While not even the Cubs’ most ardent skeptics could have predicted the offense would be this bad in 2021, it’s been obvious for years now that something is wrong. When Brandon Morrow joined the team prior to the 2018 season, he tried to help by explaining how the Dodgers knew to attack them with high fastballs in the previous NLCS. Four years later, pitchers are still doing the same thing.
The book on the Cubs, which reads like either horror or comedy depending on your viewpoint, reached best-seller status in part because it’s so easy to read.