Given how the Chicago Cubs have only scored a combined three runs in the first two games of their National League Wild Card Series, they’re honestly lucky to even be here right now. The North-siders will host the San Diego Padres in a do-or-die, elimination game three, later on today.
You won’t win much when you’re averaging 1.5 runs per game, so to have split the first two with the Friars is rather fortunate.
How did this happen? Where did the offense go?
Let’s flash back to late July, when the Cubs were pounding the ball. This passage from RG.org said it best:
“Craig Counsell’s squad has an electrifying offense that ranks top-five in several major categories. Chicago is making it known they’re for real, and this team could very well be the Los Angeles Dodgers’ biggest threat at returning to the Fall Classic.”
That was absolutely true at the time, as the Cubs spent much of April-July with the best run differential in all of baseball. They came crashing down back to Earth hard in August, with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker each going through periods of struggles.
We saw the Cubs offense disappear at times, down the stretch, and that raised concerns about the potential for power outages come October…and here we are.
The cliches about pitching being more important in the postseason and/or that good pitching beats good hitting in the playoffs are proving true here.
Still, it would be a major disappointment to see the Cubs blow this series against the Padres when it was there for the taking. Winning this series would avenge the 1984 NLCS loss.
It would be great for the memory and legend of Ryne Sandberg. It would also give Anthony Rizzo another excuse to celebrate his recent retirement.
Getting there, however, will require Counsell to make sure he doesn’t get in his own way. He’s become a bit of a baseball version of Pep Guardiola now- brilliant managerial tactician who just gets too cute and too clever for his own good sometimes.
Bringing in the closer, Daniel Palencia, in the 5th inning while trailing in game one was a risk that paid off. Using an opener yesterday, instead of just a conventional straight-forward starting pitcher, was a risk that backfired.
Keep it simple- tag your good old friend Yu Darvish early and often. You don’t want this getting to the Padres bullpen. And on the other side, just give Jameson Taillon the ball and let him do his thing.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter