David Ross' Postgame Comments Cause Stir After Cubs Lose to Pirates

Frustration is beginning to boil over on the North Side of Chicago, as the Chicago Cubs continue their downward spiral.

Thursday night's 8-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field dropped the Cubs out of the National League Playoffs, as the club is now tied for the third and final NL Wild Card spot with the Miami Marlins, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago.

The Cubs have now lost 10 of their last 13 games, which drops their record to 79-73.

Cubs manager David Ross faced the media Thursday night, following his team's fourth-straight series loss. Ross aired out some of his frustrations, making a comment about his opponent that is causing a stir in the city of Pittsburgh.

“That’s not a good team that just took two out of three from us," Ross said. "Or not our caliber of team I believe. We have to turn it around. It's on me. It's on the guys in the room."

Longtime Pittsburgh sports writer Dejan Kovacevic took exception to Ross' comment, responding on social media.

"The Pirates aren’t good," Kovacevic posted. "He’s right. But neither are the Cubs. And neither is Ross. Unduly cocky as a player when I covered him in Pittsburgh, unbelievably clueless and classless as a manager."

The Pirates aren’t good. He’s right. But neither are the Cubs. And neither is Ross. Unduly cocky as a player when I covered him in Pittsburgh, unbelievably clueless and classless as a manager. https://t.co/z8EvBa1ece
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) September 22, 2023

Ross played 40 games for the Pirates back in 2005, before he was traded to the San Diego Padres. Kovacevic covered the Pirates during Ross' short time in Pittsburgh.

"Third-stringer when in Pittsburgh," Kovacevic added. "Acted like he owned the place. Obnoxious."

Third-stringer when in Pittsburgh. Acted like he owned the place. Obnoxious.
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) September 22, 2023

The Cubs posted a 10-3 record against the Pirates in 2023. Chicago is 69-70 record against the rest of the league this season.

Ross' club will try to right the ship Friday, as the Cubs open a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies (56-96), owners of the worst record in the National League, took two of three from Chicago last week at Coors Field.

Next week, the Cubs will finish the season on the road, traveling to face the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers for a pair of three-game series.

“There’s (expletive) all over the place that we can point to," Ross told reporters Thursday night. "It's time to put up wins. No excuses.”

Published Sep 22, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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