CHICAGO — Walk anywhere near the intersection of Clark and Addison on Chicago's north side and you will start to feel the tension that comes along with a Chicago Cubs team that is seeing its postseason hopes slip through its collective fingers.
Just 3-7 over their last 10 games, the Cubs dropped another tough decision on Wednesday night, falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. The Friendly Confines have been anything but in recent games, as the Cubs have dropped four of their last six home games. Chicago has four regular-season home games left (Thursday against Pittsburgh followed by a weekend series against the Colorado Rockies) before taking off on a brutal road trip to end the season, visiting two division leaders in Atlanta and Milwaukee.
Hanging on to a postseason spot will be tough (according to Baseball Reference, Chicago's postseason odds have gone down 26.4 percent over the past seven games) and the Cubs will need to once again find the winning formula from earlier in the season to punch their October ticket. The Cubs also need these three players to get back to form.
Chicago Cubs player on the hot seat: Justin Steele
It's hard to point a finger at a starting pitcher who was in the Cy Young conversation to start the season. However, the southpaw's hopes at some hardware have taken a major hit in recent days.
On Wednesday, Steele allowed six runs on eight hits in just 3.0 innings. That followed an outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks (one of the teams the Cubs are battling for a Wild Card spot) where he also allowed six runs, this time over 6.0 innings while giving up a pair of home runs as well.
If David Ross keeps his rotation schedule the same, Steele could potentially have two more starts this season. The first of those will likely come on Tuesday night in Atlanta as the Cubs kick off the important road swing. Steele's outing could be one that sets the tone for the rest of the trip, and another dud simply won't cut it for a Cubs team that needs him to pitch like the ace he seemed to be before his last pair of outings.
Chicago Cubs player on the hot seat: Cody Bellinger
Absolutely, say all you want about the statistics Bellinger has put together in his first year with the Cubs and how he has rebounded from those down years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. And, absolutely, Bellinger's slash line of 310/.355/.540 with 26 home runs and 94 RBI is impressive. However, it's what Bellinger has done recently that should worry Cubs fans a bit.
Over his last seven games (29 at-bats), Bellinger is slashing just .207/.273/.379. Those are numbers that will likely come under the microscope if they don't improve as Chicago is needing Bellinger's offense for its postseason push.
With Bellinger's future with the Cubs in question and his performance this season potentially putting him in line for a large payday after his "prove it" deal with the Cubs, how the former National League MVP plays in September's crunch days will be part of the narrative about if Bellinger is really back to his former self.
As the regular season winds down, there is pressure on Bellinger not only to succeed for the team's sake, but for his own personal gain as well.
Chicago Cubs player on the hot seat: Christopher Morel
Morel was one of the feel-good stories for the Cubs before the All-Star break, putting together a .267/.320/.572 slash line with 15 home runs. However, since the break, Morel has struggled, including in some big moments over the last two months.
The 24-year-old Morel slashed just .149/.222/.324 in 81 August plate appearances and, while he has improved in September, the numbers aren't that much better. This month, in 60 plate appearances, Morel has posted a .222/.300/.556 slash line.
Bouncing all over the field for Ross, Morel has served as the team's designated hitter and third baseman, as well as seeing time in center and left field over the past five games. During that stretch, he's 5-for-20 with a pair of solo home runs sprinkled in.
Can Ross count on Morel in one of the game's biggest moments? If he can capture some of his first-half magic, absolutely. Otherwise, it's a much dicier proposition for a Cubs team that will have plenty of critical at-bats over the season's final 10 games.