This Saturday, the Chicago Cubs’ hardest opponent wasn’t the Philadelphia Phillies. Sure, there was a painful 10-4 loss. Still, if you were to ask Craig Counsell, something else “plays more of a factor” in victories and defeats in Major League Baseball, that can crumble even the best of the best-laid strategies.
If you have been keeping tabs, you’d know how the Phillies have had a tough week, and they were desperate to have the odds in their favor. However, for the Cubs, the loss stung. Wrigley Field was jam-packed in this matchup. And right in the middle there, the Chicago Cubs’ skipper made a major revelation on a challenge the Cubs were facing during the game.
“The weather plays more of a factor here than any stadium in the major leagues.”@Cubs manager Craig Counsell spoke with @Ken_Rosenthal about Ben Brown’s start so far and what it’s like playing at Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/9GfjvSnVl4
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 26, 2025
During Ken Rosenthal’s interview with Counsell, when he asked him about “What have you learnt about managing at Wrigley Field?,” his answer became a headscratcher. “The weather plays more of a factor here than any stadium in the major leagues,” He responded, “We players and coaches have to collectively acknowledge and accept it. Someday it’s going to be like this with wind blowing in, you’ve got to adjust your strategy because of it.”
Well, it’s just a harsh reality. In fact, the Cubs were visibly struggling throughout the game. But the stadium can’t be blamed, it’s been a home to them for a long time now.
And it was hard to ignore when the Cubs’ ace Ben Brown started off strong, but that didn’t last long. For the whole three innings, he held the Phillies down. It all went downhill during the fourth. He surrendered four straight singles. Some hits by Brown were just some lucky close calls. But guess what…
The damage was already done, and the Phillies were in the lead. The most shocking part was that the Cubs had Drew Pomeranz all geared up in the bullpen. Yet, Cubs’ skipper let Brown go head-to-head with Bryce Harper.
Eventually, the Phillies had their breakthrough.
Was it the weather or the Phillies’ Luzardo that chilled the Cubs’ bats?
Before talking about anything else, it has come to light that back in the day, the Cubs were eyeing on Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher Jesus Luzardo. Now, of course, that couldn’t happen and we witnessed Luzardo contributing to their painful defeat.
Luzardo was playing for the Miami Marlins when the Cubs had a potential trade deal for him. He could have been a part of the Cubs, but the Marlins had to step back from the trade because of Luzardo’s medical history at that time. Later, when things got better for him, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies when things got better for him.
Before this Phillies-Cubs matchup, the Cubs’ offense was just fine in the recent games. But this time, at their home ballpark, Phillies’ pitcher Luzardo threw such high-velocity pitches that might have chilled the Cubs’ bats. He only surrendered 2 unearned runs on 3 hits, along with 3 walks as well as 5 strikeouts. And in the end, the Phillies grabbed the opportunity to end their 5-game losing streak and won by 10-4 against the Cubs.
But everything apart, Counsell blamed it on the weather.
Let’s face it, though: Luzardo had a great start to this season, playing a major role in shutting down the Cubs’ offense. It was a rough outing for the Cubs, and let’s just say Luzardo, the one they were once interested in, is the same guy who handed them a tough loss.
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