Craig Counsell and 7 Cubs most to blame for embarrassment in 'Wrigley North'

Michael Busch led off the Chicago Cubs' NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers by launching a home run in Game 1. Seiya Suzuki followed his lead by hitting a three-run first-inning home run in Game 2. Despite four first-inning runs, the Cubs lost both games, and neither was all that close, as the 16-6 margin would indicate. This kind of performance at a stadium Cubs fans deem to be 'Wrigley North' is an awful look. Cubs fans routinely show up to American Family Field looking to take over the ballpark, but Brewers fans are the only fans with anything to cheer about in this series thus far.

Craig Counsell isn't fully to blame for the lackluster product the Cubs have put on display thus far in the NLDS, but there are a couple of things to knock him for. Starting Matthew Boyd, a pitcher who struggled down the stretch, on three days' rest was a questionable decision, as was using Shota Imanaga, a pitcher who had a 7.20 first-inning ERA in the regular season, as a traditional starter. Both decisions backfired spectacularly, which is not what you want from a $40 million manager.

Counsell deserves some blame for the Cubs' season being on the brink, and the same can be said about these seven individuals.

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7. Michael Soroka, relief pitcher

Michael Soroka didn't make much of an impact down the stretch, but he was pressed into a big spot in Game 1 of the NLDS. Matthew Boyd failed to make it out of the first inning, and put the Cubs in a 4-1 hole. He also left runners on first and second with two outs. Soroka's task was quite simple - he had to keep the game at 4-1 while also eating some innings for an exhausted Cubs bullpen coming off a taxing Wild Card Series win. Soroka failed in a big way.

He allowed both of the runners he inherited to score, ending the first inning with the Cubs in a 6-1 hole. As if that wasn't bad enough, he allowed hits to four of the first five batters he faced in the second inning, two of whom scored. Soroka would eventually depart later that inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Aaron Civale allowed one run to score, but got out of the inning after that.

Soroka turned a 4-1 game into a 9-1 game, and gave the Cubs just one inning of length. Yikes. Counsell deserves some blame for turning to him in such a big spot, but Soroka couldn't have pitched much worse. It was unlikely that the Cubs were going to win either way, but Soroka made it virtually impossible.

6. Pete Crow-Armstrong, outfielder

Pete Crow-Armstrong was not only an All-Star this season, but looked like an MVP candidate for the first three months of the campaign. He struggled mightily in the second half, but Cubs fans had hope that he'd find his swing again in October. To his credit, his 3-for-4 performance in the Wild Card Series finale played a huge role in the Cubs' advancing to the NLDS to begin with. Unfortunately, he's done next to nothing in this series, though.

Crow-Armstrong went 1-for-8 with four strikeouts in the first two games. His only hit came with two out and nobody on in the second inning of Game 1. He's had numerous opportunities to, at the very least, provide a spark ever since, but putting the ball into play has been a challenge.

For the Cubs to have had a chance of knocking out the team with the best regular season record, their All-Star center fielder was going to have to do something. It isn't surprising to see them down 2-0 and to see their offense fail to score more than three runs in either game knowing Crow-Armstrong has been such a non-factor.

5. Shota Imanaga, starting pitcher

Shota Imanaga entered the year as the Cubs' ace, but he saved the worst stretch of his MLB career for the worst possible time. Imanaga struggled down the stretch in the regular season to the point where Counsell used him as a bulk reliever in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. Counsell, for whatever reason, opted to change plans in the NLDS, and it backfired. Imanaga was hit awfully hard.

What makes his rough outing worse is that he was handed a 3-0 lead before even taking the mound. By the time he was heading back to the dugout, the game was knotted up at three apiece. Imanaga struck the first two batters out in the bottom of the first after being handed the lead, but surrendered back-to-back singles and then a back-breaking three run shot.

Giving up the lead, especially that quickly, was inexcusable, but the Cubs were, at least, tied after one. Well, that didn't last for long. Imanaga allowed yet another home run in the bottom of the third inning, putting the Cubs in a 4-3 hole - one they failed to climb out of.

Again, blaming Counsell for using him as a traditional starter makes sense, but at the end of the day, Imanaga has to do better than allowing four runs in just 2.2 innings, especially after being handed a three-run lead.

4. Jed Hoyer, general manager

The Cubs have allowed 16 runs in the first two games of this NLDS. Need I say more? Sure, the pitchers have to pitch better, and Cade Horton's injury was a major blow, but even had Horton been healthy and pitching like he was down the stretch, did anyone really think the Cubs had enough pitching to go on a deep postseason run?

The need for a starting pitcher was abundantly clear at the trade deadline, yet the only starter Hoyer chose to acquire was Soroka. It isn't his fault that Soroka got hurt soon after he was acquired, but nobody realistically thought Soroka was good enough to start a postseason game to begin with.

The Cubs had prospects to trade away, but chose to hold onto them instead of going all-in. Hoyer went all-in to acquire Kyle Tucker on an expiring deal in the offseason, but refrained from sticking with the plan to win now at the trade deadline. This is the result, and it's a shame.

3. Nico Hoerner, second baseman

Nico Hoerner has been the Cubs' best hitter this series, going 3-for-7 with a home run. He also had an outstanding regular season. For those reasons, blaming him for the team's brutal position feels slightly unfair, but it's hard to forgive him for his Game 1 mistake.

The Cubs got off to their early lead, but the Brewers quickly erased it by scoring two runs before recording an out. The Cubs finally did get an out, but the Brewers had two men on and one out with Sal Frelick coming up. Frelick hit what looked like an innocent chopper to Hoerner, but he let the ball go under his glove, leading to a run to score and not a single out to be recorded.

Would the Cubs have been able to double up a speedy runner in Frelick? I have no idea. What I do know, though, is that there was one out to get, and Hoerner failed to get it. The next batter, Caleb Durbin struck out, recording the second out of the inning. Had Hoerner gotten an out, the inning would've been over.

Instead, it was 3-1 Brewers, and to make matters even worse, the Brewers tacked on three more two-out runs. The inning should've ended with the Cubs trailing 2-1, but instead, it was 6-1. Anyone making a mistake of that magnitude in a postseason game is unacceptable, but Hoerner, a Gold Glove winner, doing so is appalling. I don't know if the Cubs win that game either way, but Hoerner's error was extremely costly.

He did hit a home run in the eighth inning of that game, but all that did was cut the lead to 9-3. He did record a pair of hits in Game 2, but he also flew out with a runner in scoring position in the second inning of that contest with a chance to give Chicago the lead.

Hoerner having three hits in two games is all fine and well, but coming up small in the field and at the plate in the most important moments he's come up in is why he's on this list.

2. Matthew Boyd, starting pitcher

The decision to start Matthew Boyd on three days' rest is one Counsell can be blamed for, but that doesn't excuse Boyd for his Game 1 performance. Boyd began his start with a run already on the board in his favor, but he gave up the lead before he recorded an out. Hoerner's error didn't help his cause, but even with it, Boyd had a chance to get out of the inning trailing only 3-1. He let the inning spiral out of control from there.

The error was an unfortunate one, but Boyd still allowed four hits and a walk in the first inning alone. He might've only allowed two earned runs, but there was a reason he was pulled before the first inning came to an end - he wasn't even competitive out there.

It's understandable for Boyd not to have his best stuff when considering the circumstances, but there's a difference between not having your best stuff and being knocked around. Boyd didn't give the Cubs much of a chance to win this game, and failing even to complete an inning says it all.

1. Kyle Tucker, outfielder

KyleTucker was brought to Chicago to get this team over the hump. He did that to an extent by helping to get the Cubs to the postseason for the first time in a full season since 2017, but Cubs fans have higher hopes than just getting to October and getting embarrassed by their division rivals in the NLDS. Tucker, unfortunately, has been mostly a non-factor this postseason.

He went 3-for-11 in the Wild Card Series, but all three of his hits were singles, and he didn't drive in a single run. In the NLDS, he's gone 0-for-6 in two games. He has drawn two walks, but Tucker not even being able to scratch out a single in the first two games of this series is unacceptable.

He's going to be looking for upwards of $300 million on the open market this offseason, and deservingly so - he's an awesome player - but his history of coming up small in the postseason can't go unnoticed. He was never productive in the postseason for the Houston Astros, and he's now 3-for-17 without an extra-base hit in five games in October with the Cubs. Is that good?

The pitching hasn't been remotely good enough in the NLDS, but the Cubs have scored just three runs in each of the first two games. Tucker being a non-factor has obviously played a huge role in that, especially when considering the fact that guys hitting in front and behind him like Hoerner, Michael Busch, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki have all gone yard this series.

The high asking price is what's likely going to keep Tucker from signing in Chicago long-term, but after this NLDS performance, Cubs fans might just be fine watching him walk.

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