The Chicago Cubs are off to a bad start in the 2019 season, and many are looking for a scapegoat. Theo Epstein says to put it all on him.
The Cubs entered Saturday’s game 1-6. Their offense has been good enough, but their pitching has been brutal. Their 59 runs allowed is the third-worst in the league, ahead of only Arizona and ironically, last year’s World Series champs, the Red Sox.
Epstein spoke with the media Saturday and said you shouldn’t blame pitching coach Tommy Hottovy or owner Tom Ricketts, but rather him.
Theo on heat pitchng coach taking:
“I don’t put any of this on Tommy Hottovy. He’s a big part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
Adds: “Tom Ricketts is not the problem. It’s not a resource problem. If people have a problem with the allocation of resources that’s on me.”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) April 6, 2019
Epstein knows there is plenty of time left, but the bad start has them alarmed.
Theo on slow start/still-early thinking:
“It’s not like we’re brushing it off in the least. It’s got our attention and then some.”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) April 6, 2019
They should be. Not too many teams that start out so poorly end up making the playoffs.
I typically am not the guy to overreact to seven games … but in the last 35 seasons, per @ESPNStatsInfo, 68 teams have started 1-6 or worse and only three have made the playoffs. In the last dozen years, just four have finished over .500. Right now, the Chicago Cubs are 1-6.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 6, 2019
This is a make-or-break season for Joe Maddon and the franchise. If they don’t start winning, you can bet they will have a new manager after the season, if not sooner, not to mention many other big changes.
