Not My Problem, ButThen Again....

Cubs’ Nation is in the dumps right now. The North Siders lost to the Marlins in the wildcard, and Florida went on to get swept by the Braves in the NLDS. The Marlins were shut out twice by the Braves, the Cubs scored one run in two games against Florida. The Cubs went 9 for 62 against Miami pitching, with five walks and sixteen strikeouts. Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo combined to go 1 for 24 with eight strikeouts. And let’s not forget Kyle Schwarber, who went 0 for 4 with a strikeout. (It should be noted that Schwarber did get three walks.) This was the core (including Willson Contreras and the now-departed Addison Russell) Theo Epstein assembled back in 2015. So young and full of promise then, so close to being shipped out of town now. What happened? Not my problem, not my worry. Then again, it is. I think Tim Anderson is an overall better player than Baez based on the fact that Anderson’s numbers have gone up (in all the right ways) the last two seasons while Baez’s offensive stats have stagnated, which makes you wonder how long until his defense starts to suffer. OK, so that one for our core. But what about Yoan Moncada? Will he bounce back from COVID and whatever else caused him to hit .225 after his breakout season in 2019? Moncada has had one really good season vs. three mediocre ones. If your rich uncle would be willing to take on Bryant’s contract, would you be tempted to trade Moncada for Bryant? I would. I think Eloy Jimenez has the most tools of any hitter in Chicago. Provided he stays focused (and healthy and avoids walls), I think Jimenez will be a humongous force in the lineup. Luis Robert? I hope so, but he could just as easily turn into Jorge Soler, here today and gone to KC tomorrow. Nick Madrigal? Dylan Cease? They could turn out to be very good, or not. I worry that Madrigal won’t have any magic dust left for another season of bloops and seeing-eye singles. If Cease can’t find the strike zone sometime soon, Cub fans may end up happy he went to the South Side. My point is, you don’t what will happen until it does. I want to think our core is better than their core, but I have no way of knowing. The Cubs squeezed one World Series championship out of their young guys, courtesy of Joe Maddon. Right now, that’s one more than us. Oh, well. Spring training will come soon enough, COVID willing and all things notwithstanding.