Former Cubs Matt Stairs and Eric Young notice the slumped shoulders, the long faces, the lifeless bodies.
They look across the field into a dugout that has the ambiance of a furniture store on Christmas Day.
“Look at how we react after we score runs,” Stairs said. “We’re at the top step [of the dugout] giving high-fives, bouncing around, smiling, having a good time. From what I see from Chicago, they’re just waiting to see something happen.
“They take a 5-1 lead [Tuesday night] on a big error [by Tyler Houston] and you’d think the guys would be on the top step hooting and hollering. . . . I don’t know what it’s like in the locker room, but I’d think it’s quiet in there. Maybe they need to bring in a sparkplug before it gets too late.”
Stairs helped the Brewers rally from that 5-1 deficit when he lined a pinch-hit RBI double off Kerry Wood.
Young also has contributed to the downfall of his former team. He had three hits Monday night, singled in the game-tying run Tuesday and executed a perfect hit-and-run in the first inning Wednesday night. His opposite-field single advanced Alex Sanchez to third. Sanchez then scored on a sacrifice fly.
“It’s hard to find a group of guys that like and enjoy each other,” Young said. “When you make so many changes, you have to go through a learning process. And the guys who were vocal were the guys who are gone. Maybe we were talking too much.”
Neither Young nor Stairs was surprised to hear club President Andy MacPhail’s assessment that “while we play with some effort, there hasn’t been a lot of enthusiasm.”
But neither player blames manager Don Baylor for the Cubs’ lethargy.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with the manager,” Stairs said. “Our bench is outstanding with myself, Lenny [Harris], [Mark] Loretta, [Ronnie] Belliard and [Alex] Ochoa. We cheer 24/7. You can’t shut us up. We cheer so much, we think the manager tries to get us in the game so he doesn’t have to hear us anymore.
“Unless the manager’s doing something stupid like calling for a hit-and-run with the bases loaded, I don’t think it’s ever his fault. I know everyone there has respect for Don Baylor, and Don Baylor has respect for them.”
Newton theory: Wood seemed ambivalent to speculation the Cubs might ask fitness and motivational guru Mack Newton to work with the team again.
“Me, personally, I don’t know if Mack Newton’s going to be the one to come in here and turn things around,” he said. “If they bring him in here, we’re going to use him, I guess.”
MacPhail said he hasn’t considered rehiring Newton because Baylor has not brought the matter to his attention. If Baylor pushed for it, MacPhail probably would be open to having Newton return.
Wood and fellow starter Jason Bere criticized Newton’s stretching program last season as too rigid.
“Pitchers have their routines,” Wood said. “Guys like [Jeff] Fassero, guys who have been around a long time, know what they have to do to get ready to pitch. And you really don’t mess with that.”
Night off: The Bobby Hill leadoff experiment lasted two games. With Hill going 0-for-8 (but reaching twice after getting hit by pitches), Baylor rested his rookie second baseman Wednesday night.
Hill sought out Baylor to discuss his displeasure with his .195 average.
“He hasn’t hit the way he thought he should, and I know young guys press,” Baylor said. “You try to consider: Do you leave him in there and try to let him play through it?”
