Night and Day. Dark or Light. Up or Down. Chicago Cubs at home, Chicago Cubs on the road. Anyone know what these descriptions have in common? Nothing. They all are the exact opposites from each other.
The Chicago Cubs at home are the best team in baseball. They currently have the best winning percentage in home games. So, this team obviously has the talent to win games and take a series. Yet on the road they are below .500.
For those of us that watch games regularly, we know the problem. The Cubs can't score on the road. Pitching has been relatively consistent, but hitting has been spotty and very inconsistent, and so has the defense. The errors yesterday against the Dodgers and the lack of hitting on this road trip prove this yet again.
Is there a logical reason for these struggles? Do the Cubs only play well at home because the crowd pumps them up for games when they are struggling?
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If that is the case, the players need to take off their diapers and realize they are paid professional athletes. Your job is to be pumped up for EVERY game of the season, not just when a large fan base is their to keep you motivated.
So, let's all put on our manager hats. How do you fix this problem before the St. Louis Cardinals capitalize on our road woes and pass us up in the NL Central?
Here are my solutions:
1. Play the younger guys more often. The players that struggle on the road this year are the experienced veterans. Derrek Lee can't hit outside of Wrigley this year, Aramis Ramirez has struggled, and so have other key players. So, give them a break for a game or two and play youngsters like Micah Hoffpauer, Ronny Cedeno, or Mike Fontenot.
2. Get better pillows on the road. Many of the players have complained of neck and shoulder cramps on the road and it has effected players' performance. One example that comes to mind is Carlos Zambrano having to miss a game on the road because of a cramp in his shoulder and neck.
3. Lou needs to kick the players in the ass. If his players can't be motivated to play well on the road, or to be patient at the plate and quit swinging at pitchers' pitches, then he needs to fix the problem. He needs to motivate his players, which is the number one job of the manager.
He also needs to talk to his players after they strike out on a pitch bouncing in the dirt. Why are they swinging at those balls?
These are a few suggestions I have for fixing the problem. Don't beat yourselves up too much. The Chicago Cubs are still the best in baseball. If they keep struggling on the road, however, we could go from the best in baseball to a Wildcard contender. Talk about a tough NL Central!
Go Cubs!
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3 months ago
Haha, great stuff Tyler, this was really funny. Get better pillows was hilarious!
I love that Haoffpauer guy and I hope they can get him some more at bats throughout the season. Cedeno seems to disappear only because we sit him for extended periods of time...
2 months ago
The Cubs went 4-3 on this road trip and still have the best record in baseball so I'll take it.
from 2 months ago
I agree I was happy to see that the Cubs had a winning road trip. They won the series in San Diego and split in LA. The Cubs always seem to do well on the west coast though. A couple of years ago they went like 6-1 or 7-1 on a west coast swing. Hope they can keep it up at home against the Braves.
2 months ago
Without Chipper, Smoltz, and Glavine this should be a sweep. SHOULD being the key word.
2 months ago
I wouldn't say we are licking out chops yet. We are having DL struggles out the you-know-what.
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