In early September, the Chicago Cubs were near-locks to be playing postseason baseball. On Saturday, they were officially locked out of the playoffs, and the team sounded off about the disappointing end to their season.
“It stinks” is how catcher Yan Gomes summed up the team's nightmare month and subsequent finish outside of playoff position, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers. The Miami Marlins' 7-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night officially knocked the Cubs out of wild card contention.
“We were playing unbelievable baseball in July to even put us in this situation,” CF Cody Bellinger stated. “It could have gone either way. We fought until the very end. The last few weeks were on the frustrating side than any of us wanted it to be.”
It was an up-and-down season on the North Side of Chicago. An eight-game winning streak in late July convinced President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer to add at the trade deadline, rather than sell off veterans.
It appeared that Hoyer's decision was going to pay off, as the Cubs climbed 10 games over .500 in August. On September 6th, the team had a 92% chance to make the playoffs, per FanGraphs. But the Cubs' sloppy September doomed those chances.
The Cubbies lost five games in which they led in the 8th inning or later that month. They committed 12 errors in the field for the month, playing their worst baseball when it mattered most.
“In the last two weeks, we had close games that we didn't come out on the right side of,” 2nd baseman Nico Hoerner lamented. “When it came down to it, we made some uncharacteristic mistake as a group. Myself included.”
“Am I surprised? Sure…We haven't played our best baseball down the stretch.” Cubs manager David Ross stated. It was a stretch that ended the Cubs' season earlier than anyone with the team wanted.
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