Cubs Fall in Four

Some random observations:

Schwarber is a worse outfielder than we realized.  If he is to continue to play at least sometimes in left field, the Cubs might want to send him to the winter leagues for at least some time to get some experience and instruction.  He wasn't nearly as bad in the regular season, but then the pressure is on in the playoffs.  On the other hand, maybe they should try to break him in at his natural position, which is catcher.  Montero is not exactly an All-Star at this stage of his career.

Soler was the revelation of the post-season for the Cubs.  This guy was on throughout the run.  If he can only stay healthy, he will become a formidable force for years to come.  His performance in the playoffs is pretty much on par with Murphy's if you really look at the quality of all his at-bats.

Bryant got his home run.  Rizzo did not show up.  Ditto Montero.  Fowler and Soler were the only hitters to show any consistency aside from the Schwarber and Bryant homers.

Russell is the best shortstop in the National League and his loss was a real blow for the Cubs, not just defensively, but at the plate as well in terms of adding some balance to a lineup that is fairly one-dimensional without him.

The Cubs need to acquire two good starting pitchers to contend and advance next season.  Pretty much everybody knows this.  They can count on Lester, Arrieta, and Hendricks.  That's it.  They do have a fairly solid bullpen core.  However, the way Maddon manages his bullpen does somewhat require the equivalent of a taxi squad between Iowa and Chicago, which may not suit some of the reclamation projects that the Cubs refurbished for the stretch run.  Then again some of them may be gone or they may be given a shot at starting again, Cahill and Richard, for example, if not by the Cubs, then by another team.

Maybe the Cubs should have put Haren on the NLCS roster instead of Berry or Hammel, for that matter.  Haren may not be a stopper, but I doubt he would have been as consistently awful as Hammel and he finished the season strong.

Just in general, I don't always have a problem with Maddon's management of the pitching, but I did rather think he pulled the plug on Hendricks too soon in Game 3 and that that sent a message of a general lack of confidence that nearly everyone picked up on.

Hendricks left after 4 innings with the score tied at 2.  Aside from the Murphy home run, which was not exactly a rarity in the series, he had pitched creditably.  Arguably, he was pitching a lot better than the Mets starter deGrom, who was in constant trouble to that point.  Had Maddon been in the other dugout, would he have pulled deGrom?

The Cubs looked like a team that was up against it all the way, especially after the loss in Game 1.  They were anxious at the plate and in the field.  Not unexpected from such a young team, and probably not a great cause for concern looking to the future, as this will be seen in retrospect as a learning experience.

Finally, myself and probably most fans may find it hard to admit this except in retrospect, but, historically, teams that rely on the long ball, teams full of power hitters who score the majority of their runs via the home run, often do not do well as the playoffs progress, especially when matched against teams with dominant pitching.