This is probably the perfect way to sum up Cubs fans watching Ian Happ in Tuesday night's 8-6 win over the Pirates:
Such is the nature of the Ian Happ Roller Coaster.
Happ came up to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning, swung at the first pitch and popped the ball up for an easy out to end the threat. He then misjudged a ball in the sun in center field in the bottom of the inning, leading to a 2-run rally for the Pirates.
The cries for Albert Almora Jr. to start every single game in center field have turned into full-blown shouts and the first 20 mins of Tuesday's game certainly did nothing to silence that faction of Cubs fans.
But Happ came right back and redeemed himself with a nice running catch into the wall and followed that up with a big RBI double to put the Cubs in front for good in the seventh inning.
That's exactly why the Cubs continue to throw him out in center field, knowing the juice is worth the squeeze in the long run.
MLB
"Every player's performance takes a different shape," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said last week at Wrigley Field. "If you have a player who strikes out a lot but he doesn't have other skills like power or on-base ability or athleticism or defense to make up for it, then he's not gonna be around for a while and then you don't have to worry about getting pissed off at him.
"If the player strikes out a lot, but he hits the ball out of the ballpark and drives in runs and gets on base, is athletic and is a versatile defender, then that player's contributing to a winning team and you should probably get used to him, because he's gonna be around a lot."
Reading between the lines: Ian Happ ain't going anywhere.
Happ can play multiple positions (though his defense in center field, in particular, has been rocky this season), hits for power (.504 slugging percentage) and gets on base (.360 OBP). So even though he strikes out a bunch (59 times in 45 games) and has the occasional defensive miscue in the field, Happ still lends a lot of value to the Cubs.
In fact, Happ entered play Tuesday leading the Cubs in OPS in May (1.060) while drawing 17 walks (5 intentional) and collecting 10 extra-base hits (now 11) in 72 plate appearances. He's also cut down on his strikeouts, whiffing only 26 times in 22 games.
This after whiffing 33 times in 22 games (15 starts) in the first the season with only a .703 OPS to go along with it.
Even with the strikeouts — 188 in 487 career at-bats — the Cubs are pretty pleased with the overall package the 23-year-old has provided in his first 160 games in the majors.
If he had enough at-bats to qualify, Happ would rank 18th in baseball in OPS, ahead of Braves phenom Ozzie Albies, Cardinals star Tommy Pham and even hitting guru Joey Votto.
"It's just part of his game," Epstein said. "This will probably be the highest strikeout rate he has in his career. It's gonna come down. He was in a deep slump [early in the season]. He was at a place where he had a really hard time making contact, so that skews his numbers, but he's probably always going to strike out more than league average.
"But it comes with a ton of power and a healthy amount of walks and some really good baserunning. Look, his performance as a whole is one of the Top 15-20 in the league right now, yet if you ask him, he hasn't had the year he's wanted to have because there's been long stretches where he's been a little bit lost.
"But I'm proud of him for putting the work in, using the time he was out of the lineup to make adjustments and get back to a place where he's really dangerous right now. When he gets hot, he tends to stay pretty hot for a long time."