And while you can’t blame Ross here — first off, it’s true; second, what else is he supposed to say? — there’s an awful lot of context behind this start that paints a grim picture for the Cubs’ upcoming summer.
Yes, the Pirates are allowing nine runs per game against Not Cubs but a touch over three per game against the Cubs.
As a team, the Cubs have a 66 OPS+.
From Cubs historian Ed Hartig:The Cubs’ 49 hits are the fewest hits by the team over 10 consecutive games in a season since at least 1901.
There have been some low lows in Cubs history, and yet, this is the worst 10-game stretch ever for the Cubs’ offense at getting hits.
The Cubs won the NL Central last year, but they hit .220/.318/.387 as a team with mostly the same personnel .
That was, they’d go a stretch scoring little or no runs and then would explode and it would make their overall stats a bit deceptively good.
Ross pointed out after Monday’s loss they seem to be too offensively-reliant on the home run, but the problem with the home runs isn’t necessarily the percentage.
Bryant looks every bit a player that would be a major difference-maker for any time from some point in July and beyond.
Contreras is a free agent after next season and could end up landing something nice in return if there’s a market for a starting catcher.
If you wanted to zero in on a big fish, have you watched Craig Kimbrel at all? He has faced 14 batters and recorded 14 outs with nine of them being strikeouts.
Things are stale with the current group, but they are also ripe for new club president Jed Hoyer to get a pretty big haul this summer in looking to turn things back around on the North Side in the next few years, reshaping the roster both with new prospects and in free agency.
For the next month or so, though, Cubs fans, better get ready to hold your noses.