Craig Counsell has managed through a lot in 12 big league seasons. But this Cubs team might be testing his patience more than most.
Chicago sits at 49-40, good for second place in the NL Central, but the path there has been anything but smooth. The Cubs have alternated hot streaks with cold slumps all summer, and Counsell isn’t sugarcoating it.
“Every season presents different challenges, and this team has just been really streaky in terms of wins and losses,” Counsell told Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal before a shutout loss to the Cardinals. “Part of that’s probably due to some injuries that we’ve gone through in times and times, but it’s a season and we’re sitting in a pretty good spot, and you just manage it every day, and you go from there.”
The problem? The Cubs aren’t making the kind of progress a playoff team needs. They got blanked 3-0 by St. Louis on Saturday, managing only five hits in 30 at-bats. The Cardinals scored in the first, third and eighth innings, and Chicago never really threatened. That’s the kind of game that makes a streaky team look stuck.
Counsell’s third season in Chicago has been a grind
After going 92-70 last year and making the playoffs — only to lose to the Brewers in the NLDS — the expectation was that the Cubs would take another step forward. Instead, they’ve been treading water. The lineup has dealt with injuries at key spots, and the inconsistency shows up in the standings. They’re trailing Milwaukee and sitting just ahead of the Cardinals and Pirates.
The good news for Counsell: there’s still time. The season is long, and the Cubs are technically in the mix. But they need to stop alternating wins and losses and start stacking them. A series finale against St. Louis on Sunday afternoon is a chance to get back on track.
Counsell is right that managing through the highs and lows is part of the gig. But at some point, the lows need to become less frequent. Otherwise, this 2026 season will be remembered as the one where the Cubs couldn’t get out of their own way.
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