Jameson Taillon Gets Brutally Honest About His Spring Struggles with Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are going to begin their season next week with Opening Day at Wrigley Field looming on the horizon next Thursday.

While some players on the pitching staff seem to be tuning things up at the right time, others have struggled this spring, and no one more so than the usually steady veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon.

Through four starts, Taillon has a 22.18 ERA after allowing 23 earned runs in just 9.1 innings. His velocity is down, his command looks off, and balls are getting hit extremely hard off him over these innings so far.

He spoke about the struggles in a story from Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, and while he did express confidence that he can get things fixed over his two additional spring starts, there is concern there as well.

Taillon gets honest about struggles

Jameson Taillon of Chicago Cubs throws ball from right han — Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

"If I just sat here and told you I don’t care, I’d be lying straight to your face," the right-hander said. "It matters in the sense that you’re going to be facing lineups in the season that are good, and I’m going to have to execute pitches...If they’re telling you that your s— is not very good, then that matters."

Taillon tried as best he could to explain exactly what is going wrong from a mechanics and execution standpoint, but ultimately it's up to him to get it fixed.

“As you get older, sometimes you manipulate some things and adjust some things,” Taillon said. “We’ve seen a trend of some of my stuff ticking down. We were trying to tick it back up. There’s some clear things I can get better at — backside connection, using my lower half a lot better...That being said, it’s also on me to make sure when you’re in a game, you go out and compete.

"It is hard to be thinking about a million things, but I’ve always been good at that in my career, tinkering and adjusting and going out when it’s time to compete. Right now, I’m not doing that. I’m kind of all over the place."

Can Taillon get back to form before the season?

Jameson Taillon of Chicago Cubs throws pitch from right han — Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Taillon is as much a student of the game as anyone in baseball, and when it comes to hitting the lab and breaking down mechanical issues, it's tough to bet against someone who has been so consistent for so long.

At the same time, the team would be right to be at the point of worry with the veteran, because if they can't count on him this year, they have some serious depth issues in this pitching staff. These final two starts of the spring should be watched very closely, and if they go poorly, then other plans may have to be made.

It's crunch time for Taillon, and he needs to get this thing right.