Mark Gonzales: Members of the Cubs' struggling core can decide their futures in the next few weeks — or they could face their final hurrah with no fans to salute them
Jason Heyward gained wisdom by playing for Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox and has experienced the emotional roller coaster of a free-agent season.
So even with slightly more than three years remaining on his contract, Heyward knows the realities of hellos and goodbyes in baseball.
“Time is time, and it waits on no one,” Heyward said late Wednesday night after being asked if Jon Lester pitched his last home game at Wrigley Field.
“It’s the game of baseball as well. We just want to make the most of our memories, and I think we’re doing a great job of doing that.”
There is unfinished business, especially because the Chicago Cubs have fallen short of reaching the National League Championship Series since 2017 despite retaining their core.
More urgent is the increasing possibility that many instrumental players from the 2016 World Series title team might find their final days wearing Cubs pinstripes could conclude within the next two weeks and without a salute from the Wrigley faithful.
The COVID-19 pandemic has heaved the financial landscape of sports into a crater of uncertainty. But it doesn’t stop the clock on the service time of Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber — leading to free agency after 2021 — and Anthony Rizzo (should the Cubs pick up his option) and Willson Contreras after 2022.
If columns of the Cubs empire are knocked down this winter, how should this group be remembered and honored, especially during the strangest season in recent baseball history?
Lester, 36, deserves a front-row seat for three reasons. First, he put his trust in the front office’s blueprint and turned down more money from the San Francisco Giants to join the Cubs shortly after manager Joe Maddon arrived and before Bryant was called up.
Second, without Lester’s Game 5 victory, the championship drought continues, there is no parade, no wheelbarrows of cash for the organization or rings for every employee.
Finally, Lester never stopped trying to improve despite financial security. He became a respectable hitter to the point Maddon once declared him the team’s best bunter, and his six shutout innings last week against the Brewers in Milwaukee temporarily quelled questions about him being washed up.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester attends practice during spring training at sloan park Tuesday Feb. 18, 2020 in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
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But that center-stage farewell salute is on hold because the coronavirus prevents fans from attending games as well as the singular mission of winning a Series title — albeit under unique circumstances.
“If they’re passing out a (World Series) trophy, I want it,” Ross said in late June, unfazed by a 60-game regular season with new rules
In addition to the constant health and safety protocols and a regional schedule that has increased day-of-game travel, never has a regular season seemed so paradoxical.
Yet the Cubs are on the verge of winning their third National League Central title in five seasons without steady contributions from Bryant, Baez, Rizzo and Schwarber. Propeller heads may scoff at the value of batting average, but none of the four is hitting above .220 after 50 games.
Cubs executives and fans have waited patiently for a surge to the finish line and into the postseason. Perhaps that would significantly influence how each player is viewed.
Bryant raised the bar too high with NL Rookie of the Year and NL Most Valuable Player honors in his first two seasons, only to be nagged by injuries during the last three. A late power surge could douse some of the criticism.
Baez’s dazzling all-around play has silenced some of the deep sighs over his high strikeout total that was reminiscent of his rookie struggles in 2014.
Despite the financial strains facing the organization — recent layoffs to the baseball operations department serve as a frigid fact — and short- and long-term needs looming, Baez might be too valuable to trade unless there’s a lopsided deal.
In January, Rizzo defined the business of baseball as “cutthroat as ever” but continues to invest heavily in the community with his charity work. He has asserted himself even more as a team leader to help navigate his teammates through the lack of stadium buzz.
To his credit, Rizzo hasn’t griped about the shifts that have swallowed his line drives and hard-hit balls to the right side. But his prolonged struggles have been mystifying.
Schwarber’s 2015-16 postseason contributions and determination to return from a severe knee injury earned him a few free meals and a bucket of suds. His current slump has been masked by a 10-6 September record.
Schwarber is the latest Cubs hitter victimized by some hard-hit outs. But more than ever, results are paramount to a satisfying finish.
“The reality is there for us knowing we don’t know what it’s going to look like after this,” Heyward said.
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