Chicago Cubs: Three early observations of manager David Ross

Headaches and unfamiliarity from managing the bullpen

If it weren’t for the Cubs’ bullpen, Ross’s job as a manager might be a pure joy-ride, given how well his starting pitchers and batters have played thus far. Unfortunately, Ross is learning very quickly the hardships that come with being the manager in charge of preventing late-game leads from slipping.

Because of the months-long delay to the start of the season, and a shortened Spring Training, as a result, it’s hard to put too much blame on Ross’s managing of the bullpen late in games. The organization has a bunch of young, unproven guys in their bullpen, and even the most experienced manager would likely struggle to determine who to put into the game next if thrown into Ross’s situation.

Add in the fact that the new rules require a relief pitcher to face a minimum of three batters before being able to be taken out of a game, and this all makes it even more challenging of a task for Ross to manage on a daily basis. Relief pitching substitutions become even more magnified for every team, with no early bailouts awarded.

Yet, leaving Craig Kimbrel in the game for too long against the Reds in the ninth inning while he’s self-imploding before our very eyes showed how much Ross has to learn as a manager. He needs to understand that having too much faith in a player who is struggling, no matter what his past resume says about him, can have dire consequences.

Having been a catcher, Ross should already have a pretty good idea of when a pitcher is laboring on the mound, or at the very least when that player just doesn’t have it that night and needs to be pulled out of the game as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this is proving to be Ross’s most challenging hurdle to overcome thus far in the young season, largely because of the unproven bullpen. Maybe Ross is feeling outside pressure to keep a player such as Kimbrel in the game regardless of how he’s performing on the spot because of how much money the front office is currently paying him.

Overall, it’s clear through observing Ross’s first week as manager, he has already brought with him plenty of positives to the Cubs as well as some things he’ll clearly need to work on improving as the season rolls along. Experience is the greatest teacher, and while Ross will continue to be able to lean on his valuable experiences as a player to guide him along his first year as a manager, he’ll also be learning new lessons on the fly. How quickly he adapts to those lessons learned may very well make or break the rest of the Cubs’ unorthodox season.