July 30 has loomed over the Cubs all season, and it’s only human nature that the situation has had an impact.
July 30 has loomed over the Cubs all season. What will the team look like after the deadline and who will be where have been pressing questions that will be answered soon.
And it’s only human nature that the intense speculation has affected the performance of the team as a whole and the players involved.
“I would say there’s been some impact,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “I think when you create some narratives like that it just adds a little bit of distraction, right? You try not to, for sure. You try to control what you can control.”
In some sense, the Cubs had control of their fate. If they had played well and stayed in contention, perhaps president Jed Hoyer and the front office would be gearing up for one more run with this core.
Instead, the Cubs went on their infamous 11-game losing streak that torpedoed their season, sealing their fate. Now the Cubs’ direction is clear.
Of course, the Cubs aren’t the only team in a selling position before the deadline. Unlike those others, the Cubs’ deals could mean the end of a golden era and departures of big-name stars like Kris Bryant or Javy Baez or Anthony Rizzo.
“There’s other organizations that are in just not the positions they want, but those aren’t the narratives,” Ross said. “It’s just a group that’s been together for so long. We’ve got a number of free agents, so I think that’s natural. I don’t know, but I would assume - and you see the guys trying harder - and when things did go a little bit sideways they went sideways hard, and guys are trying extremely hard.”
So it makes sense that the players who could be moved would be impacted.
“I really don’t (know). I think we would be naive to say it hasn’t affected it, right?” Ross said “Looking up on the board at the numbers that these guys… it’s very uncharacteristic of who they’ve been. It has to be a factor.”
David Bote (dislocated left shoulder) was activated off the injured list Sunday and figures to be one of the club’s longterm pieces. By this time next week, many of his teammates could be gone.
But that doesn’t seem to be on Bote’s mind.
“Don’t take worry about tomorrow before today,” Bote said. “In anything in life, there’s no reason to fear of something that might happen that may not even happen. Until it happens, just going to enjoy today and try to win today.”
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3eVNqiv
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