Cubs’ Craig Counsell Hints at Major 'Ebb and Flow' Change After Dismal Performance vs. Giants (Giants 12, Cubs 3)

Some of us – ahem – were concerned about this happening.

All the warm-and-fuzzy positivity and good vibes that were produced by the Chicago Cubs last weekend... poof, gone. In an ugly first half in which Chicago’s offense couldn't get untracked and fell into a 17-0 hole Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, the Cubs' one step forward was derailed by two steps back. With a final score of 12-3 in favor of the Giants, the Cubs were left searching for answers.

Cubs' backup catcher Tucker Barnhart’s late rally allowed the Cubs and head coach Craig Counsell to win the battle. But is the offense back to losing the war?

"Offensively, the first two innings were really sloppy baseball that has plagued us in and out of camp so far," Counsell said. "It is disappointing to me offensively for sure. I thought that we had worked our way out of that."

Like he did earlier this season, starting pitcher Marcus Stroman gave up crucial hits early. The timing of a double play was off, leading to a botched throw and an error in the field. Rookie outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong committed a fielding error that contributed to the rough start.

"If the first few innings were really any indication, it's not good enough, so we got to get better in a hurry," Counsell said. "Good news is we will be able to look at this tape and coach it up with our guys, and I think it's out of our system hopefully for us going into the regular season."

In his first few innings, Stroman pitched 4.1 innings, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits, and struck out 3. Most of his struggles came when the Cubs’ defense failed to execute, putting extra pressure on the pitcher.

By then, though, the alarms were already sounding. So troubled is Counsell by the performance that he hinted at scaling back the offense until the team has a better grasp.

"To be honest with you, we might have to ebb and flow a little bit after that opening game," Counsell said. "Usually it'll take up until the bye week. I think it's placed at just the right time (Week 5) to really identify who we are and what we're going to be for the rest of the season."

That's quite the indictment only a few weeks before the Cubs continue their regular-season push.