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It's impossible to overstate how bad the Chicago Cubs have been this season. Even those with the slightest hopes and lowest expectations for the season have walked away disappointed. But while their record isn't completely indicative of how bad they've been, a 3-6 homestand, followed by a sweep in St. Louis is certainly getting them there. In terms of luck, the Cubs probably rank 29th out of 30 teams, beating out the battered Minnesota Twins. Roughly 1/3 of Chicago's Opening Day Roster has served time on the disabled list, including three of the five guys in the starting rotation.
Despite the satisfaction of Jim Hendry after his small number of moves, the lack of depth, particularly in the pitching staff, has been exploited early this season. The Cubs have had to go with the likes of Casey Coleman (bad) and James Russell (worse), as well as old horses like Doug Davis and Rodrigo Lopez as fill-in starters for an injury-riddled rotation. The names the Cubs have had to go with in the field this early in the season are downright laughable as well. Who would have thought that before June even got here, we'd have already seen Tony Campana, Brad Snyder, DJ LeMahieu, Welington Castillo, and Lou Montanez all having served time on the big club. And it got better when Mike Quade started playing Blake DeWitt with any sort of regularity in left field. But of all the landmark events of this bad comedy movie of a season that the Cubs and their fans are trapped in, it's Quade that's providing the real fodder for comedy. Let me start out by saying I supported Quade's hiring this summer. Sure, I love Ryne Sandberg just like the rest of the North Side, but I thought Quade would be the right fit because of the way the club finished the season in 2010, and the fact that I though Quade would bring some fire to the role that had been absence in the end of Lou Piniella's tenure. But we have yet to see that. Despite all of the Cubs' woes, and there have been a lot of them, Quade has remained cool as a cucumber. He brings no more "fire" to the role than Piniella and his apathy in the past two seasons did. And that's not even to mention his questionable managerial decisions. DeWitt in left?
Pinch hit anyone for Carlos Zambrano, let alone DeWitt or Tyler Colvin?wealthmass Starting Tyler Colvin over a guy like Campana? They're just a few of the contributors to the gigantic question mark hanging over the Cubs' brass' decision to hire Quade.