Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward news and videos

[http://www.csnchicago.com] Blackhawks Bulls Cubs White Sox Bears Fire Notre Dame Big Ten Preps Video Golf Sports Business Inside Look Beer Money Horse Racing NASCAR NCAA Sky CSN Fantasy Sports CSN Talent TV Listings Channel Finder MORE TV Listings Channel Finder Alerts Contests Shop Tickets Rotoworld Golf Channel Comcast SportsNet Search Latest Video 0:42 SNC: Favre on the Bears-Packers rivalry 0:48 Ventura on overturned replay: It's what it was meant to do 0:51 Eaton says hitting in the 3-hole is 'fun' 0:45 Narvaez on Rodon: We talked about him going with everything 1:11 Refs trade shoes with each other in Fire game 1:35 Ventura on Rodon: He 'kept a very good lineup off balance' 0:28 SNC: 2016 NFL Hall of Fame class 0:42 SNC: Favre on the Bears-Packers rivalry Jason Heyward Cubs keeping the faith with Jason Heyward despite season-long struggles Cubs keeping the faith with Jason Heyward despite season-long struggles By Tony Andracki July 27, 2016 8:11 PM Latest Cubs Talk Arrieta dominates, leads Cubs to sixth straight win Soler homers in return to help Lester, Cubs beat A's Jorge Soler to start Friday, Cubs DFA Joe Nathan The calendar is about to flip into August and the narrative around high-priced outfielder Jason Heyward is still the same. The Cubs entered play Wednesday night with the best record in baseball despite their $184 million prize of the winter suffering through the worst offensive season of his career. Among qualified MLB players entering Wednesday night, Heyward had the lowest slugging percentage in the game (.315). His OPS (.630) was the seventh-lowest among qualified hitters. Those numbers have gotten significantly worse as Heyward has been mired in a major slump over the last two-plus weeks in which he's gone just 4-for-42 (.095 AVG) with only one extra base hit, zero RBI and a .275 OPS. Before Wednesday's game at Wrigley Field, Heyward was out on the field working with Cubs hitting coach John Mallee. "It's pretty much what they've been working on for a while," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Again, like I've said, this guy's hit into some bad luck. Yeah there's been some ground balls, but he's had a lot of well-struck balls that have been caught. "And with that goes your confidence. But they have a definite plan they're sticking with." Maddon said the Cubs wanted Heyward to get to see the results of his work out on the field of play instead of just watching baseballs jump off his bat into a netting in the cage. One of the main things the Cubs are working on with Heyward is making a conscious effort to get the ball in the air. They're also focused on his mindset through these struggles, trying to keep his spirits up. "He's probably struggling a little bit," Maddon admitted. "It's not easy to go through what he's going through right now. But like I said, I'm certain he's going to come out the other side. "I've seen a lot of good stuff work-wise recently. And I'm telling you, man, the new-fangled defenses have got him on ground balls up the middle a lot. He's been victimized by defense a bit." Maddon has talked a lot this season about Heyward hitting into some tough luck — whether on line drives or just ground balls directly into the opposition's defensive shifts. But it's not just luck. Heyward's batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is .273, which is 26 points below his career mark (.298), but there are 24 other qualified big-league hitter with lower BABIPs, including White Sox slugger Todd Frazier and his .200 mark entering play Wednesday. Compared to last season — when Heyward hit .293 with a .797 OPS with the St. Louis Cardinals — Heyward's line drive percentage is up slightly and his groundball percentage is down significantly. But his soft-hit percentage is way up and his hard-hit percentage is down quite a bit. All of the fancy stats can make the casual fan's head spin, but the gist is simple: Heyward has not been making enough solid contact. And he has not been making enough solid contact for four months now. Still, Maddon refuses to let any worry show publicly, even as he penciled Heyward seventh in the Cubs' lineup Wednesday, the lowest the 26-year-old has hit all season. "I've been through this before with some really good players," Maddon said. "He'll come out the other side because he's good and he's working at it. I really like the plan of attack him and John have going right now. "I'm very patient. I've done this for a bit. I was a hitting instructor myself. I know what it takes. You don't always get overnight results when you're trying to make some dramatic adjustments and that's exactly what's going on. "I know people are going to get less patient with it than I will or he will. But the biggest thing is that Jason doesn't get impatient. With the actual player himself, you never want him to be the guy to give up on what he's doing. If he doesn't, he's gonna break through. "I have a lot of faith in him." Tags: Chicago Cubs , Jason Heyward , Joe Maddon Cubs keeping the faith with Jason Heyward despite season-long struggles FOLLOW US Facebook Twitter Google Plus Instagram ©2016 Comcast SportsNet Chicago, LLC A Division of NBC Universal Advertise Affiliates Employment Opportunities Internships Independent Programming Report Parents Guide to TV Ratings Press Release Contact Us Tickets CSN Talent Privacy Policy Purchase Policy Term of Service Live FAQ Ad Choices GET NEWSLETTERS & ALERTS SIGN UP