Post on this:
CHICAGO CUBS (1–5)
Trying to find a positive on the Cubs right now is about as easy as holding leads is for their bullpen. I’ll give it a shot, though. Well, for starters, Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber are all hitting well after down 2018 seasons. The bench has been productive when called upon. So there you go. It’s not all bad on the North Side.
In reality this is as brutal a start as Chicago could’ve imagined. The pitching has been stomped on, giving up 46 runs in six games. The defense has made nine errors already. And the bullpen … the less said about that, the better. Cubs relievers have combined for an 8.86 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, including 19 walks and three blown saves.
It’s abundantly clear that the relief corps needs help, as it’s not deep and runs out of reliable arms quickly. That was the case before the season, too, but Chicago’s ownership decided the best course of action was doing nothing instead of using its limitless financial resources to fix the problem. Signing the still-available Craig Kimbrel would be a start, as would getting back the injured Brandon Morrow, but the Cubs need more than those two right now.
Right now, the lineup is doing all the work in Chicago, but that won’t be enough. The bullpen can’t be this bad forever, and Yu Darvish could rebound (as well as Cole Hamels and Kyle Hendricks, both of whom were hit hard in their first starts). But that’s a shaky proposition. The Cubs don’t need to panic just yet, but they do need to figure out how to supplement a ragged pitching staff, and soon.
About as honest as it gets a D it covers how ownership chose to do nothing.
