The 2022 MLB season hasn’t seen the Chicago Cubs play like a championship team.
While they escaped San Diego with a win on Wednesday, they almost blew that game.
With Chicago near the bottom of the NL Central, some are questioning the abilities of David Ross as the manager.
Since 2020, Ross has a 116-136 record with Chicago, putting him under .500 for his career.
His only winning season was during the 2020 season, where the MLB was shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, that hasn’t stopped the Cubs from keeping him around, despite fans calling for his firing.
David Ross deserves to be fired for putting that loser in the game instead of leaving Rivas in
— . (@FieldsSzn69) May 11, 2022
The reason behind the call for his removal is a good reason.
Bad Managerial Calls Hurt The Cubs
From pulling a pitcher that should have seen a game through to putting in a horrible pinch-hitter during a crucial moment has hurt Ross.
While poor decisions have plagued Ross, a lot of the issues came to a head in the Padres series.
In game one, Ross would pull Kyle Hendricks in the ninth inning with two outs.
The move stopped the pitcher from having a complete game shutout.
That is something Hendricks could have used to boost his confidence after struggling during his last few outings.
Another ninth inning move in game two had fans wondering what Ross was doing.
What in the world of Warcraft are you doing, David Ross? Pinch hit Frank Schwindel, THE coldest bat on the roster who was sent down and called up inside 24 hours and looks lost, for Rivas with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth down one? This is malpractice.#cubs
— The Reverend KFidds (@KFidds) May 11, 2022
A two out, bases loaded situation found Ross pulling a one-for-four Alfonso Rivas for Frank Schwindel.
Schwindel was called up after being sent down for his struggles at the plate.
However, he tried his best to help the Cubs win.
Unfortunately, his hit fell short of making it over the wall and was caught, ending the game.
The problem wasn’t Schwindel, it was Ross not analyzing the situation correctly.
He pulled a batter who had one hit and two RBI for one that was struggling.
Rivas might have gotten that game-tying single or a go-ahead double.
However, Ross opted to go to a struggling batter who followed the flawed logic most Cubs batters have currently.
Cubs All-Or-Nothing Batting Approach Hurts Team
Cubs batters seem too focused on trying to hit home runs and not having solid contact with the ball.
Sometimes all it takes to win games is the short ball game.
However, that’s not the approach we see under Ross currently.
But some of that blame could fall on new hitting coach Greg Brown.
Regardless, the all-or-nothing approach isn’t helping the Cubs, especially in one-run games.
They need to focus on fundamentals of the game.
Instead, they either wait for the perfect pitch and strikeout or they hit balls which fall short of home runs.
Not every hit needs to be a home run for Chicago to win games.
Having the bases loaded with two down in the ninth should show them that.
It should also show them to keep their batter in, or at least replace him with a better batter.
Until Ross can show his ability to make smart moves as the manager, Cubs fans will continue to doubt his every move.
NEXT: Cubs Prove They Are Still A Bit Away From Contention
Tom North says
Youre right. But hes saddled with a terrible team. I mean are they rebuild? Has beens and never was’s and bargin basement 3rd tier pitchers and some possible up and commings. Minus Hendricks, Contras, Gomes , and Happ. Of course you got Hayward for another year . Ha Ha. And Susuki will be another hayward on a smaller scale. Lets face it ricketts is all about greed. He has the 3rd highest take in basball but he spends like the oakland As without the analytics. Wrigley will sell out no matter what team he puts on the field, because Cubs fans are stupily loyal Very few have moved on to the south side Like me , Ill never come back till ricketts rickets is gone. ( and hopefully) Ricketts got lucky in 2016, lets face it with underpaid future stars. He thinks he can do it again without spending. Maybe hell buy an oligarc’s ship. Think Im wrong? Watch him trade contras for cash and some nothing players later this year.
Anonymous says
Ricketts is the Ford of baseball. Look at what the Ford family did with the Lions. Same model.