Kris Bryant closed out an insane beginning to an interesting trade deadline week for Chicago Cubs exec Theo Epstein by blasting his first walk-off homer, propelling the Cubs to a 9-8 victory Monday night over the Colorado Rockies. While the victory was much deserved, several known bullpen weaknesses were again exposed before 35,070 fans, leaving fans and teammates to wonder if Chicago’s tactical management team shouldn’t have been more aggressive this summer.
With Chicago clinging to a 7-4 lead, Jason Motte allowed three earned runs, one by airmail courtesy of pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso, before giving way to Raphael Soriano. Within a few pitches, Soriano had allowed CarGo’s second homer of the game, a two-run shot (one credited to Motte), before retiring the final two Rockies hitters. Grimm, Rondon and Strop had pitched three innings of scoreless relief before the two closers – who have a combined 267 career saves – allowed the four earned runs in one poor inning of relief. From there, Kris Bryant’s heroics spared Chicago yet another embarrassing loss.
Sure, closers like Motte and Soriano have their nights. Even Aroldis Chapman does, as the same Cubs showed us last week. Chicago, however, cannot afford off nights when they’re trailing the red-hot Giants and Pirates for a coveted wild card spot, and maintain a slim one-game lead over the freshly stocked (and still shopping) New York Mets.
Just over two months ago, Soriano didn’t have a visa, let alone an important role with a reborn Chicago Cubs team. Motte had been stellar before the nightmarish weekend began, although not the flawless 1-2-3 closer Chicago was looking for. Which calls to question whether rumor ridden Jonathan Papelbon, Craig Kimbrel or Francisco Rodriguez, who combine for 927 career saves, could help nail down ninth innings for Chicago. Perhaps Theo is dreaming of which executive he’ll call tomorrow, or maybe he’s standing pat.
Colorado didn’t waste time selling shortly after their loss, sending Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto for JoJo Reyes and other players. One less player for Chicago Cubs’ sluggish bullpen to contend with Tuesday, no doubt. In fact, Monday was pretty busy around the majors, although the one team making no headway should have: the Cubs . It’s a part of a much bigger plan, so fans are told. Trade deadline rumors may be fluid, but Theo’s plan should never be questioned.
National League Central teams with no chance for postseason contention have begun cleaning out closets, moving salaries around, and even started contemplating who’ll make their MLB debut. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs eked out a victory over the second worse team in baseball, which should’ve been nailed down in the Rockies 9th . If Tuesday doesn’t move the young Chicago Cubs closer to securing someone’s bullpen expertise, many will wonder just how serious Theo & Co. are taking their needs, because they were rather evident Monday night.
Epstein has a unique (almost ingenious) propensity for making moves that may not be monumental, but get the job done .
According to reports, Theo will approach this week with three objectives: finding an all-star with team control beyond this year, finding a cheap (but effective) rental, or doing nothing. The latter appears to be worse-case scenario, but should Chicago stand pat, the 2015 season will be dedicated to refining their young bats.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)