Following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 8-6 win over the Cubs in Chicago on Thursday night, outfielder Joshua Palacios said on the 93.7 The Fan postgame show that he and his teammates were committed to treat the remainder of the 2023 regular season as if each game were in the postseason.
That mentality, Palacios explained, would come in handy for 2024, when the Pirates plan on being in the mix for the playoffs.
However, Cubs manager David Ross was less than thrilled at the result of the Pirates’ gung-ho attitude, especially given that his club (79-74) had managed to drop two of three games to them at Wrigley Field.
“That’s not a good team that just took two out of three from us,” Ross told reporters in Chicago postgame. “Or not our caliber of team, I believe. We have to turn it around. It’s on me. It’s on the guys in the room.”
David Ross, postgame after the Cubs 8-6 loss to the Pirates: “That’s not a good team that just took 2 out of 3 from us. Or not our caliber of team I believe. We have to turn it around. Its on me. Its on the guys in the room."
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) September 22, 2023
Ross’ shot at the Pirates seemed fueled at least in part due to the Cubs losing ground in the NL Wild Card race.
On the heels of their series loss to the Pirates (72-81), Chicago as of Friday afternoon is tied with Miami and two games behind Arizona for the NL’s second Wild Card position.
Equally as frustrating for Ross also must be the fact that Cincinnati (79-75) is now only a half-game behind the Cubs for the second Wild Card.
With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Cubs now begin a three-game series with NL West cellar dweller Colorado, before three games in Atlanta.
Chicago’s final series consists of three games in Milwaukee.
Ross, 46, enjoyed an MLB playing career from 2002-16, which included a stint in 2005 with the Pirates.
A winner of the World Series in 2013 with Boston and 2016 as a member of the Cubs, Ross has managed Chicago since 2020.
Ross isn’t the first former player to rip the Pirates in recent years.
Former reliever Dennis Eckersley, working as a color analyst for the Boston Red Sox, called the Pirates a “hodgepodge of nothingness” last year. Less than two weeks later, Phillies color man John Kruk described a Phillies-Pirates game as “an exhibition between a big league team and a college team.”
Related
• Tim Benz: Red Sox broadcast team humiliates Pirates• 'Bush league': Pirates fire back at Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley's on-air criticism
• Mark Madden: No lies detected with Dennis Eckersley's comments about Pirates
• After sweep, Pirates needle Red Sox over 'hodgepodge of nothingness' comment
