“Place of Love”: Why Justin Steele of the Cubs showed frustration and what that means for the future

MILWAUKEE – Like all major league players, Justin Steele is passionate about winning baseball games.

The last two months of baseball have been a real challenge for the Cubs’ star player. Add to that a wild end to the third inning that saw the Cubs lose the lead they had built up just minutes earlier, and tempers can flare.

That’s exactly what happened between innings on Saturday when Steele screamed from the top steps of the dugout.

“Yeah, he said something when he came into the dugout, basically something like, ‘Here we go,'” manager Craig Counsell said after the Cubs’ 5-3 win over Milwaukee. “And it was an emotional inning. We played poorly in that inning.”

“We’ve made some mistakes and he’s just expressing his feelings out of love. Anytime you say something with good intentions, it’s welcome.”

(WATCH: Cubs respond properly to Justin Steele’s emotional reaction)

A not-so-crisp defensive inning allowed the Brewers to break the 2-0 lead the Cubs had built up on the game’s first two pitches, and that inning was an eerie reminder of what went wrong for the Cubs during their two-month stretch of trouble.

The offense gave the team an early lead, but then missed opportunities to extend it – the Cubs had 0 of 5 points with runners in scoring position in the 3 innings after Michael Busch gave the Cubs a lead with his 2-run home run in the 1st inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, Sal Frelick hit a single to first that bounced off Christopher Morel’s glove at third base and then stole second base. After a popout, Andruw Monasterio hit a comebacker to Steele, who caught the ball, caught up with Frelick at second base and threw it to Nico Hoerner, starting a rundown. Hoerner chased Frelick and threw it to Morel at third base, but Morel failed to catch the ball cleanly and put him out, putting two runners in scoring position.

Brice Turang put a perfect bunt on the mound and reached base, allowing Frelick to score and the tying run to third base. William Contreras followed with a fumble that landed between a sliding Pete Crow-Armstrong, Hoerner and Dansby Swanson, tying the game.

For Steele, it was the perfect storm as he walked back into the Cubs dugout after striking out Willy Adames in the 3rd inning.

“Yeah, I mean, for the most part, I just want to keep this between me and the team,” Steele said. “Personally, I should probably try a little better to control my emotions on the field in front of people and stuff, just for kids and families, and I have a nephew that watches me pitch, so that’s as far as that.”

“But as for the rest, we won the game and that’s the most important thing for me.”

As Counsell said, Steele was not trying to embarrass his team or score points with fans who would have wanted to see such displays of emotion from the team.

He just wants to win more games and make the most of the team’s potential.

“Yeah, I mean, I love every single person in this locker room,” Steele said. “I know how good we can be. I know what it takes and stuff. It definitely comes from a good place. It comes from a place of love and passion, desire too. I want to win baseball games. That’s what I go out there for every day.”

His teammates also understood this.

“Yeah, I mean, I think anything that comes from the heart and from someone in the heat of competition. I think everyone sees how much he cares, how much he wants to win baseball games,” said Ian Happ, whose 2-run home run in the 8th inning made the difference. “Then he goes out there and competes, that was nice to see.”

While people are hoping this is a turning point for the Cubs, there’s no guarantee it will be. There was no magical zen moment last year that turned the season around when they were 10 games under .500. The team started playing better, the offense scored more regularly, and it allowed them to fight their way back into playoff contention.

“I think you always hope for (that particular turning point), I don’t know if it’s going to become a reality,” Jed Hoyer, president of baseball operations, said Friday. “I looked back at last year, we were struggling for quite a while and then – I don’t think it was a moment – we suddenly started scoring 8, 9, 10 runs a night for a while. I don’t think there was a catalytic moment.”

That’s why the Cubs enter every day with the same attitude. Counsell would still maintain his calm demeanor if the Cubs were 10 games down and in the middle of a winning streak. Steele would still be fired up after his appearances, like he did in 2023 when he struck out 12 Giants in one appearance.

Because baseball is an everyday thing, players can’t ride the waves of a season and take the same approach day after day.

“You see guys get mad, hit things, that sort of thing happens,” Happ said. “It’s an intense game, but I think every single guy in that locker room is competing and wants to win baseball games every day. When you go through a phase like we did, that frustration is real. And it’s about maintaining a certain level of focus.”

“How can we go out there and, despite all the frustration, continue to do the things we need to do to be competitive individually and as a team?”