The Chicago Cubs are in a terrible slump. They dropped from a great 27-12 record down to a shaky 32-30. Just three weeks ago, they were the best team in the National League Central. But since May 9, they have won only five games and lost 18. Now, manager Craig Counsell has offered perhaps the most honest assessment of the team. 

“We’re not playing well enough to win a lot of baseball games,” the Cubs manager was blunt in the postgame interview. “You have to earn it, and we’re not earning it.”

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Cubs had a shutout loss against the Milwaukee Brewers. The current division toppers had a 5-0 win, and the Chicago manager tried to send a wake-up call to the clubhouse. 

“We are in a funk right now. It’s up to us to change it. We are the ones who must change it,” analyst Bruce Levine quoted Counsell on a social media post. 

The team’s fans are scared because they have seen this before. During this awful run, the Cubs lost 10 games in a row. This perfectly matches their famous 11-game losing streak from the summer of 2021. Back then, that bad streak made the team panic and trade away star players like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Báez.

If this year’s team does not fix things soon, they could face the same sad ending at the trade deadline this July.

Baseball analyst Bruce Levine still has some hope for the club.

“They’re not a bad team. They have the ability to step it up and play better baseball,” he particularly said.

But of late, the Cubs haven’t shown any evidence to back that statement. According to Baseballsavant, the average MLB team is hitting about .241 this season. But the Cubs hit an awful .217 in May. At the end of the month, that number fell even lower to .197. Their 4.15 ERA puts them 10th in the National League this season. 

But Counsell put it all on the performance and refused to make any excuses for the downfall. He said a team does not lose 18 out of 23 games just because of bad luck. But some fans disagree.

Why some Cubs fans may see the situation differently

The Chicago Cubs have 11 players on the IL. Three of them are out for the season, while another three will only return in the second half. And even though Matthew Boyd said that he would start this week, MLB shows he has another rehab game scheduled for June 6. 

Then there’s Alex Bregman. The Cubs paid the 32-year-old star $175 million to lead the team, but he is playing poorly. He has recorded only 14 extra-base hits, including 5 homers, so far. Bregman himself expressed concerns over his form, admitting, “[there’s] lotta work to be done.” 

While the star has clocked 4-for-20 in his last 5 games, the Cubs have lost four of them. And they are 1.0 games behind a Wild Card spot. While that doesn’t look too concerning, they belong to the toughest MLB division, which makes it way more challenging. Instead of a confirmed playoff ticket, they now have to calculate Wild Card possibilities. 

From the perspective of some fans, all these things going haywire at once looks a lot like bad luck. 

But there are positive aspects as well. Edward Cabrera will be joining the roster in the next series. And Boyd, too, is expected to make a comeback soon enough. Plus, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been one of the very few bright spots in the offense. His .725 OPS and 28 RBIs are adding fire to the otherwise colder lineup.

However, despite these small samples, Craig Counsell’s message remains clear. The Cubs’ turnaround depends on overall performance, and excuses will do no good here.