Jed Hoyer’s Tuesday morning press conference was a combination of tap dancing and preaching the gospel of long-term development. If Chicago Cubs‘ fans were hoping that the organization would be swinging for the fences when it comes to free agency, Hoyer did little to fan the flames of optimism. Instead, he said the budget would be determined later during organizational meetings.
If the organization was determined to be aggressive this offseason, I would think that Hoyer would know it already.
It’s the weather
Hoyer laid at least some of the blame for the Cubs’ lack of offensive production on the weather. Hoyer cited the fact that Wrigley Field was the 29th ranked ballpark in MLB in terms of offensive production. Maybe even 30th when the last weekend of the season is factored in. In 2023, Wrigley Field ranked as the seventh best park for offense.
Cubs’ fans can only hope the plan going forward to improve the offense is hope for better weather.
Maybe a more diversified roster, or at the very least a different approach during games when the wind is howling in at Wrigley Field would help. Watching the Cubs hit one lazy flyball after another is immensely frustrating. It’s also a losing formula.
Hoyer admits the bullpen was inadequate
One of the few bright spots in the press conferences was Hoyer’s admission the Cubs couldn’t let that happen again. We will see if the Cubs actually follow up on that. Hopefully that means there won’t be a Hector Neris 2.0 offseason.
Hoyer gave kudos to Craig Counsell
Hoyer did say that some might wonder about the value of Counsell, given the fact that the club finished with the exact same 83-79 record in 2023 and 2024. But Hoyer was adamant that Counsell’s impact would be apparent after five seasons, which is the duration of Counsell’s contract.
Hoyer may very well be sincere with his praise of Counsell, but from a job security standpoint, that was a good move. Hoyer is in the last year of his contract whereas Counsell has four years left on his.
Counsell has sounded like a guy who isn’t happy with the hand he’s been dealt and has enough job security to sound off about it. And Jed Hoyer was the one who dealt Counsell his hand.
Cubs’ fans can hope that Hoyer wasn’t being straight with them
Last season the Cubs shocked the baseball world when they poached Brewers manager, Craig Counsell. There was no indication that Counsell was on the Cubs’ radar. Hopefully, Hoyer was running a misdirection play during his press conference. Maybe he was trying to keep expectations low. You would think that his job performance thus far would have accomplished that, but maybe he’s doubling down.
When asked about getting a star player to jump start the Cubs’ offense, his default position was hoping somebody on the team would exceed expectations.
Hoyer also talked about the organization having a great foundation. That’s probably true, but at a certain point, you have to build on that foundation. Cubs’ fans are getting tired of looking at a concrete slab. It’s time to build the rest of the structure on it.
