Frustration Seems to Be Boiling Over in Cubs Locker Room After Latest Loss
By Adam Weinrib
Baseball's a funny game, isn't it?
On Friday, the Milwaukee Brewers sat five games behind the Cubs in the chase for the final NL Wild Card spot, with several teams between them, hindering their pursuit. Then, right in the middle of one final surge, they lost Christian Yelich for the season.
It didn't stop them. Somehow, after Chicago's quiet 4-0 loss Wednesday night and another Brewers win, the teams are tied. And the Cubs locker room...did not take this development particularly well.
Pretty somber Cubs locker room tonight. Always quiet after a loss, like anywhere, but def a team that's down and frustrated right now.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) September 12, 2019
Somber with 17 games left in the season is no way to go through life, especially with the other side feeling newly energized.
The Brewers are tied with the Cubs for the second National League wild card spot. There are 17 games left. pic.twitter.com/lqZCWWkUf8
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) September 12, 2019
With the team spiraling and failing to maintain any semblance of momentum, there's no doubt Joe Maddon is among those grasping for straws, especially considering how quickly it all evaporated last year, with Game 163 leading into a Wild Card mess and an early out at the hands of the Rockies.
Maddon on Mil catching the Cubs: “They’re definitely playing well and we’re not. We have to somehow eek this thing out tomorrow and get back home where we play a lot better.
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) September 12, 2019
“We’ve won the first game of these last two series, well, and then it just somehow goes away.”
A similarly quiet finish could doom Maddon and company this time around. And if the locker room has any intention of showing fight, they didn't display that urge Wednesday night.