NEWSLETTER
Justin Steele had ENOUGH.
The Chicago Cubs had a weird day today, before going on to beat the Brewers 5-3. They got off to a great start, including a two-run ambush homer from Michael Busch, but let the game get tied on one of the UGLIEST innings of play I’ve seen in a while. In case you missed it (please don’t go re-watch it), there were multiple stolen bases, a fumbled run down, a bunt RBI single, a wild pitch, and a blooper that should have been caught. And like I said, Justin Steele clearly had enough.
After he cleaned up the mess with back-to-back strikeouts of Christian Yelich and Willy Adames, he stormed back into the dugout with the sort of passion and urgency and energy and fire we’ve been DYING to see out of literally any Cubs player or coach or front office member this season.
Justin Steele Fires Everybody Up
I absolutely LOVED IT.
Wake the f*** up, indeed.
Maybe this should’ve happened sooner, but better late than never. If you’re not going to play tight down this far in the standings against a division rival before the All-Star break … when will you? Not all leadership has to look like this – I get that. But sometimes, someone needs to light a fire, and I’m so happy he did.
Justin Steele addressed his comments after the game – which the Cubs did wind up winning – and it’s hard not to see this guy as THE leader of the Cubs now (if he wasn’t already).
For his part, Steele threw yet another quality start, and without that ugly inning, it likely would have been even better and longer. He’s now allowed just nine earned runs over his last seven outings, good for a 1.80 ERA. He’s been a STUD.
Craig Counsell also had thoughts on the … uhm, let’s call it a speech? Yeah, speech.
And so did Ian Happ, who wound up hitting the game-winning home run in the 8th:
And, hey, while we’re here, Happ is now up to a 121 wRC+ for the season, and continues to come through in the clutch.
This has been an absolutely brutal Cubs season, from just about every conceivable angle, but today, for once, I feel good. I feel good about the win. I feel good to see these guys care. And I feel good that Justin Steele stepped up and showed this team that it’s not okay to play the way they did. Again, it may well be too little too late, but let’s worry about that another day. Go out and beat them again tomorrow and just keep going.
