Column: Chicago Cubs' slide continues — and Wrigley Field fans are starting to get antsy

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

Time flies when you're in a free fall from first place.
The Chicago Cubs were tied for first with the Milwaukee Brewers on July 28 when the team surprisingly announced President Jed Hoyer had agreed to a contract extension.
They fell 8½ games behind the Brewers after Friday's 3-2 loss at Wrigley Field and were booed by many in the crowd of 40,044 after the final out, a sharp reversal of form for the Cubs faithful.
'It's hard every day, that's the game of baseball,' manager Craig Counsell said. 'You're frustrated by a loss, you turn the page and you're excited to come out tomorrow with an incredible opportunity for this team in front of us. That's where we sit. … We've earned a great opportunity, and that's how I'm looking at this and I think that's a great way to see it and a great opportunity ahead of us. We've got (40) games left, and kind of got 'it' in our hands, and we're going to have to earn it, no doubt.'
The Cubs definitely earned their booing after a virtual rerun of a game fans have seen too many times over the past several weeks. They finished with six hits, and Jack Suwinski's ninth-inning, solo home run off closer Daniel Palencia turned out to be the difference.
Pete Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-3 and reached base four times but was thrown out twice on the bases, including in the ninth when he singled and was tagged out on a steal attempt after oversliding the bag he had stolen.
Nico Hoerner said Crow-Armstrong 'makes slides 99 out of 100 times, and that never happens' to the speedster.
'It did today which obviously sucks,' Hoerner added. 'But there's nothing to change on his end. He was great today.'
Counsell said that kind of aggressiveness is part of Crow-Armstrong's game, and he won't curtail it.
'I don't know what to say about it,' Counsell said of the overslide. 'It happened.'
Column: A Cubs collapse, a White Sox power surge and Banana Ball highlight the last gasp of Chicago summerWith the Cubs offense on mute, having Crow-Armstrong try to steal second in the ninth inning of a one-run game was a no-brainer for Counsell.
'If we've got Pete Crow-Armstrong on first, we're going to run,' he said, acknowledging the gamble that backfired. 'It's a risk of course, and that's what happens with the risk unfortunately. But we'll always try to be aggressive in that situation.'
The loss kicked off what should be a season-defining homestand for the Cubs. By the time their five-game series against the Brewers ends Thursday, the Cubs will either be back in the divisional race or focusing squarely on surviving the wild-card race.
Hoyer's extension, of course, had nothing to do with the Cubs' free fall. It's just one of those weird coincidences that clings to the Cubs like bittersweet ivy on the outfield wall. Hoyer's failure to add frontline starting pitching really can't be blamed either, since it's the lack of offense that has done them in since the trade deadline.
Still, when fans look back on the season, July 28 likely will be a red-letter date unless they turn things around. The Cubs are 6-10 since then, while the Brewers entered Friday night's game in Cincinnati with 12 straight wins and 14 in 15 games over the same span.
What can Counsell do when nothing is going right?
'Things not going right, that's not what is happening,' Counsell said before the game. 'That's what you fall into. This is baseball that's happening. You've got to be tough enough to roll with that.'
Whatever is happening, the Cubs need to figure it out quickly before the season implodes. I ventured out into the bleachers Friday to find out whether full-scale panic had set in, but mostly I saw people enjoying themselves in the sun and not paying too much attention to the field except when Crow-Armstrong was interacting with them. In the right-field bleachers the Cubs had a couple of boxes of cardboard crowns with 'King Tuck' written on the front for Kyle Tucker, but few fans asked for one to wear.
The Cubs entered Friday with 35 runs in 12 games in August, second-lowest in the majors and 68 fewer than the Brewers in as many games. Their two All-Star starters, Crow-Armstrong and Tucker, both had been missing in action during this crucial month of August. Crow-Armstrong was hitting .073 (3-for-41) in August with no RBIs, and Tucker was 6-for-40 (.150) with one RBI before going 0-for-3.
They certainly weren't alone in their misery but stood out because of their great first halves and importance to the lineup.
Counsell said before the game that he spoke with Crow-Armstrong on Thursday about life's lessons after watching the 23-year-old center fielder put the world on his shoulders.
'I asked (Thursday) and avoided him the rest of the day — 'What did you learn this week?'' Counsell said.
That sounded a little too much like a DOGE questionnaire to me. But Crow-Armstrong apparently answered it to Counsell's satisfaction and had a nice afternoon. He doubled in the second and got the Cubs on the board with an RBI single in the fourth, only to be gunned down trying to stretch it to a double. He was drilled in the seventh and scored the tying run on Matt Shaw's sacrifice fly, then singled leading off the ninth before the fateful slide.
Crow-Armstrong spoke with the media before the game but was not made available afterward. A Cubs spokesperson said he 'politely declined' to talk. While a veteran probably would've made himself available after being part of a big moment like the overslide, that's another lesson Crow-Armstrong will just have to learn. Hopefully Ian Happ or Dansby Swanson or one of the other clubhouse influencers will explain that it's part of being a leader.
Either way, Counsell said Crow-Armstrong's emotions should be celebrated, and wished that he was as emotional as the Gen Zer.
'That the best part about Pete, why he connects with fans so well,' he said. 'That's just like a gift, to be able to see someone else's emotions. That's great. It's something I wish I did a better job of (doing). That's not me. I can't fake that and I don't think Pete has to fake it the other way, and we should celebrate that part of Pete.'
Meanwhile, the Cubs hope to regain the trust of fans who've jumped ship. But they'll have to earn it, one day at a time.