AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

The Rundown: Giants Blast Cubs into Bay, Postseason Berth Near Certainty, Injury Bug Bites Brewers Hurlers

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 28, 2025

“Champagne for breakfast with a Sherman in my hand. Peached up, peach ale…never fails.” – Do You Feel Like We Do? by Peter Frampton

“That which we call a loss by any other name would still smell like Da Feet.” – Don Zimmer, maybe.

The social media meltdown after last night’s 12-3 loss to the Giants is as mad as a March hare. The Cubs still have a 99.5% chance of making the playoffs and they’re no worse in the division race than they were a week ago. I therefore know one thing for sure and two things for certain:

  1. With an 8.5-game lead, the Cubs are a virtual lock to make the playoffs because the Reds lack the defensive prowess to erase that deficit.
  2. I’m sure Chicago’s North Side Baseballers are going to overcome their maddening proclivity for scoring three or fewer runs per game.
  3. Craig Counsell isn’t at fault because his players stopped hitting en masse and Jed Hoyer did not do a poor job of assembling this team.

Honorable Mention: My frosted brownie and icy cold Pepsi breakfast was just as delicious today as every other morning.

The Cubs are playing at a 92-win pace, something we all would have given our left arms for back in March. And hey, baseball, and fandom in particular, is supposed to be fun. Yes, Counsell should be finding more at-bats for Owen Caissie, and sure, Seiya Suzuki needs to sit for a few games. That said, the Cubs are on pretty solid footing when it comes to locking in a Wild Card entry. Winning the NL Central is only going to occur if the Brewers swiftly and wholly implode. Despite any hope to the contrary, Milwaukee is going to finish with 97 wins just by playing .500 baseball through the end of September. The Cubs would then have to go 21-8 (.724) to win their head-to-head tiebreaker.

That’s just not happening. Well, maybe not, because I still like Chicago’s chances and the traditional cutoff is five games back or less on September 1. A win today and a loss by the Brewers puts the Cubs 5.5 games behind with 28 to play. I might be dumb, fellas, but I’m not stupid. Then again, you are now astutely aware of my preferred breakfast choices.

I may be in the minority, but I give Counsell a lot of credit for not making irrational decisions. The players who helped Chicago hover at 20 or more games over .500 are the ones that the beleaguered manager will be counting on in October. That includes Justin Turner, who needs at least 6-8 at-bats per week to be ready to help during the postseason. Advance apologies to all you Turner bashers out there.

In the meantime, yes, give Suzuki some PTO. It might be time to rest Carson Kelly for a few games, too. Counsell might also want to counsel Matthew Boyd while he’s at it. The Giants became keenly aware of Boyd’s propensity to throw first-pitch strikes and capitalized on that Tuesday evening. As far as last night, Colin Rea is a throwaway starter who has performed much better than anyone expected, but he’s not the guy you should count on for big wins. The Cubs are 18-8 in his starts, so last night’s poor outing is irrelevant, and it’s not like any of us would feel any better had the score been 4-3 instead. Moral victories are always immediately forgotten, and the hangover is equally anguishing, if not more so.

At the very least, the Cubs should play .500 baseball and finish with at least 90-91 wins, meaning Cincinnati would have to go 23-5 (.821) to drop Chicago into the draft lottery. As I said above, but with no disclaimer this time, that’s not happening. Anything can happen when it comes to the playoffs, and the champagne shower is just as pleasingly exhilarating no matter how you get in.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

Assad might make more money if the Cubs simply paid him in frequent flyer miles.

Central Intelligence

Wild Pitch

“I remember throwin’ punches around and preachin’ from my chair.” – Who Are You? by The Who

How About That!

Mark Teixeira officially announced that he is running for Congress in Texas.

Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman hasn’t allowed a hit in 41 straight at-bats.

The Guardians placed switch-hitting first baseman Carlos Santana on outright waivers. He’d be a nice off-the-bench stretch-run bat for any contending team, and he’s got decent career numbers against lefties. He will also be postseason-eligible if he finds a new home by September 1.

Next year’s Opening Day will set a record as the earliest in league history for games played in the United States.

Blue Jays prospect Peyton Williams, aka “The Iowa Meat Truck,” might have the coolest nickname in baseball. It almost makes me wish the Cubs would trade for him.

Extra Innings

“Forget it.” – Vin Scully

Apropos of Nothing

There is no greater hangover song than the one that began today’s post, though “Who Are You” is a very close second.

They Said It

  • “It was just a bad night. Nico [Hoerner] had a good night and did some good things. But we didn’t pitch well, left some scoring opportunities out there.” – Counsell

Thursday Walk-Up Song

“Take time with a wounded hand…”  Are you catching today’s theme?

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 28, 2025
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