Carlos González Says Rockies Knew Cubs Were ‘Limping’ Last Year

Carlos González mainly stuck to the standard tropes as he addressed the media for the first time as a Chicago Cub, talking about wanting to help the team and being excited about the opportunity. But he did manage to sneak in a bit of candor when talking about what the Rockies saw in their opponents when they came to Wrigley for the 2018 NL Wild Card game.

“We knew they were struggling,” González admitted Monday. “We knew they were limping. It just seems like they were down. You never want to show that to the opponent.”

Ouch, man, I think you’re supposed to save that for like Day 2 or something. But what else is he really supposed to say if asked?

A thorough sweep of CarGo’s statement detected no lies and he’s been cleared to continue speaking the truth. It’s not like he’s got anything to lose at this point, so he may as well get a little saucy and be himself. Soft-pedaling things isn’t going to endear him to the organization to the extent that poor production will be overlooked, and maybe something like this helps spark the Cubs.

Or, you know, Theo Epstein already made it quite clear that “the offense broke somewhere along the lines” and this is further evidence that everyone else knew it as well. And González himself has been the one limping over the past couple seasons, so perhaps his commentary was even a little Freudian.

Either way, the hope is that both he and the Cubs recapture a little of that old magic, whether it’s from three weeks or three years ago. One of those seems more likely to happen than the other, but there’s a (very slim) chance they’re mutual.