Earlier today, I tried talking a friend off the Cub fandom roof, or at least that’s what I thought I was doing. When my passionate Cub fan friend Cary complained remarked that Cody Bellinger gave the Cubs the pink slip, I reminded him that he could still negotiate a new deal with the team.

I didn’t realize that he was on the “get the heck out of Dodge” team. Earlier this season, he rejoiced in the Belli bombs. Instead, he pointed out that Bellinger had flopped when the pressure was on and the Cubs were pushing for the last spot in the postseason tournament. In his anger, I couldn’t quite make sense of the numbers he shared so I checked them out when I got home. In his last 8 games, he hit a whopping ,226 (7/31). That does stink, no way around it, but if he got one more hit (8/32) he would have hit .250. That’s really not much better for a guy that finished the season with 25 homers, 97 RBI and .307. Easily, this isn’t the biggest fade in Cubs history, but it’s one that struck Cary. I’m most surprised with the 97 RBI, but he’s been hitting behind guys that have gotten on base (and a reason he shouldn’t have been hitting first or second).

Without polling every passionate Cub fan, I bet most would agree this version of the Cubs is better with Bellinger on the roster than not. Yet, Cary is still steamed. We’re all entitled to feelings like these. I was warned off recently by a non-Cubs fan for suggesting Dansby Swanson wasn’t deserving of his presumed gold glove because he’d made some key errors down the stretch. Truth be told, Swanson wasn’t happy with his end of the season performance, and he looked crappy beyond the errors he was assessed. Those errors did matter and it’s the lasting taste in my mouth, rational or otherwise. After all, I’ve spent the majority of the season praising Swanson and second baseman Nico Hoerner for their defense up the middle. Yet, when it seemed they needed it most, their defense vanished.

Fans of every team are raising doubts about players and coaches right now because it’s what we do even in Texas. As crazy as it may sound, management has decisions to make about the 2024 roster. Fans are probably stewing over some of Bruce Bochy’s decisions and failures of players not on the final roster.

Players can build up capital early in a season or even during a hot June, but what they do or fail to do in September is what some fans will remember during the cold offseason.