NEWSLETTER
We got into some of Cubs President Jed Hoyer’s comments to the media last night – namely, that the Cubs are not yet thinking about the Trade Deadline yet, but they are thinking about carryover of issues from last year – but he got into quite a bit more worth sharing and discussing.
You can find his comments here, here, and here from NBC Sports Chicago, here and here from the Chicago Sun Times, and here from the Chicago Tribune, among other places.
COVID Stuff
Despite a flawless record, so to speak, through the entire 2020 season, the Cubs have stumbled out of the gate a bit here in 2021. But that’s not really the full picture, now is it?
Yes, there are three players on the COVID-Related IL (there were four, but Jason Adam just returned), two coaches who’ve tested positive, and one scratched Kyle Hendricks start through just 12 games. HOWEVER, the two coaches who tested positive were both in the middle of their vaccination process and none of the players have tested positive yet: “I feel like every day it’s sort of a new challenge with this,” Hoyer said. “I spend a lot of time with David Ross and [bench coach] Andy Green and our front office trying to figure out who’s available. I feel like the twice-daily testing [required by the positives] has become the stats I’m looking at right now, and that’s not what you want to be doing.”
The Cubs shouldn’t be penalized (in our minds) for being proactive about the COVID-Related IL, that’s exactly what it’s there for, but you do wish these conversations weren’t taking up so much of the time, energy, and mental effort of the most important leaders in the organization.
Status of the Players, Hendricks
The good news is that Kyle Hendricks wasn’t so sick on Tuesday that he couldn’t have pitched. In fact, according to Hoyer, he could have “gutted it out,” and probably would have in some other year. But under the circumstances, scratching him was obviously the right call.
As for the rest of the players, it may be too early to tell: “It’s a hard one to talk about right now because obviously we’ve gotten a lot of negative tests back, but given incubation periods and stuff like that, you never know when that’s going to change.”
No surprises here, right? By now I think we all have enough experience with the virus to understand that early negatives are not only the product of chance. Sometimes, you are actually infected with the virus, but it’s simply too early to register. The Cubs must continue pulling guys out and quarantining them from the rest of the team at the first sign of exposure or sickness and hold them out until they’re very confident no positive test is coming back.
Also: they can do that *and* increase their efforts to reach the 85% vaccination threshold laid out by MLB to reduce the severity of the protocols (and reduce the risk of team-wide spread in these situations). Speaking of which …
What is the Vaccine Status of the Cubs?
Although this *should* already be obvious to everyone involved, Hoyer seems to hope that this past week of Cubs COVID trouble will help remind his organization that the virus is still very much a problem, right down to the Cubs locker room: “Listen, obviously we have to get our vaccination numbers up as much as possible, not only as a team but as a culture,” Hoyer said.
Unfortunately, Hoyer said “there are a lot of different perspectives” among players, which … sigh. Still? I don’t know what else the actual medical experts could share at this point. By all available real data, the vaccines are safe and effective, protecting you *and* others. Whatever statistically minuscule risks are associated with vaccine administration are far outweighed by the *definite* short and long-term risks of COVID-19.
Yes, I’m happy to hear that the Cubs are “driven by the science,” and “believe in it and think it’s the right thing to do.” But when I see Hoyer immediately follow those comments up with a “Not everyone shares our beliefs. … Some people may take more convincing than others,” it’s just disappointing. I don’t think a public pressure campaign is going to help, but you would hope that those in the organization who HAVE taken the vaccine can get a little more public about it in a positive way. There are a lot of ways to show leadership, and it’s not always by telling someone what to do. Show them what you’re doing.
So far, Javy Báez has basically been the only one even talking about receiving his shot. We could use more.
Moving the Mound Back (and Other Rule Changes)
Theo Epstein, now with the Commissioner’s Office, recently released a statement about concept of moving the mound back: “We expect to learn a great deal about the impacts of such a change and whether an adjustment to this critical field dimension is worth potential future consideration at other levels of professional baseball.” And they’re already testing this theory out in the Atlantic League (unfortunately, no, the Cubs cannot move to the Atlantic League).
Unsurprisingly, Hoyer sees the value in what his long-time executive partner is trying to do: “We’ve got to do something to get more offense in the game,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, I love baseball, but I don’t believe that the rules are written on stone tablets. We have to be willing to make adjustments as players change.”
“We need the ball in play more. It’s simple as that. The pitchers have every advantage right now.”
There are just so many jokes there about how this would be good for the Cubs, specifically, but let’s save it and focus on the substance. The Cubs President is in favor of testing out something as radical as moving the mound back, and I think he’s got a point. At the same time, we’ve had all these discussions before. I’m glad to know Hoyer is as progressive as anyone out there (that’s what I want in a big picture head of baseball ops guy), but until this season is over and the next CBA gets ironed out, we’re just not going to know which way the league is going to go: banning the shift, moving the mound back, different baseballs, 3-ball walks, 5-ball walks, different strike zones, pitch clocks, etc. All of it is on the table for discussion.
The Cubs Offense
Hoyer on the Cubs struggling offense: “We have to have better at-bats, we have to keep going. Obviously, we are going to swing the bats better than we have. I think that sort of goes without saying but at the same time, there are certainly some things that we’ve struggled with that are carryovers from not just last year, but the previous years.”
I don’t think he’s wrong to assume that they’re bound to get lucky eventually – they’ve had unusually bad luck so far – and I think playing the same two teams 12 times doesn’t really help break out of any particularly funky statistical oddities. But the problem isn’t as simple as BABIP.
Sure, the Cubs are the only team with a BABIP under .200 and that’s NOT going to persist (especially because they’re actually middle of the pack in terms of hard contact). However, when you’re striking out nearly 30% of the time as a team, you become more reliant on BABIP luck and that is something that’s even more within their control.
At least he’s not denying it, I guess: “Offensively we’ve been really struggling. Not exactly a secret.”
This is something Brett got into a lot yesterday, and I’ll encourage you to check that out for a bigger picture discussion on the state of the offense and franchise.
“We Shouldn’t Be Talking About Trade Deadlines” – Totally Agree, Jed, However … – https://t.co/l9E0gWIJ0I pic.twitter.com/alSMckY4yq
— Bleacher Nation Cubs (@BleacherNation) April 15, 2021
