Were it not for the by and large complete bullpen collapses in three of their first five games, the Cubs would be 4-1. The only unwinnable game was Monday night. Obviously this can’t go on. The Cubs are counting on these guys righting the ship. The whole of the offseason strategy was not to go for a big name like Kimbrel or Britton or Miller and to make minor patches in the hopes the existing core would return to form.
Make no mistake, the Cubs folded in September not just because they stopped hitting, but because their relief pitching fell apart in the aftermath of injuries to Morrow and Strop. Theoretically the remaining staff just ran out of gas or failed to perform when forced into unexpected roles down the stretch. Frankly, I bought this line too.
Now, I’m not so sure. Thus far, the only reliever whose performance so far supports this argument is Kintzler. Maybe what we are seeing is what they are, which is mediocre journeymen who are on again/off again players and nothing more. I hope not. If so, we are likely to be disappointed once again.
The key issue with the Cubs pitching is their failure to develop homegrown talent throughout the Epstein era, really streching back to end end of the Tribune regime. This cannot be fixed on the fly. Right now, aside from Cedeno and Barnette who are hurt, the only help on the farm would be Mills and Maples.
