The poorest part about the Cubs’ poor week at the end of the regular season?
The poor timing.
They could still end the campaign on a winning note and head into the postseason with a little momentum; they play the Red Sox in a weather-shifted finale Sunday afternoon in Florida.
But regardless of what happens at Tropicana Field, the Cubs will end the regular season with back-to-back series losses after dropping two of three to the Marlins and getting swept in Friday’s doubleheader in Boston.
The common theme has been a lack of runs, the Cubs scoring just six in three games against the Marlins and three in the doubleheader, all coming in Game 1.
The cool, windy and rainy conditions at Wrigley Field and Fenway Park made hitting difficult, undoubtedly. But it’s been nine runs — and only one homer — in the last five games for the highest scoring team in baseball.
That the Cubs were still, as of Saturday morning, the highest scoring team in baseball should remind any panicky observers that this lineup is still capable of putting up big run totals.
A shift indoors Sunday in Florida could get them back in the swing of things. At least that’s what they hope.
“We have all the confidence in the world in this group. And we get to play in a dome on Sunday, some neutral conditions,” left fielder Ian Happ said Friday. “It will be good for some guys to get some knocks and carry some momentum [into the playoffs].”
But there’s just one more day to get right before the games become as meaningful as they get, and the bright lights of the postseason start shining.
For the Cubs, that’s not a scary thing. It’s what they’ve been playing for all year.
“You grow up as a kid watching playoff baseball, and it’s the best kind of baseball there is,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “Every pitch, whether you’re on defense or on offense or running the bases, just means so much. The pressure is at an all-time high. The fans are having a blast. Games are close. It’s the best pitchers versus the best hitters on every team.
“There’s nothing like playoff baseball. You want to do it every single year.”
Bregman has done it every single year, reaching the postseason in each of the last 10 seasons.
A two-time World Series champ, he knows what it takes. He knows these Cubs can do it. But it’s about getting the job done.
“We’ve got to go play good baseball. We’ve got to play winning baseball,” Bregman said. “Whether that’s at home or on the road, it comes down to us executing on both sides of the ball.
“The guys are looking forward to the challenge. … We’re looking forward to having fun with all of that.”
On the pitching side, things have been better, with the Cubs’ arms, for the most part, doing their job.
But even on a day where Cubs pitchers only allowed six runs across two games, there was postgame talk about what didn’t go right: the nine walks issued Friday.
“We pitched well, but we walked too many people again today,” manager Craig Counsell said. “A night like tonight, when the hitting was very difficult, giving free passes ends up hurting you.”
Those things could make all the difference in how long the Cubs stay in the postseason. Playoff games are often close and low-scoring. There’s little room for error.
“You can’t control the future. You can’t control the past. It’s what you’re doing right now to get better and put yourself in the best spot,” righty pitcher Clay Holmes said. “It’s the same way in the playoffs.
“Obviously, it’s exciting. There’s a level of tension and focus that every pitch comes with. But you really just have to make things simple and stay within yourself, just like any other outing.”
And so the Cubs need to find themselves, if not Sunday then quickly thereafter, by the time a best-of-three playoff series starts Tuesday.
If they can’t get back to being what they’ve been much of the season – baseball’s best offensive team, baseball’s best defensive team and a team boasting multiple reliable arms, particularly in the starting rotation – their October might not last very long.
