After an 8-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, which continued what has been an epic slide for the Chicago Cubs, manager Dave Ross got testy with the media. And took a direct shot at the Pirates while doing so.
"That's not a good team that just took two out of three from us," Ross said. "Or not our caliber of team, I believe. We have to turn it around. It's on me. It's on the guys in the room."
The Cubs have lost seven of their last 10 games. They have fallen to the third and final wild card spot in the National League, and are only 0.5 games ahead of the Miami Marlins and one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. And some in the media interpreted that Ross' testiness could be a sign that he could be on the hot seat if the Cubs ultimately miss the postseason.
Insider Take: Is David Ross really on the hot seat with the Cubs?
That could be true. But there have been no signals that Ross is in danger of being fired after the season. He's widely respected, both in league circles and inside his own clubhouse. By all accounts, he has a good working relationship with president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. He's a good in-game manager, deploying his bullpen efficiently and putting his hitters in quality matchups.
Besides, the Cubs entered this season knowing that this was only the beginning of what they envisioned being a sustained period of success. It started with the signings of Dansby Swanson and Jameson Taillon. It will continue this winter as they attempt to re-sign Cody Bellinger and also pursue another star player to put in the lineup.
The Cubs have always envisioned Ross leading that team, and all indications are that feeling hasn't changed. Will it be disappointing if the Cubs don't make the postseason this year? Of course. For a while, that looked like a near certainty.
But that slide shouldn't deter the Cubs and prompt them to move on from Ross. And in all likelihood, he will stay in Chicago for the 2024 season.
