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Ryan Sweeney perfectly described the Cubs' offensive collapse

The Cubs continue wasting runners in scoring position as the losing streak keeps spiraling.
ByCasey McAleer|
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February 25, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Ryan Sweeney (6) waits outside the batting cage during a spring training workout at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
February 25, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Ryan Sweeney (6) waits outside the batting cage during a spring training workout at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Cubs have found a new low for the season with their most recent loss, bringing the total losses in a row to 10. This is uncharted waters for manager Craig Counsell, and it's a shadow of what this team once was merely a couple of weeks ago. Former Cub Ryan Sweeney basically described a team stuck in the same cycle night after night.

Many of the problems facing the Cubs are systemic, and are simply being exacerbated because of the cold streak. One issue the Cubs have consistently held from the start of the season is leaving runners in scoring position. A team can get their bats moving all they want, but it doesn't mean anything if the payoff isn't ever realized.

The Cubs keep creating chances and wasting them

"You can go back 15, 16 games, like we've been talking about and talking about all this runners in scoring position and this and that, and bottom line, it comes down to get the job done when your number's called."
Ryan Sweeney

The things that have driven the Cubs this deep into the hole are not surface level. We're talking about systemic issues that are going to take real work to fix. Sweeney knows what it's like to go through slumps like that. You don't achieve over two thousand big league at-bats without understanding that it's fundamental to baseball for slumps to occur.

Sweeney references 15 or 16 games because prior to that, the Cubs hitting was off the charts. Hitting is something contagious when momentum builds. It can even be difficult to stop sometimes. Unfortunately for the Cubs, that momentum can shift the other way sometimes.

This slump speaks volumes about the Cubs confidence. These losses aren't random, it's not a miscellaneous reason for loss every game. The patters are there, scattered in the sun for everyone to see. This slump feels worse than it is because it's spiraling. At bats bleed into the next ones, and when a team is failing to build momentum, it can be agony by the minute.

As Sweeney says, the Cubs just need a spark, someone to come in and be the spark plug that this team needs. Until that happens, though, the losing streak is going to continue in true Cubs fashion. The Cubs have spent the last two weeks creating opportunities. Now they need someone to finally cash in on one of them.

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