May magic now July jitters
relying so much on home runs to score. But the Cubs haven’t been able to avoid the same harsh slumps that plagued the offense in previous seasons. While Hoyer believes they did better at the end of the series against the Brewers, “we have got to get on base more.”
“Of all the things I might have been frustrated with over the course of (June) is the lack of walks,” Hoyer said. “Probably guys were trying to swing their way out of slumps a little bit, and that probably got us into some trouble. So I liked the fact at the end (in Milwaukee) we started to draw some walks and we have to continue to do that because we’re probably not going to be a high-batting-average team. You can still be a high on-base team.”
Clearly, the Cubs offense is better and more wellrounded with Nico Hoerner and Matt Duffy in the lineup. But Hoyer also doesn’t want to put too much into the absence of two of their best contact hitters, who have been on the injured list since late May. Hoerner played in another rehab game Friday night with Triple-A Iowa while the earliest Duffy could return is July 22 after he was moved to the 60-day IL on Tuesday.
“We need to be able to compete when we have injuries to anyone, not just, hey, we lose a couple of contact guys and then all of a sudden we’re not a functional offense,” Hoyer said. “That’s a problem. ... We can’t view (getting them back) as a panacea.”
Hoyer doesn’t see any effort issues on the team. Even if that’s how it might look when a team isn’t hitting well, he thinks the Cubs have a sense of urgency. As the Cubs sat 6
games back of first place entering Friday, Hoyer tries to avoid looking at the standings too frequently, instead focusing on how the Cubs are playing.
“I mean, these guys were aware of the importance of this month and the importance of digging into that lead,” Hoyer said. “You can’t make that up with a snap of fingers, but you have to gradually claw back some games and start playing well. That’s the most important thing.”
At some point, Hoyer and the Cubs front office must commit to being buyers or sellers before the trade deadline.
The upcoming schedule is favorable for them to get going. Over the next 3 weeks, the Cubs play series against the Phillies (37-41), Diamondbacks (23-60) twice, Cardinals (40-42) twice and Reds (40-40). There’s an opportunity to make a move back up the standings. If not, Rizzo, Bryant, Javier Báez and Craig Kimbrel are all candidates to fetch assets that could help the Cubs beyond this season.
Asked when they need to decide what direction to take, Hoyer said, “the honest answer to that is July 30.”
“But it doesn’t mean you don’t make a decision on either side of the ledger before that.”