aggressive approach at the plate made them easy to get out, especially for right-handed pitchers. I also noted that Tyler Colvin would have to play a lot in place of Soriano and Byrd to even begin to rectify this situation.

Well, Colvin played very little early on and then it was in some sort of ill-conceived platoon with Kosuke Fukudome. He was awful then and continued to play badly when he got some at-bats replacing Pena and the occasional start spelling Soriano.

I also noted - and I do not pretend to be the only commentator to do so - that the Cubs for the past few years have depended heavily on Aramis Ramirez hitting for power and driving in runs. Their whole lineup is built around his abilities and when he has been hurt or unproductive, as in 2009 and 2010, they did not score runs. Thus far, Ramirez, though apparently healthy, has not hit for power, nor has he hit in the clutch. Also, his whole approach at the plate has changed. He is not working the count, nor is he shortening up with two strikes.

The same overly aggressive tendencies have always been a part of Byrd's makeup and he has demonstrated them throughout the season before his injury. This guy batted near .300, never took a pitch, and despite batting behind Fukudome, Barney, and Castro who had OBPs in the .400 range early on, drove in 11 runs.

I don't want to single out just these players, and if I wanted to single out a single truly awful player, that would be Alfonso Soriano. The thing their performance illustrates, though, is that this is a team that plays, by and large, stupid baseball. Even the young guys like Barney and Castro, who should be given the benefit of the doubt, get themselves out too easily in clutch situations and make dumb or careless plays in the field.

They play defense the same way. This is a team that lacks attention and patience and character. There are only two players who demonstrate these traits day in and day out among the position players whether they are over-matched or disadvantaged in some other way, and those guys are Kosuke Fukudome and Carlos Pena.

Barney and Castro have some talent that needs to be developed. Soto used to be an intelligent player, but he is just having a bad, bad year at the plate.

This kind of play has been the norm for the Cubs when they are faced with adversity for the last two years, and really during the last years of the Dusty Baker era as well. This organization does not value or develop baseball players, guys who put themselves and their team in a position to win consistently. Nor do they acquire such players by trades or free agency.

Bottom line, to succeed, that has got to change, beginning at the top and heading down through the whole player development chain. Zambrano was right, this team plays embarrassing baseball. You can say they are underachieving and all that baloney, but they are not going to get dramatically better when their injured players return from the DL because they were not playing good ball before they got hurt.