In 1969 Leo Durocher played his regulars nearly everyday. And why not?  They were all exceptional players.  Three of them even became Hall of Famers: Banks, Williams, and Santo.   And let’s not forget the complete-game-pitcher Fergie Jenkins.  And those that didn’t become HFers were the finest at their jobs.

Durocher, who knew talent perhaps better than anyone of that time frame, said there was no better shortstop than Don Kessinger.  And Glenn Beckett had an eagle’s eye.  He regularly got more walks than strikeouts.  Randy Hundley was the best defensive catcher you could find, particularly noted for his pitch calling and arm.

On August 16, they had a 75–44 record and were up nine games over the second place Mets.   You can still buy Cubs tickets to the ‘69 NLDS on eBay.

But after the All Star break, bad signs began to show.  Like cracks in the dam, there were more errors, missed opportunities, men left on base.  You name it; everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  Even a bad call call at the plate against the Mets that had Hundley in a fever, jumping and down so hard at the home plate umpire that both knees touched his collar bones while 3’ off the ground.  With a great divisional lead, a bad call could be forgiven.  But no, the Cubs had lost it.

Too much sun.  Too much work.  Durocher didn’t play the other guys sitting in the dugout much.
 

Last season we saw Counsell play his regulars nearly everyday too.  It wasn’t until Willy Castro showed up late in the season that they got relief. By then the temperatures were already beginning to drop.  But like the red hot Mets of ‘69, the Brewers team took advantage of the Cubs weakened performance.  The Cubs got second place and had to play in the wild card round right after drinking and spraying all that champagne for their post season clinch.  There was no time to nurse a hangover.  And Counsell had to Rush his pitching decisions (which put the Cubs at 0-2).
 

This season, they no longer have Castro to play in the infield and outfield to relieve tired players.
 

They’ve got Justin Dean, Michael Conforto, and Kevin Alcantara to provide relief for the outfielders. Three guys are more than sufficient there.  
 

For the battery, Kelly and Amaya are rotating.

But for the infield they just have Pedro Ramirez. His specialty is second base.  He can handle 3rd base as well. He has a golden glove at Double A Knoxville.  But he is not experienced at short or first base as far as I can tell.

So, who is going to give Swanson and Busch a breather this summer?  Playing these guys continuously is not an option.  Swanson already struggled with hitting until he was given time off to examine his swing.  
 

Swanson came out of his rest like a tiger from his cage.  He wasn’t doing the see-saw anymore, using his rear leg as the fulcrum.  We all know the phenomenal results. But I watched the Twins games.  He’s back at the old bad habit.  Old habits?  Yeah they’re hard to break.

Michael Busch is young. He’s got stamina.  But do you really want the Minnesota native playing in 90 degree weather with out a break?

The Cubs need someone who can assist at short and first.  Management needs to have the staff find that player. Since they did a miraculous job finding pitchers — they should be able to solve this problem as well.  I submit it is a task that they can solve.  Go Cubbies!