AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The Rundown: Cubs Squander Chance to Sweep Cardinals, Amaya & PCA Heating Up, White Sox Nearly Fired Grifol

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 5, 2024

“Last Sunday morning the sunshine felt like rain. The week before they all seemed the same.” – Allman Brothers Band, Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More

With yesterday’s 6-2 win, the Cubs took three of four from the Cardinals over the weekend, and while that’s usually a cause for rabid celebration, Chicago should have swept the series. They gave away Saturday’s game, the 25th time they’ve done that this year by my count. Many fans are pointing the finger at Craig Counsell, but I have two middle ones to thrust outward: One at Chicago’s mediocre bullpen and the other at Jed Hoyer for assembling that wreckage.

In fairness, the bullpen has resurged since July 1, but it’s a lot tougher to give away games after three months of regularly sucking wind. That two-game swing will loom even larger a month from now. Should the Cubs miss the Wild Card by a game, Saturday’s debacle will have a fat target on it. That’s the price for threading the needle, or, as common folk refer to it, just not being good enough.

Life is not all gloom and doom on Chicago’s North Side, however. The Cubs did the Brewers and Pirates a solid by winning the series while putting a dent in the Cardinals’ postseason hopes. Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Miguel Amaya deserve accolades, too. The three rookies are producing regularly and Busch has been particularly clutch. Amaya is starting to look like the team’s answer at catcher now that he’s found his stroke at the plate. Meanwhile, PCA battled through a tough start to his career and is on the precipice of breaking out. As usual, Chicago’s starting pitching was stellar all weekend.

I’d love to continue looking at the bright side of Cubs fandom, but I have two large portions on my plate. As a telephony engineer, I’m dealing with Hurricane Debby off the coast of Florida. I also have a job interview this afternoon for a data analyst position with the NHL. As much as I love baseball, hockey is my favorite sport, so this is a cherished opportunity for me.

In the meantime, look for the Cubs to stay hot against the Twins starting tonight at Wrigley Field. The pitching matchups favor the home team, and Chicago has quietly won six of their last nine games. It’s too bad they’re losing ground in the Wild Card race to the red-hot Padres and Diamondbacks. The Cubs still have an excellent shot to make a run at the playoff this month, however, with the Guardians being the only truly formidable opponent they’ll face (August 12-14).

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

This Seinfeld bit never gets old, and watching Derek Jeter marvel at the hitting prowess of George Costanza — the father of exit velocity — is good fun.

Central Intelligence

Jockeying for Seed No. 6

Per Fangraphs:

  1. Diamondbacks (58.3%)
  2. Mets (37.5%)
  3. Cardinals (8.5%)
  4. Pirates (5.0%)
  5. Giants (13.0%)
  6. Cubs (3.2%)

Lottery Likelihood

Per Tankathon:

  1. Rockies (23.49%)
  2. Marlins (23.49%)
  3. Angels (14.23%)
  4. Nationals (10.68%)
  5. Blue Jays (7.83%)
  6. Tigers (5.55%)
  7. Rangers (3.84%)
  8. Reds (2.56%)
  9. Cubs (1.99%)

The Cubs have baseball’s 11th-worst record, but they and all the other teams above them get a boost because the White Sox and A’s are ineligible to pick higher than 10th.

How About That!

The White Sox are the first team to lose 20 straight contests since the 1988 Orioles. The MLB record is 23 consecutive losses set by the 1961 Phillies, in case you’re curious. The South Siders could conceivably set a new low-water mark against the Cubs if they are swept in Oakland this week.

The Sox nearly fired manager Pedro Grifol over the weekend and his status remains day-to-day according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who’s expected to leave Miami after the season, remains the leading candidate for the job.

David Schoenfield of ESPN predicts in his post-deadline analysis ($) that the Braves and Astros will miss the playoffs.

Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi faced 167 consecutive batters before walking one. His streak ended over the weekend.

Rookie phenom Paul Skenes gets his first opportunity to face megastar Shohei Ohtani this week.

Shortstop Royce Lewis believes the Twins have the talent to win the World Series.

The Yankees may regret their inability to acquire pitching at the trade deadline.

He Said What?

Ryan Braun is having a helluva retirement.

“I’m retired in Florida now,” Braun said. “There are nights where I’ll grab a whiskey, sit out on the patio and pull up (my own) highlights on YouTube. There’s a lot of highlights. I’m drunk by the end of the night.”

Extra Innings

The triple is still one of the most exciting occurrences in baseball.

They Said It

  • “I’ve never underperformed like this, but it’s important to give myself some grace. Your adjustment period is taking place at a time when you’d like to be helping produce wins and you’re just not. I’ve also never had to battle with feeling like I’m not helping the team. But I’ve gotten through that, and there are different ways I’ve come to look at the situation as a whole.” – Crow-Armstrong
  • “As much as anything, the ball has just been hit to the middle of the field a lot. For any hitter, that’s a good sign that you’re on time and swinging at pitches in the middle of the plate. And just getting some pitches to hit and doing something with them — he’s done an excellent job of that. I thought he performed excellently on the road trip and had some bad luck, frankly.” – Counsell
  • “We have to use mistakes as an opportunity to learn. That’s how we get better. The unfortunate part of [Saturday] was that it was a moment in the game where it hurt. It hurt everybody, right? That tied the game for them. It was in a big spot.” – Counsell

Monday Walk Up Song

I’m already tired of the political back and forth on social media. Voters should never have to defend their choice no matter their preferred candidate. We’ve got to live together, but don’t forget to vote!

By the way, Bernie Williams is an excellent jazz guitarist and you should check out his stuff on Spotify or YouTube.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 5, 2024
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