When Kyle Schwarber and Dexter Fowler collided in the bottom of the second Thursday night, Cubs fans held their collective breath.
#Cubs Kyle Schwarber suffered a leg injury after this outfield collision with Dexter Fowler. pic.twitter.com/ATqrXQXLXq
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) April 8, 2016
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Then, as Schwarber lay on the ground writhing in pain, you could hear the tweets writing themselves. Soon enough, Schwarber was trending nationwide on Twitter, with 12,600 tweets (and rising) about the left fielder.
Then, fans saw their worst nightmares come true Friday evening, as it was announced that Schwarber is out for the season with an ACL and LCL tear, as well as a sprained ankle.
This seems insane — and maybe it is — but Cubs fans, God bless them, need to chill out.
These are not your grandfather’s Cubs, or your father’s Cubs, or even the Cubs of last year. This is the deepest Cubs team in a decade, and one built to withstand an injury like this, even to a player of Schwarber’s caliber.
Ultra-utility man Ben Zobrist can play a multitude of positions. Javier Baez, currently rehabbing from a thumb injury, also got some outfield reps in spring training and is solid with the glove on the infield. Kris Bryant played 19 games in the outfield last season without an error, and immediately replaced Schwarber in left Thursday night while Tommy La Stella played third. Jorge Soler, although a work in progress in left field, is a more-than-viable option to start games, and has by far the most offensive upside of the group. Matt Szczur is 4-for-7 with 4 RBIs to start the year and is solid defensively.
Need I go on?
Losing Schwarber will be a big loss offensively, but this is a team that scored 15 runs in the first two games of the season without a hit from the left-hander, and scored nine runs through five innings Thursday night.
It’s also worth remembering that the Cubs have Joe Maddon, a mad scientist, in the dugout. He knows that crazy baseball stuff happens. He said as much before Tuesday’s game regarding when Baez would return from his injury, via Sahadev Sharma from The Athletic Chicago .
“It’s one of those things that could be (a tough decision), but this game has a cruel way of making its own decisions. So let’s see when that day happens where we’re at and we’ll make the appropriate decision at that time.”
Maddon knows what he is doing, and he will find a way for the team to overcome this.
It's all a bit unfair, really. No, not Schwarber's injury — injuries happen, that's baseball — but the expectations that surround this team. From the grand slam of on offseason, to the antics in spring training, to the sheer amount of talent on the team's roster, some fans probably thought the Cubs would breeze through the season and into the playoffs, and finally end the World Series drought. Like clockwork. This is the year.
Then something like this happens, and images of billy goats and black cats and Steve Bartman and so many other things come scurrying into the minds of the northside faithful. The natural instinct, of course, is to cringe and say "here we go again."
But, breathe this in, Cubs fans — this year is different. This team is deep, and talented, and smart and poised. They can handle it.
For any other team, losing Schwarber would be a deathblow. For this team, it might be a speed bump.