The Cubs have dropped all three of the games so far in this series, the last two by the slimmest possible margin. That puts them at 12-14 over their league-leading 26 one-run games, which is a mark of ignominy for skipper Craig Counsell. While he certainly can’t control everything, a big reason the Cubs opted to change managers and pay Counsell more than any of his peers or predecessors is that they wanted improvement around the margins.
Better bullpen management, a more consistent lineup, and, of course, more positive outcomes in the close games they didn’t win enough of last year.