Commentary: David Ross needs to prove himself as manager |
The Cubs have turned heads in the early going of the 2023 season. Through a little over a month, the Cubs are 17-17 but have a second-best +46 run differential in the National League (trailing only the Braves). Since 2020, the Cubs have been managed by David Ross — a former player who the organization loves.
Ross excelled with the team during the Covid-19 shortened season and was a perfect manager to be at the helm of a team who spent the next two seasons enduring a painful rebuild. Ross was extended through the 2024 season, with a club option for the 2025 campaign. But now that the Cubs are playing competitive ball and have their eyes on contending, Cubs fans are wondering if Ross may be holding the Cubs back with his decisions on the top step. Whether it be lineups, calling for bunts or managing the bullpen — David Ross is in charge of a lot of different aspects of the day-to-day functions of the Cubs. Since Ross is not the one in charge of who stays in AAA and who is in the MLB, we can not count the lack of Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel OR the carrying of no left-handers in the bullpen for the majority of April against him — but there have been a few other instances that have left many questioning if Ross can handle the pressure of managing a good team. Juts yesterday, in the Cubs’ 5-4 loss in 14 innings against the Marlins — Ross’ decisions with some of the bench players were baffling. Seiya Suzuki, Patrick Wisdom, Tucker Barnhart, and Trey Mancini were on the bench, and all eventually were used in the 14-inning marathon. Wisdom was used first off the bench as a pinch runner for Eric Hosmer in the 10th. Although he has had his fair share of struggles, Wisdom has the power to end any close game with one swing. Instead, he was used as a pinch runner and a sacrifice bunter on Sunday. Suzuki was next off the bench, pinch-running for Miguel Amaya in the 10th and then subbed in for Tucker Barnhart at the start of the next inning — arguably, the Cubs' best bat available didn't even swing during the game. I would’ve rather had Amaya stay in the game, as Barnhart made outs in both of his plate appearances, including the final out of the game. Mancini came in for Velazquez in the 11th, and also was hitless in two trips to the plate — the Cubs’ bench players were 0-4, and the two best bats of the bunch finished a combined 0-0 in a game the Cubs lost by one run. Bunting has presented its own blunders for the Cubs in the early going. Last Wednesday, Eric Hosmer — who was the designated hitter for the day — came up to bat in a one-run game in the top of the 9th, with runners on first and second. Ross called for Hosmer to bunt, and similar to his track record in his career, Hosmer was unsuccessful, popping into an out that was almost a double play — the Cubs went on to not score and lose that game. Similarly, in the Cubs’ early series with the Reds, Patrick Wisdom was called to bunt. Runners on first and second again, no outs, in a game the Cubs trailed, Wisdom popped into an out, and once again, the Cubs did not score and lost the game by one run. Michael Fulmer was a late add to the Cubs roster in spring training, and his usage has befuddled Cubs fans this season. Fulmer has been a solid and reliable reliever in his career but has never had much success as a closer since becoming a reliever full-time in 2021. This season that has been especially prominent. In 8.1 innings that were not save situations/ the 9th inning, Fulmer has a 0.00 ERA with 10 strikeouts. But in 6 innings in the 9th / save situations, Fulmer has a 13.50 ERA with a few blown saves. It seems obvious, don’t let him pitch in high-leverage save situations, but it has unfortunately taken David Ross and the Cubs far too many blown games to realize it. He has a pair of blown saves and a pair of losses on the season that may not have happened had he not been in the closer role. Pinch-hitting has also been a questionable aspect of Ross’ managerial efforts this season. The roster is better and fuller now than it was on opening day — but ever having guys like Edwin Rios, Eric Hosmer, Luis Torrens, and Miles Mastrobuoni take at-bats away from Yan Gomes, Trey Mancini, Ian Happ or the likes of Miguel Amaya, Nelson Velazquez or Matt Mervis (who are now with the team) is just in general puzzling. One specific example comes to mind. In the Cubs’ 7-3 loss against the Dodgers two Sundays ago, Luis Torrens batted twice with runners on and was not lifted for a pinch hitter, nor was Nick Madrigal with the bases loaded in the 9th — specifically in a game where Ian Happ is on the bench, how would you not prefer Happ to take any of the 8 at-bats away from those players who finished 0-8. The first main mistake came in two in the Cubs' first loss of the season against the Brewers by the score 3-1. The Cubs had a 1-0 lead after Justin Steele went six shutout innings. The Javier Assad, fresh off a strong WBC performance, came in for the 7th and pitched well. The puzzling move was sending Assad back out for the 8th inning with a well-rested bullpen behind him. Assad allowed all three batters he faced to reach before Michael Fulmer came in the game. That inning also had another interesting choice made, which was to pull outfielder Trey Mancini in favor of Miles Mastrobuoni as a defensive “upgrade” — especially when the go-ahead run came across to score on a misplayed ball to right field that, if caught, would’ve ended the inning. Why not carry a 4th outfielder, why was Nelson Velazquez in Iowa, why didn’t Mancini finish the game, why did Assad go out for a second inning of work? That game produced plenty of questions. Speaking of Nelson Velazquez, his first game back once called up from Iowa was electric — a three-hit escapade that include a go-ahead Grand Slam. Then, Velazquez was kept out of the lineup the next two games and was sent back down to Iowa for two weeks before coming back up to the big league roster. How do you not reward a young player swinging the bat well? Not even a start the next day, but instead, a two-week demotion? Perplexing, for sure. Ross has also seemed fairly married to the idea of having Keegan Thompson pitch in 2-3 inning spurts every 2-3 days. The issue with that is sometimes Thompson, who is one of the Cubs' best relievers and high-leverage arms, is used in low-leverage situations. For example, he pitched two innings and 27 pitches in a 12-2 Cubs win over the A’s, leaving him unavailable for the first three games against the Dodgers, where the Cubs gave up a combined 10 runs in the 7-9th innings of this games. To be frank, I don’t envy David Ross. Managing is a very hard job, and there are thousands of intricacies that fans and even reporters will never know. Managing is an often blamed and rarely praised position. If any of these decisions work out, it’s the player’s job well done, if they don’t, it’s on Ross in the public eye. It is very easy o second guess and question when if Ross made different decisions, there is no guarantee they would work out OR even so much as a guarantee we would not be skeptical or frustrated with the decisions. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the fact of the matter is the Cubs have had at least a dozen of their 17 losses come with question marks about a managerial decision. The Cubs are 17-17, but have a +46 run differential and have lost 8 games by one. With better managing (or perhaps better luck), the Cubs would be siting better in the division and the fan base would have less of a panic.
