Column: 8 observations as the Chicago Cubs battle the fickle winds of Wrigley Field in a 3-1 loss
President Jed Hoyer's decision on Horton might be his toughest of the season. Hoyer has made quite a few personnel decisions based on small sample sizes this spring, including the demotions of third baseman Matt Shaw and reliever Jordan Wicks, and dealing Gage Workman after designating him for assignment.
Those were small potatoes as compared to what he'll do with Horton, a rising star in the organization who has dominated in his first six starts at Triple-A Iowa.
It makes perfect sense to keep Horton in Iowa a while longer to continue his development after he missed most of 2024 with a shoulder injury. But this is not a perfect world. Having already shown a sense of urgency with his previous roster moves, bringing Horton up in early May to replace the injured Shota Imanaga on Saturday against the New York Mets would be in line with Hoyer's early-season aggressiveness in what could be a make-or-break season for the longtime Cubs executive.
Cubs fans obviously want to see Horton, perhaps the organization's most highly touted pitching prospect since Mark Prior made his debut in 2002. Hoyer and manager Craig Counsell seem reluctant to show their cards, making the decision seem that much more important.
Will Hoyer do it?
Counsell gave no indication of Horton's status after Wednesday's loss, so the AI-induced smoke from Wrigley was black heading into the evening.
Ryan Pressly says he's fine. The Cubs say he's fine. That's fine.
But the fact that he's made only three appearances since April 21 suggests not all is fine with the veteran closer. Pressly had his knee drained on April 22, but Counsell afterward said it was nothing unusual for a 36-year-old reliever. Pressly allowed nine runs, including eight earned, in the Giants' 9-run 11th inning on Tuesday night.
If that doesn't raise any red flags then maybe the Cubs are in denial. It's never too early to change your closer. But sometimes it can be too late.
Why Ryan Pressly's underlying numbers are concerning — beyond Chicago Cubs closer's historically bad outing
The great debate: Third baseman Jon Berti refusing to eat the ball and making bad throws to first base on plays that can't be made, which he's done the last two games, versus former third baseman Christopher Morel's double-clutching on throws to first base last May on plays that should've been made? Discuss at your leisure.
It's early, but the Cubs seem better prepared to battle the fickle winds of Wrigley. The Cubs entered Wednesday's game averaging 4.9 runs per game at home with the wind blowing in. Last year, they averaged 4.9 runs per game in the 21 games with the wind blowing out, and 2.9 per game in the 39 games with the wind blowing in. Naturally, they were shut down by Giants lefty Robbie Ray and the Giants bullpen on Wednesday with the wind blowing in from the northeast at 16 mph.
The Cubs had runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth innings but came away with only one run on a windblown fly ball by Pete Crow-Armstrong that blew in several feet and eluded Heliot Ramos in left for an RBI double.
Counsell said the Cubs' failure to get a leadoff hitter on hurt them.
'We didn't make (Ray) make a bunch of pitches until two outs really in a couple of innings,' he said. 'When it's tough to hit on a day like today, and a home run was a tough thing, getting the leadoff hitter on and creating some traffic early in an inning seems like a pretty good recipe to score. They did it. And we couldn't do it.'
Photos: Chicago Cubs lose again to the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field on Wednesday
Believe it or not: In a span of 10 games at Wrigley Field from April 18 through Tuesday, the Cubs bullpen has already allowed a 10-run inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 13-11 win and a nine-run inning against the Giants in Tuesday's 15-4, 11-inning loss. You could go years without seeing one of those things happen. In fact, the Giants' nine-run inning was their most in an extra inning in franchise history.
Counsell followed through on his declaration over the weekend that he would get Seiya Suzuki a game back in the outfield. Suzuki played right field on Wednesday with no glaring issues. Counsell let Kyle Tucker DH as a kind of 'semi' day off. The two were a combined 0-for-7.
New York state of mind: Some players fare better in some cities than others for no apparent reason. Jameson Taillon, scheduled to start Friday against the Mets in Citi Field, loves pitching in New York and has been nearly untouchable pitching there the last two seasons with the Cubs. Taillon allowed one hit over eight shutout innings at Yankee Stadium in 2023, facing his former team. He allowed three runs on seven hits over 14 1/3 combined innings in two starts at Citi Field in '23 and '24.
Media frenzy in the Big Apple? Don't worry about Crow-Armstrong being affected by the media overload he'll probably get this weekend in New York, where he was a former Mets prospect who succeeded elsewhere.
Crow-Armstrong said in Milwaukee that he doesn't believe the media will be a distraction as more reporters seek him out.
'Talking to (the media) is such a small part of my day,' he said. 'Media-wise, it's kind of irrelevant to me. Sometimes it's hard enough for myself to get past an at-bat. That's really what I've got to work past every day. I love having so much focus put on this team. It's nice to deal with you guys. You guys make it easy on us. That's just part of (the job). I've enjoyed having to deal with you guys a little bit more.'
That's something you rarely hear from modern-day baseball players in the post-pandemic era.
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Column: Earning respect made a wacky All-Star Game a success for Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong
ATLANTA — A few hours before Tuesday's All-Star Game at Truist Park, Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was considering which bat to use. Crow-Armstrong picked up a colorful model from his locker and showed it to the media. The bat included a cartoon of the Cubs' mascot, Clark the Cub, on the barrel. Using it would've been a marketing coup for the Ricketts' family that introduced the mascot a decade ago. 'The Bat King made this one,' Crow-Armstrong said of the maker. 'It's pretty cool, pretty impressive. It's got an earring in Clark's ear, too. Killed it. We'll see which one I'm going to use. Might be this one.' But in the end, Crow-Armstrong said he was 'nervous' about using a new bat, so he stuck with a normal bat with no cartoon, no mascot and no earring. It didn't seem to matter, as Crow-Armstrong doubled to right off New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón in his first at-bat. No Clark? 'Kind of just spaced,' he said afterward. 'Picked the bat I'd been using during the year, and it felt nice. I didn't want to change anything up. It worked, for that one at-bat.' Crow-Armstrong went 1-for-2 in his All-Star debut, while teammate Kyle Tucker was 0-for-2 with a nice catch in left field. The National League blew a 6-0 lead in the final three innings, watching the American League tie it on Steven Kwan's RBI infield hit off Edwin Díaz with two outs in the ninth. The game ended in a tie, which led to the first-ever swing-off between the two sides, an abbreviated Home Run Derby with six players. No one in the crowd seemed to know what in the world was going on, and the p.a. announcer told them the rules — three players from each team would get three swings apiece, and the team with the most combined home runs would 'win' the game. Ex-Cub Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies hit three of the NL's four home runs for a 4-3 tiebreaker win, earning the game's MVP award. What was left of the NL team celebrated near the dugout. Many of the players on both sides left the ballpark after they were removed from the game, as is commonplace in modern All-Star Games. White Sox pitcher Shane Smith entered the game in the eighth inning with the American League trailing 6-4 and hit the first batter he faced, Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez, on the left hand. Smith then induced Washington Nationals pinch-hitter James Wood to hit into a force at second base before being removed. Smith inadvertently played a part in the ending, since Suárez was designated to be a swing-off participant, but was removed from the NL trio due to his hand and replaced by Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers, who hit only one home run on his three swings. It didn't matter, thanks to Schwarber's swats. Smith was told beforehand he'd be an 'emergency' option for American League manager Aaron Boone, and said he was OK with whatever happened. 'To be here is enough,' Smith said. 'To throw would be exceptional. I just want to make the most of my opportunity.' Smith called the week an 'incredible' experience. 'Especially going outside (Monday) and playing catch with all the fans, sitting around (batting practice). And talking with (Garrett) Crochet, meeting (Jacob) deGrom and (Max) Fried,' he said. 'Not picking their brains too much, but just talking, trying to get to know them a little bit.' In a game that was Crow-Armstrong's introduction on a national stage, everyone was waiting for him to make a web gem in his first All-Star Game. But PCA didn't have a fly ball hit to him in his five innings of defensive play. Still, he was satisfied watching Tucker make a beautiful, sliding catch in left field in the second inning, robbing Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh of a hit. 'Odd watching that guy run the other way for a ball,' Crow-Armstrong said. Tucker said it felt 'weird' playing left for the first time in years, on the other side of Crow-Armstrong. He added that he needed to make the catch for Los Angeles Dodgers veteran Clayton Kershaw, who was basically selected to the roster as a career excellence award. 'With Clayton on the mound, I felt that was probably the one I should catch today,' Tucker said. 'It all worked out.' Crow-Armstrong and Tucker also had some miscommunication on a fly ball by the Athletics' Jacob Wilson in the third, which occurred while Crow-Armstrong was mic'd up for the Fox TV broadcast. Tucker made the catch, with Crow-Armstrong backing off at the last second. 'I had the ear things in and I couldn't hear a lick of what was happening around me,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'I finally had the wherewithal to take a peek and so I backed off. I'm happy to leave that one to Kyle. I would've liked to have caught one in the air today. But, nah, all good.' As for the hit, PCA said he was just glad to get one off Rodón. 'Finally,' he said. 'We had just faced him in New York this weekend and he diced against us. But it was nice to get that one out of the way, and nice to give an opportunity to someone else.' In the end, the experience was more important than any individual moment. After the final interview, Crow-Armstrong hugged his mother and father in the tunnel outside the clubhouse. 'All day was kind of just sitting around and chopping it up, which was really cool,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'Getting to chat with Kershaw was definitely something that my younger self would've been pretty happy about.' Kershaw laughed about meeting players like Crow-Armstrong who grew up watching him. 'A lot of people have been saying that,' Kershaw said. 'He seems awesome. You get little snippets of guys, so you don't know for sure. But he said hi to my kids, like a super nice guy. I love watching him play. He's a lot of fun out there. He kind of does everything well, which is pretty impressive.' Schwarber said Crow-Armstrong reminds him a little of Javier Báez, his old Chicago teammate. 'Being able to talk to PCA a little bit, it does remind you of (Báez) a little bit,' Schwarber said. 'He does create havoc out there on the base paths and in the game in general — the fun things, like going first to third and stealing on some crazy (play), rounding third and going home on a slow roller. Those are things you'd remember Javy would do. Javy's got that baseball instinct, and I think (Crow-Armstrong) has got that, too. 'It's fun to see how the Chicago faithful have kind of taken him in and lifted him up to be that type of player.' There were no heroic moments for Crow-Armstrong, but he was happy to get a hit and feel like he was one of the gang. 'The respect level from everybody was super cool,' he said. There's no doubt there will be more All-Star Games in Crow-Armstrong's future. But like everything else that's good in life, you always remember the first time. And with an ending that confused almost everyone in the ballpark, it was a night that no one would soon forget.
