Let’s face it: the Chicago Cubs are bad. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2008 and has had just three winning seasons in the last ten years.
David Ortiz thinks he knows why.
The Boston Red Sox designated hitter had some interesting comments before his team’s game against the Cubs at Fenway Park on Tuesday, claiming that the Cubs’ unique schedule might be contributing to the team’s struggles.
“Through the years I’ve talked to a lot of friends of mine that have played for the Cubs,” Ortiz said, via ESPNChicago. “The one thing that everyone talked about was the schedule in Chicago. They get excited walking into a city that’s based on baseball, but once they start dealing with the schedule it kind of mentally wears you down.”
The Cubs didn’t install lights at Wrigley Field until 1988 and have just 38 home night games scheduled this season due to the field’s proximity to the surrounding neighborhood.
“If the rest of the league had the same schedule that you have it’s fine,” Ortiz said. “But once you play day games for about a week and next thing you know you have to go into a city and play night games, then the next thing you know you have to go to the West Coast and adjust to the time there, then you have to come back home and start playing day games, it’s too hard for baseball (players).”
Chicago usually plays its home games at either 1:20 p.m. or 7 p.m., but now play games at noon and 3 p.m. due to national television commitments.
The Cubs have had no trouble adjusting in their trip to Boston, winning the first two games of their three-games series 2-0 and 2-1. Given Chicago’s historic futility, though, especially in recent years, Ortiz may have a point.
Photo via Twitter/@YashYanthi
