Do the Cubs need some red asses?
The Cubs built a team of nice guys designed to support a star, with no star to support.



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A lot was made of Justin Steele coming off the field in Milwaukee on Saturday after the Cubs defense strung together a series of mind boggling (even for them misplays to turn a rare two run lead into a 2-2 tie. Steele screamed “Wake the fuck up! Wake the fuck up!” at his teammates.
And then, the Cubs immediately responded by retaking the lead and Steele backed them up by giving it right back the next inning. But hey, Ian Happ homered in the eighth and the Cubs won.
See, all it took was somebody showing a little red ass and the team responded and now their season has turned around. Never mind that they lost 7-1 yesterday after Happ lost a flyball in the sun and Kyle Hendricks gave up a grand slam when that inning should have been over.
Here’s the thing about demanding the struggling team you root for show some fire. It’s just not that easy. It’s hard to look excited when you don’t score runs, and rarely get leads. It’s hard to give the impression you are giving it all you got when your bullpen can’t hold a lead.
There’s nothing wrong with Steele yelling and screaming. Would it be better if he hadn’t done it right after he helped botch a rundown that led to the lead disappearing? Sure. Probably.

It’s just that players going nuts or managers throwing bases, kicking dirt on umpires or turning over postgame spreads don’t really work. If they did, Carlos Zambrano would have won three rings with the Cubs and Lee Elia might still be managing the team. (He’s only 86.)
Fans and talk show hosts always get the argument confused. Teams don’t need to put on a show of how much they care or how hard they are trying. They need to play better. You know what creates the feeling that a team is together and busting their ass and, of course most importantly, “representing the city and these great fans, blah, blah, blah” so well? Winning. Winning games breeds excitement. Losing always makes teams look dead and listless, even if that listlessness occasionally spill over into helmet throwing and managers getting thrown out of games.
The problem with the current group of Cubs isn’t a lack of effort. They’re losing. That’s the problem.
Jed Hoyer built a team of nice, easy to manage (and general manage) guys. He didn’t want to deal with any red asses so there just aren’t any.