It was one week ago in Milwaukee that Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer hinted he might have to start thinking of selling instead of buying at the July 30 trade deadline.
“It’s just the reality that we have to play better in July,” Hoyer said. “We’ve backed ourselves into a little corner.”
No one took it as a veiled threat but as a warning that change was probable if the Cubs didn’t awaken from their two-month slumber.
They went on to lose back-to-back series against the Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies, regressing even further in the National League wild-card race, their only realistic hope at making the postseason. They entered Friday with a 6.1% chance of playing in October, according to fangraphs.com.
Justin Steele’s “wake the (bleep) up” viral scream last Saturday seemed like a distant memory by the time Steele took the mound Friday against the perennially underachieving Los Angeles Angels.
Steele held the Angels to one run on two hits in a complete game, sending the Cubs to a 5-1 win before 36,948 at Wrigley Field.
“Definitely something to check off the checklist,” Steele said of his first complete game. “Something I’ve been wanting to do. Hopefully I can do a lot more.”
Steele received a standing ovation when manager Craig Counsell sent him out for the ninth, a feeling he called “truly special.” He won for the first time in 17 starts, a flukish streak that had little to do with his pitching.
Steele’s last win came on Sept. 4, 2023, against the San Francisco Giants, when he pitched eight shutout innings to improve to 16-3. He went 0-2 in his final four starts last season and was 0-3 in his first12 starts of 2024 in spite of a 3.20 ERA.
The crisp, 2-hour, 7-minute affair gave the Cubs back-to-back wins for the first time since June 18-19 against the Giants. At 41-48, they still have a ways to go before proving they’re real contenders.
Have Hoyer and Counsell had any discussions about their upcoming options at the trade deadline?
“No, we have not talked about that,” Counsell said before Friday’s game.
So how often do they talk?
“Daily,” he said.
And it hasn’t come up?
“It doesn’t do anything for what we have to do today for me,” he said. “Do I know that stuff has to be on his mind? Yeah, of course.”
But it’s not on your mind too?
“No,” he said. “What am I going to do about it?”
Well, aren’t you and Hoyer kind of a team?
“But what am I going to do about it right now?” he said. “Like today?”
Today? Nothing. But don’t you talk about the future?
“Yeah, this is how it works for every team in this spot in July,” he said. “Every team goes through this and your job is to play better. That’s where you’ve got to put your energy into, and that’s what we’ll put our energy into.”
This team wasn’t supposed to be in this spot after hiring a manager considered one of the best in the game, so you can’t blame Counsell for wanting to avoid the subject.
And the Cubs certainly played better and with more energy the last two days, though the operative word is “two.”
Steele’s pitching, Seiya Suzuki’s slugging and three defensive gems by third baseman Miles Mastrobuoni highlighted Friday’s win. The Cubs gave Steele an early cushion on Suzuki’s two-run home run in the first and Ian Happ’s RBI single in the third.
Steele (1-3) held the Angels hitless into the fifth, when they had their only two hits and scored their lone run on Taylor Ward’s RBI single. Happ and Nico Hoerner added run-scoring singles for insurance.
Steele called Mastrobuoni the “player of the game” for his defense, which including a diving stab of Ward’s liner on the game’s first pitch and great range on grounders in the fourth and eighth. For someone who has gone to Triple-A Iowa and back much of the last two years, Mastrobuoni had one of his better days as a Cub.
The up-and-down career trajectory apparently hasn’t affected his mindset.
“You’re where your feet are,” he said, spouting a philosophy that seems destined to be printed on an Obvious Shirt.
Considering Christopher Morel’s spotty defense at third, Mastrobuoni could earn more playing time if he could add more offense. He doubled Friday in four at-bats but is hitting .154.
Suzuki, meanwhile, could spend more time at designated hitter if he doesn’t improve defensively. He dropped a routine fly to right in the fourth, a play he admitted he was “reflecting on” afterward.
With Mike Tauchman on the injured list with a groin strain, Counsell primarily has used rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong in center and Suzuki and Cody Bellinger in right. Crow-Armstrong was out of the lineup Friday after receiving four stitches in his left thumb from being spiked on a headfirst slide Wednesday. A slit in his oven mitt left the thumb exposed.
Asked how it was going with the thumb, Crow-Armstrong replied: “It’s going.”
Doesn’t sound promising. When Crow-Armstrong is healthy and “going,” Bellinger can slide into right with Suzuki at DH. Suzuki’s offensive performance — an .806 OPS — has been relatively consistent, at least compared with the rest of the Cubs lineup. The bottom four hitters in Friday’s lineup are all batting under .210, which puts more pressure on Hoerner, Michael Busch, Bellinger, Suzuki and Happ.
“Seiya has been in this spot for a while,” Counsell said. “It’s felt quieter almost, but he’s having a pretty solid year.”
Still stinging after making his third error, Suzuki didn’t want to hear about any compliments from his manager.
“I know they expect a lot out of me, not just on offense but also on defense,” he said. “Those plays in right field have to be made.”
Confirmed.
Veteran Kyle Hendricks gets the nod Saturday as the Cubs attempt to win three straight for the first time since a four-game streak April 23-26. That turned out to be the high point of the season. The Cubs were 17-9, and no one would’ve envisioned the position they’re in now.
But you are where your feet are.
