Seiya Suzuki and the Cubs rotation have slumped to an ugly finish in April, losing nine of their last 11, including 9-1 Saturday night.
Whether it’s too early to start making broad evaluations and grand proclamations about the nature of this Cubs team this year, manager David Ross said he tends to step back from the daily grind to take a bigger-picture look at the end of each month for trends. He has at least a few to gnaw on right now.
Cubs brass didn’t give the verbal finger to the fans that Reds president Phil Castellini did in Cincinnati when he publicly addressed criticism of their roster purge by suggesting the poor, little-market, poverty-stricken Reds could simply move to greener pastures if fans don’t like it. “Be careful what you ask for,” he said, before apologizing after the predictable backlash.
The Dodgers had the second-best record in the NL, and Joe Maddon’s Angels — not as often associated with the biggest-market clubs — made upgrades in the off-season and had the second-best mark in the AL.But none of them took a 2020 playoff roster and gutted it, either. But the flaws and the reality of the depth issues — and Suzuki’s inevitable adjustment period — caught up with a team that expected to have Miley in its rotation by now instead of possibly June, and Alec Mills as a starter-long relief linchpin.
And Suzuki certainly remains a storyline as tries to get back on a Rookie of the Year trajectory and fight out of a 7-for-40 stretch that has included 14 strikeouts, produced a .517 OPS and coincided with the team’s 2-9 skid.