As a life-long fan of the Chicago Cubs, I’ve been through some things. I was 13 years old when Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood dominated the world and the Cubs made the playoffs as a Wild Card team in 1998. Their next trip to the playoffs wasn’t until five years later, and it was the famous Steve Bartman NLCS year (it wasn’t his fault). The Cubs then made the playoffs a few times in ’07 and ’08 but got swept both seasons (despite leading the majors in wins in 2008.) That was followed by a whole lot of losing, before the franchise finally changed direction and brought in Theo Epstein to blow the whole thing up. What came next, was the most successful six-year stretch in club history- five trips to the playoffs, three NLCS appearances, and of course the World Championship in 2016.
The key word that I used, however, was direction. Where do things stand right now for the organization? We thought we had a good idea. New President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer got rid of everyone from the title team. As hard as it was to watch, I still agreed with most of those decisions. And he has been building a strong farm system and pitching infrastructure the last few years. The Cubs finished last season by going 39-31 in their final 70 games, and everyone assumed they were going to spend big this winter to add on to the solid depth pieces they currently have (Nico, Suzuki, Happ, and young pitching.) So far, they’ve made a few solid additions, but they haven’t come close to the big splash that is needed.
Trea Turner? Gone. Xander Bogaerts? Gone. Carlos Correa? Also gone.
Yes, they all received ridiculous contracts that will be paying these guys until they’re in nursing homes, but there’s still no reason for the Chicago Cubs to act like a small market team. This is the current market of the game. Adapt or die. I’m glad Hoyer is disciplined and isn’t throwing money around like it’s nothing. But that discipline is the very reason one or two big contracts make perfect sense for this team. The youth movement that will soon be hitting Wrigley Field is another reason it makes sense, because young players don’t hurt your payroll. If he’s afraid of commitment because of the Jason Heyward contract, he surely understands this team is fundamentally different in every way compared to the time period that contract was given.
Ownership reportedly said he’s got the green light to spend. Ticket sales and ratings were down last season. And this team is one or two big bats away from being a contender in the weaker NL Central division. So why are the Cubs swimming in the kiddie pool instead of the deep end?
Maybe there’s a plan in place, and we just don’t see it yet. Maybe the plan comes to fruition a year later and we all send apology tweets. Jed Hoyer is a fantastic baseball mind. He’s made several great moves as a GM and as President. I still expect several moves to be made this off-season, and I expect the Cubs to be a decent team in 2023, with a chance of being a very good team in 2024 and beyond. But make no mistake about it: This franchise needs to find some stars again. And they need to start acting like the big market team they are.
Tyler Smith covers the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Hoosiers for IndySportsLegends and is a frequent contributor to the Journal Review. Smith is also the head girls basketball coach at Crawfordsville High School.
