President Jed Hoyer will ship the post-mortem on the Chicago Cubs season quickly at Wrigley Field. But in the event you’ve been paying consideration, you already know the staff was not constructed to win within the first place, within the rebuild that may’t be known as a rebuild.
Nevertheless, Chairman Tom Ricketts has already declared 2022 a “success” despite the 88 losses and lowest attendance in a non-pandemic-affected season since 1997, when the Cubs began off with a National League document 14 straight losses.
Here are 12 ideas on what we noticed and heard in 2022.
1. As one Cubs worker instructed me final week, the drone video of Wrigley Field that went viral was the season’s greatest spotlight.
The drone went by means of Murphy’s Bleachers, a fireplace truck and the middle subject scoreboard. It was seamlessly spliced with GoProfessional video from the clubhouse and adopted Seiya Suzuki to proper subject.
Even the Ballhawks on Kenmore and Waveland Avenues cooperated by pretending to battle for a house run ball that was staged, with an worker tossing a ball from a bleacher.
Wrigley traditions make the Cubs the Cubs, a lesson realized as soon as once more.
2. The Cubs gained 16 of their final 22 video games to keep away from a 90-loss season and create some good vibes for winter.
Marquee Sports broadcaster Pat Hughes requested analyst Jim Deshaies throughout Sunday’s telecast if the staff’s late season surge means something for 2023.
“Not really,” Deshaies replied, noting there might be too many new gamers subsequent season and a carryover impact might be negligent.
As good because it was to see the Cubs flip issues round on the and, Deshaies was completely proper. If you’re shopping for season tickets based mostly on September’s efficiency, you deserve what you get.
3. Cubs pitching vastly improved on this season.
That occurred below pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, however bullpen coach Chris Young deserves credit score for getting sturdy performances out of a younger and revamped reduction corps after a number of key veterans left on the commerce deadline.
Still, the Cubs completed nineteenth in each pitching (4.00 ERA) and runs scored (657), so a variety of enchancment is required to be aggressive in ‘23.
4. The offense was a bottom-feeder that confronted a pair backside feeders, so even the No. 19 rating in runs is misleading.
The numbers have been skewed by enjoying 38 video games towards rebuilding divisional foes Pittsburgh Pirates (98 runs) and Cincinnati Reds (115 runs). That means virtually a 3rd (32.4%) of their complete runs scored got here towards these two 100-loss groups.
The excellent news is neither the Pirates nor the Reds determine to spend any cash to enhance in ‘23. So simply by standing nonetheless, the Cubs are just about assured of no worse than one other third-place end.
Cubs, Woo!
5. Nick Madrigal was presupposed to be the common second baseman after arriving on the 2021 deadline within the Craig Kimbrel commerce.
Madrigal confirmed flashes of his White Sox growth in August, hitting .300 with a .378 OBP for the month. But accidents restricted him to 59 video games.
His standing for 2023 is up within the air because the Cubs ponder signing a possible free-agent shortstop like Trea Turner or Xander Bogaerts, which seemingly would transfer Nico Hoerner to second. Madrigal understands it’s attainable he could possibly be a job participant.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I want the best players in this organization no matter if they’re at my position or any position,” he stated earlier than a season-ending groin pressure in September. “That’s ultimately what creates a winning atmosphere and winning teams, and that’s something I want to be a part of.”
6. Christopher Morel’s serial hugging of everybody in sight was credited with bringing power to the dugout.
The Morel-infused power was much less noticeable because the season wore on and the rookie struggled to hit for common, falling to .235, together with .190 towards left-handers.
But Morel stated he’ll proceed to be a hugger in 2023 — and past.
“I’ve been doing it since I came up, always hugging players, and I’m happy to be here and am not going to change,” he stated. “I do it for myself and the rest of the players.”
7. One of the few traditions remaining at Wrigley Field is the singing of Steve Goodman’s ‘Go, Cubs, Go’ after wins, which started within the Nineteen Eighties.
Instead of letting viewers hearken to Cubs followers sing their anthem, Marquee Sports now opts to make the music background music to dialogue of the Binny’s-sponsored “Toast of the Game” spotlight. Then it’s again to the studio for constructive postgame evaluation.
It’s one other instance of top-level executives making Cubs telecasts as generic as attainable to appease the sponsors — and Ricketts.
8. Patrick Wisdom completed with 183 strikeouts, leaving him with 336 strikeouts in 909 plate appearances in 2021-22, which is a 37% strikeout charge.
That would common out to 227 strikeouts in a 162-game season. That’s lots, even by at present’s requirements.
The single-season document is 223 strikeouts, set by the Arizona Diamondback’s Mark Reynolds in 2009. But Reynolds had an .892 OPS that season. Wisdom’s OPS as a Cub is .764.
9. No numbers have been accessible from Cubs historian Ed Hartig, however the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field appeared to function extra taped Harry Caray movies than ever.
That might imply there’s a scarcity of movie star Cubs followers coming to video games through the rebuild that’s under no circumstances a rebuild, or the staff has drawn a crimson line and now not invitations anybody beneath a B-list celeb.
10. After all of the goodbyes for Willson Contreras, Hoyer has by no means indicated why the Cubs don’t consider the catcher deserves a multiyear contract.
Is it the cash? The years? The put on and tear? His age?
Contreras was at all times affected person with the media asking the similar questions throughout his many goodbyes.
He caught solely 72 video games this season, his lowest complete in a non-pandemic season since his rookie marketing campaign in 2016. Maybe the Cubs consider he’s primarily a delegated hitter, that are at all times accessible on the open market.
Why it has to finish stays one of many greatest unanswered questions of 2022.
11. The late Les Grobstein little doubt would’ve identified that Andrelton Simmons had fewer RBI (7) than Contreras had goodbyes.
Simmons earned $4 million and began in 22 video games, hitting .173 earlier than being launched.
Manager David Ross, Jason Heyward and Simmons have been lockermates with the Atlanta Braves again in 2012. When Simmons signed with the Cubs in March, Ross stated he texted the information to Heyward.
“He’s like, ‘I got my two lockermates back,’” Ross stated.
Sometimes it’s higher to not get the band again collectively.
12. José Cardenal was a favourite of Mike Royko, Michelle Obama, Eddie Vedder, Billy Corgan and plenty of child boomer Cubs followers, and never only for the cool Afro (although it helped).
After being inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame final month, Cardenal was requested why Cubs followers grew to become so hooked up to him. He instructed a narrative of being booed on opening day of 1972 after dropping a ball within the solar.
“I went to the fans and said: ‘What do you want me to do?’” Cardenal stated. “From that day, they accepted me, and I was confident the fans were behind me now. That was it.”
You don’t need to be a celebrity to grow to be a legend at Wrigley. That’s a practice that gained’t quickly finish.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com