Alex Bregman’s reputation should provide him with the benefit of the doubt from fans upset he didn’t run at full speed on a grounder during Sunday’s game in Milwaukee.
That was the message Friday from Cubs President Jed Hoyer, who offered a strenuous defense of his star third baseman.
Bregman later said he regretted not running out a grounder the Brewers shortstop bobbled but added that he had incurred around 10 soft-tissue injuries running to first, saying some “give-and-take” is necessary for him to stay healthy. It wasn’t an excuse so much as an explanation for being thrown out on a play he should have reached on.
But the story took on another life when Bregman gave a thumbs-down gesture twice while running the bases after homering Monday, including one while looking up toward the press box. He later posted a thumbs-down emoiji on his Instagram stories, accompanied with a Drake song about being underappreciated.
When I asked if Bregman’s explanation for not running 100% was OK with him, Hoyer said it was much ado about nothing.
“I’ll be honest, that play, I didn’t discuss it with Craig (Counsell),” Hoyer said. “Our players haven’t discussed it. I feel like that is a nonissue.”
Hoyer said he hoped “a player (like Bregman) with an incredible reputation for preparation and leadership and competitiveness would get the benefit of the doubt on a ground ball.” He lauded the Cubs as the “best-prepared team I can ever imagine,” adding “it doesn’t even enter my mind that someone is not trying, that someone is not giving 100%.”
Bregman, of course, admitted as much, though he used his soft-tissue injury history as a reason.
“If one of our players, Alex being one of them, kind of shut it down in one of those moments because they’re thinking about those kinds of things, I trust them to make those decisions,” Hoyer said. “That, to me, is one completely stable element of our team — that diligence and preparation.”
Counsell was asked in a back-door manner about players not running out everything, without any specific reference made to Bregman’s lapse. The Cubs manager, who didn’t blame Bregman on Sunday, said that worrying about such issues was “kind of silly.” He said players should be judged individually on whether to have some give-and-take, a theory former White Sox manager Tony La Russa espoused when telling some of his injury-prone players not to go all-out on routine outs not to risk a hamstring or quad injury.
“Also, players screw up, people screw up,” Counsell said. “People make small mistakes. That happens too. You put that all together and try to make the best decisions for your team to continue to have them be successful.”
Counsell added that Cubs fans “should expect us to play hard, and I hope they continue to expect that.”
Even though he wasn’t specifically defending Bregman, the message from Counsell and Hoyer seemingly was that no one is perfect, so move along, please.
Fortunately for Hoyer and Counsell, the Bregman saga has been overshadowed by the team’s latest hot stretch — a major-league best 15-5 mark since June 11 — even after Friday’s 17-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener at Wrigley Field.
But don’t look for the Cubs to make any big moves to shore up the ailing pitching staff in the next couple of weeks.
With baseball turning to the upcoming draft and few teams completely out of contention, the trade market won’t be heating up until just before the deadline.
“I think that’s what’s going to happen,” Hoyer said. “We’ll keep making small moves and keep trying to patch holes and do those things. The hope every time is you churn through and find a guy or two who can really help you over the long haul.”
Hoyer did that Friday with the call-up of recently waived 37-year-old left-hander Drew Pomeranz, who the Cubs hope can have the same level of success he enjoyed last year as a situational lefty on their wild-card team. Pomeranz opened in Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, but Counsell said they might not need him as much with three left-handers in the rotation.
The Cubs have been a streaky team all season, but Hoyer obviously is hoping this current stretch can continue for a while. Dansby Swanson’s recent resurgence after the poorest start of his career bodes well for the rest of his season, or at least Hoyer hopes.
Hoiyer said a “reset” for a couple of starts off in early June might have been just what Swanson needed. His 26 RBIs in 10 games is the most by any major-leaguer in a 10-game span since Joe DiMaggio had 27 from Aug. 25-Sept. 3, 1939.
“I’ve seen it happen a number of times, and I think in this case it certainly made a difference,” Hoyer said. “I’m just happy for him. He takes a lot of pride in being a leader and a really good player, and when he was struggling he took it really personally. So it’s gratifying to see him have this hot streak.
“It’s pretty unbelievable, what (he did) in New York and carrying that over. I want to say I hope he can continue it, but realistically no one can continue this. No one has really done this. But it has been a lot of fun to watch, and it’s remarkable to me that one player getting hot can make all the difference.”
