Whether it’s the offense being broken, getting production over projection or a combination of the two, the common denominator over the last three seasons is the Cubs’ offense, or lack thereof.
Yes. The 60-game season was difficult and presented circumstances and challenges never seen before, but the offensive struggles were familiar and pre-date the weird year.
The Cubs’ message for the lack of production was the same all season.
“We just have to get it going,” they often said.
But when the time came for them to do it, they couldn’t. No instant offense. No bounceback. No switch to flip.
The elusive offense was front and center once again as the Cubs were eliminated from the National League wild-card round by the Miami Marlins in Friday’s 2-0 loss, ending their season with a two-game sweep.
“I think the season, in general, is unique if you look around the league, and we just never really got going,” manager David Ross said. “I never thought we really hit our stride. Offensively.”
“I feel like we were competing against the other team and then against our struggle,” shortstop Javy Baez said.
Starter Yu Darvish did everything he could in Game 2 and continued to put up zero after zero with the Cubs season on the line. Still, the Cubs’ lineup – full of so many accomplished and decorated players – also put up zeros when it mattered most.
The Cubs scored one run over the two games and in Friday’s elimination game, they were shut out by Marlins’ rookie sensation Sixto Sanchez as the struggles that plagued them all season showed up in a big way.
“When you’re not hitting and you see Darvish out there, our whole pitching staff just carrying us and not being able to come through, it’s just heartbreaking,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s upsetting. It’s all the above.”
“We didn’t get the job done,” outfielder Jason Heyward said. “We got outplayed and either way, this series was one of those regular-season series in my mind that we played good baseball, but so did they. They played a little bit better and in the postseason, whoever plays the best wins.”
The 2020 season was difficult, but it seemed to hit the Cubs’ core the hardest. Besides Ian Happ and Jason Heyward, no one player had an extended stretch of success during the regular season.
The combination of Bryant, Baez, Rizzo and Schwarber all had unexplainable seasons and went 1-for-28 during their brief series against Miami, which is almost baffling, even for them.
“I don’t have that much of an answer to that,” Bryant said. “I guess it goes back to this game being extremely tough. The toughest game sport in the world, no question about it.”
“We never came around to really swinging the bat,” Ross said. “Had some spots. A lot of these guys, just uncharacteristic of who they are, you know who we’ve seen for a long time.
“I think there’s a lot of guys that we just never felt like they showed up to be who they were offensively and it wasn’t for lack of effort or work or concentration. These guys were really trying hard and just couldn’t.”
The Marlins not only closed the book on the Cubs’ 2020 season, but may have also closed the book on this core, who have grown together over the last seven years and helped break a 108-year stretch without a World Series title.
“I mean, it could or couldn’t,” Heyward said on the possibility of the team being broken up. “This game is a funny game. It is the business on one side and you just got to see who makes moves. Who doesn’t…”
“But I know my mindset every year has always been to go out, try to make the postseason and try to become World Champs. But I think there is a lot of respect for what it takes to be a champion in this clubhouse, just going to work everyday with these guys.”
