The Chicago Cubs have secured a five-game series against the No.1 team in baseball (and their division leaders), the Milwaukee Brewers.
After bouncing back from a disastrous outing in game one where they were shutout 7-0, Craig Counsell decided it was time to shake things up in the lineup. Kyle Tucker and Willi Castro went to the bench, so Owen Caissie and Matt Shaw could check in.
Well, that decision worked beautifully. Tucker’s break was long overdue and Shaw has been one of the best swinging bats for the Cubs in the last month. The offense needed someone to create a spark and both Shaw and Caissie did that.
Chicago won three straight, officially took the series, and has now cut the division lead to six games. So with one game left in the series what does Counsell do? Puts a struggling Tucker back in the line up and pulls both Shaw and Caissie.
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It has been exhausting to be a Cubs’ fan lately.
They are still very solid in the race to the postseason, but this roster should be better than what it has been doing in the last month. The team was looking down the barrel of a gun going into the Brewers series and many were just hoping not to get swept, especially after the game one blowout.
Tucker has now been on the bench for three games, why not one more? He needed a rest, there is no doubt about that. Mentally he was struggling to get himself out of the rut that he has found himself in which has gone on for nearly two months. There is also skepticism on how long it took for Counsell to give him a break and a reset.
Where is Matty and Owen? Why is Tucker in the lineup? His hand is broken.
— Cubbie Cowgirl 🤠💋 (@CubbieCowgirl) August 21, 2025
The real outrage surrounds Matt Shaw. The Cubs’ offense is in the bottom third of baseball since the break in most hitting categories including OPS, total hits, RBI, etc. So why is Counsell not utilizing their best weapon over the last month?
With a significant less amount of at-bats he leads the Cubs in homers and is tied for the most runs batted in. His total offensive production is .984. The next highest OPS in the last month by a Cub is Ian Happ with .781. Nobody has one above .800, but Shaw is on the bench for the finale against Milwaukee.
Even when Shaw isn’t on the bench he is batting ninth in the lineup. NINTH.
Craig Counsell is a problem.
Shaw—one of the best hitters since the All-Star break—not in the lineup (batting 9th when he is) in a series finale against a division rival is absurd.
Caissie—hitting well—being on the bench totally goes against the reason he was called up.
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) August 21, 2025
Caissie has been fantastic. He is making contact and has been getting players in. He is contributing and putting runs on the board which has been increasingly difficult lately for Chicago and has also shown to be sound defensively. Why is he on the bench?
If Tucker looks like his old self than some of the scrutiny will go away surrounding Caissie going to the bench. But there is no explanation that makes sense for Shaw to not be in this final game today against the Brewers.
There are no words to explain how frustrating it is to bench Matt Shaw today. Hottest fuckin guy on the team and he sits after single-handedly carrying the club. Why does Craig Counsell do this to us?
— carl (@barstoolcarl) August 21, 2025
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