{"id":906278,"date":"2026-07-01T21:39:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/906278\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T21:39:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:39:34","slug":"column-chicago-cubs-get-thumbs-up-alex-bregman-a-thumbs-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/906278\/","title":{"rendered":"Column: Chicago Cubs get thumbs-up, Alex Bregman a thumbs-down"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s too early to say this Alex Bregman thing isn\u2019t going to work out.<\/p>\n<p>Bregman is only halfway through the first year of a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, so there\u2019s plenty of time for him to start living up to his reputation as one of baseball\u2019s top hitters. He homered Tuesday for the first time since June 11 and went 0-for-5 in Wednesday\u2019s 23-3 rout of the San Diego Padres, as the Cubs hit eight home runs before a crowd of 37,311.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s obvious Bregman has some work to do to convince Cubs fans he\u2019s the player they thought they were getting when he arrived to great fanfare over the winter. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/01\/alex-bregman-thumbs-down-chicago-cubs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">And his thumbs-down gesture after homering Tuesday<\/a> probably won\u2019t help matters, even as he said Wednesday it meant nothing at all.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs are riding yet another wave even without Bregman being Bregman.<\/p>\n<p>Dansby Swanson hit three home runs to give him five in two days, while his 26 RBIs in 10 day is a team record. Michael Conforto added a pair of homers and Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch also went deep on another sweltering day at Wrigley.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs won their fifth straight and improved to a major-league best 15-4 since June 11.<\/p>\n<p>There was plenty of media speculation before the slugfest about what Bregman was trying to say with his thumbs-down, which he repeated with a thumbs-down emoji on Instagram along with a snippet of a Drake song about being unappreciated:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t understand why you blame me\/Just take me as I am, it\u2019s the same me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Was he starting a Drake-like beef with Cubs fans, or with the media who reported on his lack of hustle on a grounder Sunday in Milwaukee, or with Marquee analyst Jim Deshaies, who called the lack of hustle in real time?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN\u2019s Jesse Rogers asked Bregman Wednesday what the gesture meant.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cubs' Alex Bregman gives a thumbs-down sign as he rounds...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CTC-L-cubs-padres042_264307825.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Cubs&#8217; Alex Bregman gives a thumbs-down sign as he rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 30, 2026. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman (3) hits a three-run...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-cubs-padres005.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman (3) hits a three-run home run in the second inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field on June 30, 2026. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman (left) celebrates with third...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-cubs-padres006.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman (left) celebrates with third base coach Quintin Berry after Bregman hit a three-run home run in the second inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 30, 2026. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman has a laugh with...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CTC-L-cubs-padres007.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman has a laugh with his teammates in the dugout after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 30, 2026. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 4<\/p>\n<p>Cubs&#8217; Alex Bregman gives a thumbs-down sign as he rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago on June 30, 2026. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>So it was not a message?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Well, then, case closed. An empty gesture that will never be explained.<\/p>\n<p>Bregman is too smart to start anything with fans, media, broadcasters or even Kendrick Lamar (just in case the Drake song was a message), so perhaps he was just having fun with his teammates. Players make so many team-specific hand gestures to each other these days it\u2019s really impossible to know what they\u2019re all referring to, even if one cared.<\/p>\n<p>Even if it was aimed at one of the media members, the thumbs-down gesture \u2014 a la Siskel &amp; Ebert \u2014 is probably the least offensive hand gesture a player could make.<\/p>\n<p>At least he didn\u2019t dump ice water on anyone, as former Cub Dave Kingman did to Daily Herald reporter Don Friske in 1980, saying: \u201cThere, that will give you enough for two stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On second thought, that might have felt refreshing under Wednesday\u2019s heat dome.<\/p>\n<p>The thumbs-down gesture became a thing a few years ago in New York when Javier Baez and Francisco Lindor started doing it in response to booing Mets fans. Team owner Steve Cohen quickly put a stop to it, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/08\/30\/steve-cohen-mets-hit-the-third-rail-with-thumbs-down-at-fans\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">telling the New York Post<\/a> \u201cthey hit the third rail\u2026 by messing with fans, and it is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When catcher Todd Hundley was dealing with booing Cubs fans in summer 2002, he held up a middle finger as he headed toward first base after a home run. Hundley later said he was directing the finger to a couple of heckling fans and apologized, saying \u201cI lost my head going around the bases.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"2c8bTTtCVX\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/01\/cubs-lovable-losers-art-institute\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How (and why) pop culture has painted the Cubs as \u2018lovable losers\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bregman doesn\u2019t need to apologize for a thumbs-down since he hasn\u2019t explained the reason for it, even if it was in response to fans or the media.<\/p>\n<p>As we learned during the great Cubs-versus-media beef in summer 2004, when reliever LaTroy Hawkins called a news conference to announce he wasn\u2019t speaking to the media and reliever Kent Mercker sent messages to the press box complaining about Steve Stone and Chip Caray, picking a fight with the media and broadcasters is a no-win situation.<\/p>\n<p>Milton Bradley knew that in 2009, and dispensed some sage advice to teammates via the media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t read the newspaper,\u201d Bradley said.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t watch TV. Just play, because we have everything we need right here. If we stay together in here, cut out all the outside BS and we\u2019ll be fine. There\u2019s way too much hoopla, there\u2019s way too much talk. There\u2019s way too much speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speculation was that Bradley was talking his way out of town. He later ripped Chicago waiters, of all people, for \u201cbad-mouthing\u201d him. Bradley eventually was suspended from the team for the final 15 games for referring to \u201cnegativity\u201d surrounding the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever motivates a player to succeed is OK, as long as it\u2019s not obscene, whether it\u2019s positive or negative reinforcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we all do both from time to time, especially those of us \u2014 and you guys get it too \u2014 that are getting constant feedback on our performance, right?\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cWhen you get constant feedback on your performance, you kind of toggle between picking the lovers and the haters and who\u2019s motivating you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not sure how Counsell saw my Tribune email inbox, but that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs probably should stop reading the papers and watching TV and listening to sports-talk radio, except for their paid weekly stints, of course.<\/p>\n<p>In a season as strange as this one has been, it\u2019s bound to get even crazier in the second half.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s too early to say this Alex Bregman thing isn\u2019t going to work out. Bregman is only halfway&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":906279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[2730,960,1271,1816,16075,366748,5386,1818,27349,366747,1277,63084],"class_list":["post-906278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-alex-bregman","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-craig-counsell","tag-dansby-swanson","tag-dave-kingman","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-michael-conforto","tag-milton-bradley","tag-pete-crow-armstrong","tag-todd-hundley"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116846891437956151","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}