Craig Counsell said after yesterday’s 7-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers that Kyle Tucker is going to get a few days off. That left many Chicago Cubs fans asking the question, “What took so long?” Tucker, who was the only big acquisition the Cubs made this offseason, has been in the middle of a dreadful stretch. He has not hit a home run since July 19th. In that time, he has hit just .171 with just two doubles and five RBIs. The “Extend Tucker” calls have been quieted.

Tucker suffered a finger injury earlier this season. After missing just one game with the injury, he was back in the lineup and has been in there pretty much every day since. You have to respect Tucker’s desire to play through it, but at some point, the organization has to save him from himself. Counsell has been heralded for his ability to manage players and have his finger on the pulse of the team. He failed this time.

All of this was happening while Owen Caissie was obliterating the ball at AAA Iowa. The Cubs finally called the young outfielder up last week, but he was only in the lineup for one of his first four games with the team. He was in the lineup on Monday, but replacing Ian Happ, not Tucker, who went 0-4 in what was supposed to be the first game of a doubleheader (the second game was rained out). Caissie should see regular playing time for however long Counsell decides Tucker needs to get himself back on track.

There is still a lot of baseball to be played, but the National League Central is pretty much out of reach for the slumping Cubs. Now, they have to shift their focus to holding on to one of the three NL Wild Card spots. That’s a big change from the beginning of the summer when the Cubs had aspirations of being a World Series contender. Maybe if they would have given Tucker time to completely heal from the finger injury, they would not be in such a tough spot now.