The Chicago Cubs bullpens are fickle creatures that bear no resemblance to the oft mundane nature of consistent major league ballplayers who follow routines and have similar stats year-in and year-out. One year, you catch lightning in a bottle with a rare vintage of Brian Duensing, circa 2017. The next, you can’t get rid of that bitter and mediocre Riesling… er Duensing fast enough.
That being said, it’s hard to come to grips with how bad some of the usually stellar Cubs relievers were at times in 2019. Some of the guys, like Pedro Strop and Steve Cishek, had pitched fabulously for both the Cubs and Joe Maddon for years.