Author: Rice Cube

Off Day Items

The Cubs have actually won a couple series in a row, and if we conveniently ignore the cesspool of suck that was most of May through July, they’ve actually been playing much better baseball and reflecting what we thought they could be in spring training. The problem, of course, is all the losses they’ve already banked, but them’s the breaks and that’s baseball and all that jazz.

Looking at the standings, the Cubs enter their off day at 57-60, with 45 games remaining. They are chasing the Brewers and pretty much the entire division, down 8.5 games in the division before everyone else plays tonight, and 5.5 games behind the final wild card spot with at least four teams to chase in front of them. 45 games is still a lot, and if they want to guarantee a postseason berth given recent results, they’ll have to get something like 84 to 88 wins, which means potentially a 30-15 record is what they should be shooting for the rest of the season. That is obviously a better pace than what they’ve shown thus far, but stranger things have happened.

Playoff odds-wise, the Cubs currently have a 6.0% chance of making the postseason in any form, which is better than zero. They also have played pretty well against the American League, and August is full of interleague games, with some scuffling National League teams towards the end of the month. If ever they were to make a run, that would be this month, but with the trade deadline having passed, any help they can ask for will have to come from within. Let’s not take them for granted since they just won a game, but at least the Cubs get the White Sox for a weird two-game set and another day off on Sunday (?!) before truly going on the road again.

Trade SZN

Thought this was an interesting note, one I don’t think I’ve ever seen before from the Cubs or any other team in season:

Via Cubs Twitter or X or whatever the hell it’s called

I think I fully expected the Cubs to sell, but maybe, given their not-atrocious record and the window being open just a crack, they are really just trying to facilitate a build up even if it’s gradual. Thus far it’s adding guys like Nate Pearson and Isaac Paredes, while subtracting Christopher Morel (sad face) and avoiding touching their top 10 prospects.

I really don’t know, but we have two days until the deadline, so let’s have some fun.

All-Star Shota

As we get settled in our new apartment back in our former neighborhood in Chicago, I note that the Cubs finally won a series for the first time in forever, and right before a much-needed off day too. There is probably some kind of irony in the fact that I can no longer piggyback off berselius’ MLB dot TV for Cubs games since I’m blacked out, and that the building’s complimentary (read: I already pay for this with my amenities fee) cable doesn’t include Marquee. Of course, I did remember while shuttling around Chicago that, oh yeah, I AM in Chicago! And therefore could listen to Pat Hughes on the radio, so that will be fun when my wife sets up her record player (which doubles as a radio) so I don’t have to randomly go to the car.

Anyway, the Cubs still suck, but the rest of the National League sort of sucks too, and they’re not so far behind that it is impossible to make a comeback as they did last season, but also they’ve really dug themselves a hole for sucking ass for such a prolonged period. However, at least the Cubs have their mandated All-Star representative who probably gets the nod even without the at-least-one-per-team rule:

[Shota] Imanaga was named to the National League’s pitching staff on Sunday, making him the first Cubs rookie to be named an All-Star since Kris Bryant in his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2015. Imanaga was the lone member of Chicago’s team to make the Senior Circuit’s squad for the Midsummer Classic, which is set for 7 p.m. CT on July 16 (on FOX) at Globe Life Field in Texas.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Imanaga joins Sam Jones (1955) as the only Cubs rookie pitchers to earn All-Star honors. Imanaga is the first official rookie pitcher to make an All-Star team for Chicago since 1958, when rookie rules were first established by MLB.

MLB.com

You can’t say he doesn’t deserve it, and although there have been a couple of blowup starts of the type we feared, Shota Imanaga has been rock solid and thus far has more than earned his contract and at least some brownie points for Jed Hoyer, who still has some explaining to do for whatever all this is right now. There may yet be some additional Cubs picked as replacements for the already-named players who bow out due to injury, pitching on that final Sunday before the break, or who just want a five day vacation. For everyone else, they do get a long break to recover and see what they can do to push for some additions before the trade deadline.

Freedom From…Winning?

On this day, which is supposed to celebrate the Declaration of Independence and American freedom and all that good stuff, I ponder the occasion as a metaphor with multiple layers. On one layer we have the actual nation that is the United States, teetering on the brink of the unmentionables and which we should probably leave for another blog and/or author more capable about lamenting it. On a different layer, which this website is slightly better at dealing with, we have the Chicago Cubs, who seemingly have forgotten how to win in nearly all facets of the game. Perhaps there will be an inspiring comeback (I mean, the Astros did it so far, so it is possible), but considering the performances to this point over a stretch of weeks and the ever increasing rumblings of a sell-off, we probably shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves.

Ironically, having moved back to Chicago, I am blacked out of watching them on streaming, but that’s not such a big deal for now since I haven’t watched a game since maybe the Rays series. Our building is supposed to provide cable included with our rent payments so maybe that includes Marquee, but there’s little incentive to tune in right now, which is sad because I used to watch or listen to every game. Gameday will have to suffice until they give me more reasons to indulge.

Anyway…Happy Independence Day, jabronis. Be kind to your small mammalian friends and try not to blow off any extremities.

The Quest For a Competent Bullpen

I figured since the last post about the offense got us some runs, maybe I’ll reverse-curse the team and help their bullpen stop sucking too? Generally I think there are way too many uncompetitive pitches, getting them behind in the count, and then they have to go back into the zone where they almost invariably hang one in the happy zone to be destroyed. It’s kind of impressive, really, but not very entertaining. Anyway! Here’s to a more complete team effort, and hopefully it isn’t like stupid video game sliders where if you improve the pitching the offense goes away again.

The Quest to Score More Than One Run

I got nothing here, just needed a new thread probably. By all rights this team should be capable of scoring better, but everyone is playing like crap so that even if they do get baserunners, none of them are coming home. Anyway, I’m sure we’ll address this when we pod or whatever, and perhaps they’ll score some run(s) against the Giants, who even knows anymore?

Vote for Your Not-Even-First-Half All-Stars!

I’m not entirely sure which Cubs actually deserve it given their prolonged slumps, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple picked in reserve and none actually starting from the position player corps, but you can start voting for All-Stars at this time. As in previous years, MLB is letting online voters stuff the ballot box with five votes per account per day, so if Seiya Suzuki stans make a million burner accounts each and just bot it up, maybe him?

Looking at the list of guys on the primary ballot, some thoughts…

  • Poor Kris Bryant…
  • Mike Tauchman has been relegated to the DH pile
  • I think the other Contreras Brother is going to start at catcher, OPS is miles above everyone else and he’s been objectively pretty darn good
  • Yeah I don’t see any Cubs starting here

The pitchers are selected by the managers of the All-Star squadrons so there’s a good chance guys like Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad might get picked, and between now and then if the position guys actually heat up like we hope they do, then I think their peers may select them to the squad. Since the ballot box is open now, do as Chicago does and go stuff it, I suppose.

The Return of Bote

Rejoice, ye peasants, the lords on high have heeded your cries. In short:

  • David Bote selected
  • Nick Madrigal optioned to Iowa
  • Adbert Alzolay moved to 60-day injured list

It appears David Bote shall return to the Cubs, replacing Nick Madrigal. Bote has been playing all over the place on the infield, including shortstop, and has more power potential than our short king. Meanwhile, Madrigal will get what I presume would be more regular playing time in a place where he can’t hurt the Cubs with weak grounders and poor baserunning. I get that some of that wasn’t necessarily his fault, but this seems a logical move since Bote has hit pretty well in Iowa while biding his time.

I believe this is the final season of Bote’s extension with the Cubs, so they’ll see what he can do. Bummer about Adbert Alzolay, who struggled early and then got hurt, which may explain the struggles but is still disappointing as he can’t work through it as extensively right now.

Good luck to everyone, but in the short term, especially David Bote, whom I presume will be a good bench option as the starting lineup is pretty much spoken for.

Moving On From Disappointment

There’s no sugarcoating it, this has been a very horrible stretch for the Cubs and they probably need to have a team meeting or some kind of surprise call-up or trade or signing to spark…something. I’ve generally mellowed out after the Cubs did the thing back then that some people forgot, but it’s a lot more fun to follow a team that is winning, and at the least, even if they don’t win, at least try to play well. The issue is that they’re not winning AND they’re not playing well. That is hopefully something the brain trust figures out.

A full roster turnover isn’t happening in season due to many factors, so we have to start with the current guys on the active roster doing what we know they’re capable of. Having a team-wide systemic slump is incredible and reminiscent of many of our complaints this year and for many past Cubs squadrons. Having the bats wake up more consistently will go a long way.

Until they wake up, the Cubs need to play defense and have their bullpen hold the line. The catchers might not hit, but they have to frame pitches better and help hold baserunners. Guys in the field, whether former Gold Glove winners or guys who are just there out of some roster necessity, need to convert outs and get their pitchers out of innings. I love what the rotation has been doing recently, but wasting all those starts late is extremely irritating and I’m sure it can’t be fun for the team either. I do wonder how much of this is coaching, but I do think because we were all generally happy with the roster construction (like we had much of a choice, but it wasn’t supposed to suck), there’s only so much the manager and staff can do. But it wouldn’t hurt to brainstorm a bit.

We are entering a stretch of division matchups and hopefully weaker pitching that will help the Cubs find their offensive stroke again, though you can allow for some poor luck with batted balls lately too. With over 100 games remaining, there is time to let things improve internally, but hopefully there are plans in the works to really shake things up, whether it’s to motivate the troops or to change personnel. I am hopeful for a turnaround because the talent should be there, and I do think the front office agrees and will add regardless of their record at the deadline. But it’s up to those already here to make that decision easier.