Not yet. But there is genuine cause for concern. The Cubs entered the weekend series with a five game lead over the Brewers and the Cardinals and left with a two game lead over their rivals. In the process, they played three really awful games and wasted two excellent starts by Lackey and Hendricks sandwiched around a stinker from Montgomery.
What can you say? Earlier in the season, it was the starters who were letting them down most often. Now it is the hitting. In the current stretch since their six game winning streak ended, the Cubs have struck out 74 times. One thing that strikes me is that in these streaks of lackluster performance, the team as a whole is not just pressing, but guessing as well. This seems to have certainly been the case against Milwaukee the past weekend. They seemed to be off balance all the time, to be expecting a fast ball and getting a breaking ball or a changeup, and vice versa. That or the opponents have scouted them very well and the Cubs have failed to scout them.
The team can certainly bounce back. It is also the case they have eleven games remaining against their principal rivals and the remaining eight against teams that are not very good, viz. the Mets, Rays, and Reds. Milwaukee and St. Louis end the season facing each other, which could certainly work to the Cubs advantage should they have even a slim division lead. They should also be cheered that Milwaukee lost to the Pirates Monday night.
Still, they missed a golden opportunity to end the Brewers season once and for all last weekend.
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