The Cubs should never have won over Baker and the Nationals. Anyone watching the game should know that now fired National Manager Baker BLEW the 5th game and cost him his job.
My analysis of the Cubs from Spring Training is as follows:
!. After winning a World Series for the first time in over a Century, they kept looking in the mirror and saying and thinking, "how great thou art".Adulation by the fans and everyone they met caused them to "bask in the " moment" which they earned.. Wined and dined, speaking engagement, great food and drinks, late hours, all that money, new multi-million houses to plan, media super praise, etc. caused most of them to come into spring training, fat and sassy. .Zobrist, in particular showed the "worst for wear".
2. A slow start disappointed the faithful. When the All-Star break came, only ONE was selected to the All-Star Team/. And he was the losing pitcher.
3. Team weaknesses: Good field, poor hitting except when they faced "batting practice" pitchers; Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore and even the Cardinals.
4. Undependable middle relief pitchers and sometimes a questionable closer.
5. Strike zone: Baez, Zobrist and Bryant led the team in not knowing the difference between a ball and a strike.
6. Clutch hitting by the big three was pretty sad. Men left off base may have set a club record. Bryant looked "meek" to opposing pitchers and he showed it. If Rizzo could hit with his mouth, he would have batted over 400 hundred..
7. Joe Maddon was confused with what was happening on the field and he certainly showed it in the play offs.
8. No small" game such as Tony LaRussa played when he managed the Cardinals.
9. Bunting? No guts and glory in a bunt. Even few of the pitchers knew how to lay down a bunt.
10. Dissatisfaction by pitchers who believed he brought in relievers too soon. Problem was he often times didn't bring them in soon enough. And then the wrong man. What happened to Grimm? Rondon? I didn't know he was still with the Cubs when suddenly Maddon brought him in a close playoff game and Rondon (he will be gone next year) blew it. Using a starting pitchers as a reliever? And then starting that pitcher the next day??? One reason perhaps that Baker was fired as he tried it and failed miserably. Seldom works.
11. Weakest Division in the majors misled a lot of die-hard fans who went crazy with admiration when they "poured it on" weak teams with weak pitching.
12. No real "lead-off" man. No real "cleanup hitter. Batters hitting around 200 or less, often hit in the top 5 in the line-up.
13. Rather lack-a-dasical looking. Not the intensity of 2016.
14. Madden got TOO friendly with his players. Kind of kike, hey were all buddies. Doesn't work that well, and not just the Cubs but in ALL sports.
15. So wait till next year. Sorry, Cub fans, the only "franchise" player on this team might be Contera. Winter better see some blockbuster trades else the Cubs may not even win their Division in 2018.
No, I don't read the Chicago newspapers, listen to the play-by-play announcers or the analysts.
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