The Chicago Cubs were the No. 1 team in the MLB Power Rankings two weeks ago. Now they are barely hanging on. The Cubs have lost 12 of their last 14 games, scoring just 26 runs total in those 12 losses, in what has become one of the ugliest stretches of baseball any team has played this year.
This is the kind of slump that ends seasons. The Cubs went from leading the National League Central to slipping out of first place. The offense that was carrying the team in April has gone completely cold. The starting pitching has been inconsistent. The bullpen has cracked under the weight of every close game.
Manager Craig Counsell has tried lineup shuffles. He has tried bullpen changes. He has tried calling team meetings. Nothing has worked. The Cubs are in the middle of the kind of free fall that requires more than tactical adjustments to fix.
What Went Wrong
The offensive collapse is the biggest concern. Scoring 26 runs across 12 losses is not just a slump. That is total dysfunction at the plate. The hitters are pressing. They are chasing pitches. They are not making adjustments at-bat to at-bat. When a team goes that cold, it usually points to a clubhouse issue more than a mechanical one.
The starting rotation has not been bad, but it has not been good enough to win games when the offense scores two runs. Justin Steele has been solid. Imanaga has been up and down. The back of the rotation has been a mess. When you score 26 runs in 12 games, you need the starters to throw shutouts to have a chance.
The bullpen is in worse shape. The Cubs have lost multiple games in late innings to relievers who could not throw strikes. The setup men have been shaky. The closer situation has been unsettled. Every late lead has felt vulnerable.
Can the Cubs Pull Out of This?
The good news is that the season is long. The Cubs are still talented. The roster has playoff-caliber pieces. A 14-game slump in May is recoverable if the team finds its identity again over the next month. That is a big if, but it is possible.
The bad news is that nobody in Chicago is panicking yet, and that might be the problem. The Cubs front office has historically been slow to make moves when the team starts struggling. By the time they finally pull the trigger on a meaningful change, the season is often already gone.
There are moves available. The bullpen needs reinforcements. The lineup could use a veteran bat. The starting rotation could use a stabilizer. Whether the front office acts on any of those needs in the next few weeks is going to define how this season ends.
For now, the Cubs are in trouble. The losing streak has to end soon, or the rest of the National League Central is going to bury them. Counsell has the experience to navigate this. The roster has the talent to bounce back. The question is whether they actually do.
The next 10 games are critical. Cubs fans should buckle up.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
