Do something, anything! Chicago Cubs fans are looking at what is behind them in the rearview mirror that is the NL Central standings and are desperately hoping Jed Hoyer wakes up to realize the team's bullpen is an issue. Chicago enters play on Tuesday at 28-20 on the year, but only one game better than the arch rival St. Louis Cardinals in division. An easy scapegoat for them has been the bullpen.
This has not been an area of strength for the team all season long. With Porter Hodge now going on the injured list with an oblique injury, Cubs fans are wanting to see some relief for their favorite team's reeling relief corps. Unfortunately, the time is not right for Hoyer to make a big time trade. 670 The Score relayed a message saying that it will not be until mid-to-late June for the Cubs make a move.
Keep in mind Chicago is only one game up on the Cardinals right now, 3.5 up on the Cincinnati Reds, and five games up on the Milwaukee Brewers. Outside of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, everybody is still very much in this thing in the interesting NL Central. A lot can happen over the next month or so before Hoyer decides to finally make a move. He may be vindicated or he could be totally at fault here.
All the while, Cubs fans know that playing with fire is not necessarily something Chicago does well.
Craig Counsell seems to have found his footing as their manager, but he is not playing in the games.
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Jed Hoyer has too much trust and faith in the Chicago Cubs relief corps
Even though I would argue that the National League is still slightly better than the American League, top to bottom, the NL Central simply does not carry the same amount of gravitas as the Senior Circuits' two other divisions do. The NL East has a plethora of World Series contenders, while the NL West has the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Chicago may be a big fish in a small pond.
What I am getting at is the ebb and flow nature of a baseball season will always present interesting wrinkles and anomalies. The Minnesota Twins won double-digit games in a row less than a week ago. Outside of the Twin Cities, does anyone think the Twins are going to win the Fall Classic? You get my point, right? Chicago could be built to handle the good and bad of a season, but it has to help itself.
There are few things that unravel a special season quite like a leaky bullpen. This is an issue for my favorite team in the Atlanta Braves. Truth be told, I would not be surprised if Alex Anthopoulos echoes Hoyer's sentiment of wanting to leave well enough alone. Well, what happens if well enough is simply not good enough? Chicago needs to take advantage of Milwaukee not being up to snuff this season.
The last thing the Cubs want is to give lesser teams like the Cardinals and Reds hope to catch them.