Chicago Cubs Lineup (6/11/26): Does Anyone Even Care About This One?
Since May 8, the Cubs have gone from 27-12 with a 3.5-game division lead to 34-34 with an 8-game deficit. They have now lost two games and the series to the worst team in baseball, with the most recent defeat coming when they only scored one run against a pitcher who literally makes everyone look like Ted Williams. Left-handed hitters were slashing .432/.486/.752 with a .526 wOBA, yet the Cubs mustered only one run on two hits over five innings.
This team isn’t just dealing with bad luck, and it’s certainly not a matter of facing a tough stretch of the schedule. The Cubs are broken. They’re a Rubik’s Cube in the hands of a child who has no strategy beyond twisting and turning at random with the hope that the colors will eventually match up. That’s a little reductive, and I don’t mean to call Craig Counsell a child, but it’s quite clear the players are more domed up than the Bears’ pending stadium.
I think it’s time for them to set aside all the little platitudes about there still being plenty of time in the season and about how they each just need to play better. Those things may be true, but it’s not enough for Alex Bregman to come out and say he’s been terrible. He’s right, especially when it comes to producing with runners on base, but this is a team-wide problem.
The offense has so closely approximated swamp-ass that even the equally fetid pitching staff holding their opponent to two runs at Coors Field doesn’t matter. This team sucks out loud right now, and there’s no reason at all to feel the least bit bullish about the future. A big turnaround seemed like an eventuality after three or four games, but not after more than a month.
There’s nothing worse than heading into a game knowing the Cubs are going to find a way to lose it, but that’s where we are right now. It doesn’t matter what buttons Counsell pushes, nor can Dustin Kelly or Tommy Hottovy rally their respective troops in any way. These are grown-ass men being paid good money to win baseball games, and they’re simply not getting the job done.
I don’t even know why I’m bothering to write this, and I sure as hell don’t understand why you or anyone else would bother to waste their energy on what has been a far worse product than we got during Theo Epstein’s rebuild. At least those teams were built to lose. This group was supposed to be a World Series contender, and that’s how things looked for a hot minute.
But, despite additions meant to strengthen leadership and consistency, the Cubs have collapsed like an imploded casino under the weight of their own expectations. I’m still in the stage of being pissed and frustrated by their play, though the hard edges of those emotions are quickly eroding. That’s where organizational leadership needs to be concerned, as fans slipping into apathy is the worst possible outcome.
I’m guessing some of you are there already, and you’ve got every right to give up on this group. At least temporarily, just to give yourself a break. Having an afternoon game is a rare mercy, especially with the next two starting much, much later. Maybe if we all stop paying attention, the Cubs will surprise us.
No pitching breakdown today because last night proved that it really doesn’t matter who they’re facing. All they can do is try to avoid a sweep before heading to San Francisco. Tomorrow’s Quantifying Hope is going to be a doozy either way.
First pitch is at 2:10pm CT on Marquee and The Score.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF
- Alex Bregman – 3B
- Michael Busch – 1B
- Ian Happ – LF
- Seiya Suzuki – RF
- Nico Hoerner – 2B
- Moises Ballesteros – DH
- Carson Kelly – C
- Dansby Swanson – SS
