SAN DIEGO – When the Cubs staggered out of Milwaukee Sunday night, the only thing they needed more than a shortstop was a win. That's about the time Nico Hoerner got off his couch at his family's house in Oakland and started packing. And about 30 hours later, the Cubs had both – Hoerner delivering one of most eye-popping debuts in Cubs history in a 10-2 victory over the Padres that the reeling team desperately needed. Making the jump from Class AA to the majors after the Cubs lost both their shortstops in a matter of days, Hoerner delivered hits to all three fields, drove in four runs and was responsible for five of the Cubs' first nine outs defensively at short in the opener of a four-game series. "None of that surprised any of us, " manager Joe Maddon said after the big game helped snap a three-game skid. None of it? "What you saw tonight was what I saw in spring training, " Maddon said of the first impressions of the Cubs' 2018 first-round draft pick – who raked in 14 spring games as an extra player from the minor-league side.
Think the Cubs are done after this past week? Think again. They were done seven months ago — if not 10. They were done as soon as ownership cut off spending last winter during a competitive window. They were done as soon as "urgency" and "October starts in March" became the alternatives to actually fixing a lineup the front office said "broke" and a bullpen that was an obvious weak link coming out of spring training. Certainly the Cubs might have won more games this season with better luck and health, maybe even enough to win the National League Central. And the front office made a strong effort with the resources it had at the trade deadline to add arms and one especially significant bat in Nick Castellanos. They might yet sneak into the playoffs with a fever-pitched final week and a lot of help, for whatever that might be worth once they get there. But make no mistake: This team hasn't underachieved. This is who the Cubs are. They are a good team. They are not a great team, especially in a league that has improved as the Cubs' store-bought rotation has aged and their patchwork bullpen has toiled without a closer for all but 57 days in the last 8½ months of baseball.