Craig Counsell's excuses for Cubs slide are anything but reassuring

Prior to this weekend's series against the Houston Astros, Cubs manager Craig Counsell promised to shake things up. This was specifically related to the Cubs lineup, which had failed to produce in their prior sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. So far, that so-called shakeup hasn't provided all that much in terms of production, as the Cubs scored just two runs on Friday and were shut out on Saturday.

The sad truth is that Counsell is out of answers. Too many of the stars he can typically count on, such as outfielders Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong, are underperforming. Even the highest-paid managers in MLB cannot produce for their players. They can also place these stars in the best positions to succeed. Counsell believes he's done just that, yet the Cubs can't muster much against the lowly Astros and a pitching staff that leaves much to be desired.

Craig Counsell is out of answers for the struggling Chicago Cubs

Counsell, who is one of the best and honestly smartest managers in the game, has to go back to the drawing board as the Cubs have lost seven in a row and eight of their last 10 games. First, Counsell explained what he meant when he said he'd shake up the lineup.

“I think ‘shakeup’ was probably the thing we were just after,” Counsell said. “What you’re doing when you do that is you’re just kind of giving guys a different look in terms of when they’re going up there. Not a lot of thought.”

So, evidently it wasn't the lineup in question, but rather the entire roster. Chicago promoted two of their top-5 prospects in Kevin Alcantara and Pedro Ramirez as reinforcements. Those young players could take some time to acclimate to the MLB level. Following Saturday's loss to the Astros, Counsell tried to reassure fans that the Cubs would eventually rebound, which is a tough sell.

"We're gonna come out of this, it's gonna be fine. We're a good baseball team and it's all gonna happen. But while you go through it you gotta sit in some discomfort," Counsell said.

Cubs fans aren't buying what Craig Counsell is selling

Believe it or not, it is part of every MLB manager's job to appease the fanbase. Cubs fans are notoriously tough in that department, and didn't take kindly to Counsell's comments, which were essentially a beefed-up version of 'calm down, guys.'

As one Cubs fan noted, this is a theme with Counsell's Cubs teams. They are routinely up and down, especially early in the season.

Some Cubs fans would prefer to see more substantial changes. The shakeup Counsell promised...wasn't exactly that.

Others placed the blame squarely on Counsell. Fair or not, he is paid a high salary for a reason, and that's to take some of the heat off underperforming players, of which there are plenty to point at.

The most common sentiment from fans was frustration, which isn't surprising. The Cubs biggest issue isn't that they'll keep hitting this poorly for the entire season, but that they may have already missed their chance to take a commanding NL Central lead in an important stretch of the season.

If the Cubs don't snap out of their slumber soon, it may indeed be too late to catch the surging Brewers for the fourth straight season.

More MLB news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow