Yesterday, Brian mentioned in the comments that "one thing that appears not to have changed with the new regime: the public posturing by the manager seems mostly designed to deflect blame away from himself."

ESPN.com's Buster Olney adds to that today:

The new manager has been openly critical of the players, repeatedly suggesting in his post-game remarks that the problems lie with them, and privately, some players are very critical of the manager and what they view as his tendency to turn them into scapegoats.
. . . .
Piniella needs to start mending fences with his players quickly, displaying more patience and support. Fair or not, some of them already are hardening this view of him -- that he tends to make decisions based on emotion and impatience, and that he tends to blame them for failure, while being readily available for praise when the team succeeds. Which is how many of the Devil Rays came to view him during his tenure with Tampa Bay, but those players were young and absorbed the criticism. The Cubs, a team of veterans, are not reacting as sedately.

Losing breeds contempt. The Cubs need to start winning.