AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

The Rundown: Cubs Break Long Losing Streak, Counsell Catching Shrapnel from Local Media, CBA Negotiations Begin

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMay 28, 2026

“They’re selling postcards of the hanging.” — Desolation Row by Bob Dylan and performed by The Grateful Dead

Thanks to a rousing 10-4 win over the Pirates, the Cubs are no longer riding a double-digit losing streak. Craig Counsell, who has mostly remained immune to big media tough love, looked relieved in his postgame interview, though the barbarians are now at the gate. Marc Silverman of ESPN’s Waddle & Silvy Show initiated Counsell’s public denunciation before yesterday’s game, openly questioning what, if anything, Counsell is giving the Cubs in exchange for his $40 million contract.

A four-hour sports call-in show usually provides more hot air than the Great Galena Balloon Race, but it would be disingenuous to say the criticism wasn’t warranted. Chin up, Craig, at least you’ll avoid a similar fate as Tom Trebelhorn, the original Milwaukee-to-Chicago managerial transient. Tom T., you may remember, agreed to meet the riot squad at the Waveland Avenue firehouse in 1994 after an 0-8 start at home. He was terminated after that season, one that also included a 10-game losing streak in early June, and was asked to take GM Larry Himes along for the ride.

Firing a manager is more symbolic than anything in most cases. The front office, on the other hand, is responsible for the personnel the manager is given. It’s therefore fair to include Jed Hoyer when attaching stigma to the organization as it currently sits. Hoyer was named president of baseball operations following the 2020 season and has built one playoff team in that role. He has a penchant for soft-tossing reclamation relievers and platoon-style players, and spends more time sizing up Chicago’s ever-shifting weather patterns than his opponents.

Himes and Hoyer are more similar than you might think, and not just because each poached a manager from the Brewers. Both acquired star players — Sammy Sosa and Pete Crow-Armstrong — in one-sided trades. Himes let Joe Girardi walk for nothing in the expansion draft, while Hoyer DFA’d Kyle Schwarber. Chicago’s 1994 bullpen included the likes of José Bautista, Chuck Crim, and Dave Otto. Hoyer’s bullpen includes Jacob Webb, Corbin Martin, and Trent Thornton. You could exchange Jim Bullinger and Dan Plesac for Colin Rea and Hoby Milner and lose (or gain) nothing in the translation. You could say the same about Kevin Foster and Ben Brown.

Himes also let Greg Maddux leave for the Braves and pushed Ryne Sandberg into his first retirement, so at least Hoyer has yet to match that Herculean effort. Hoyer also fleeced the Rays, getting them to take Christopher Morel for Isaac Paredes. Few executives can brag about having that entry on their resumes. Paredes was then used to acquire Kyle Tucker, who helped lead Chicago to the 2025 playoffs. Morel is hitting .169 for the Marlins with a .443 OPS.

Injuries and underperformance have hurt the ’26 Cubs, who were named just two weeks ago as the one National League team best built to unseat the Dodgers. So, Counsell and Hoyer aren’t really at fault for a collective slump that’s more dumb luck than lack of skill. The Cubs are a 90-win team, and it doesn’t matter how they get there as long as they do. As a team that runs as hot and cold as this one, you can only hope Chicago’s North Side Baseballers can catch a heater just as the calendar turns from September to October. Then we can crack a beer and laugh at a tiny stretch of bad baseball back in mid-May.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

Nicole Briscoe did a wonderful job of representing every single Cubs fan in this diatribe.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

The MLBPA made its first collective bargaining proposal, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan has the details. It surprisingly includes a $150 million salary floor, designated as a competitive integrity tax. It also includes a $56 million increase in the base CBT. There is nothing in their proposal about deferred salaries.

The owners are proposing a firm salary cap, something they haven’t requested since the 1994 lockout. They’re looking to cap spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, with a salary floor of $171.2 million.

Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez set a new franchise record by pitching 44.2 consecutive scoreless innings. He broke the mark set by Grover Alexander in 1911.

Yordan Alvarez has back-to-back multi-homer games, tying an Astros franchise record. Jose Altuve (2023), Richard Hidalgo (2000), Moisés Alou (2000), and Doug Rader (1973) are the others. Only four major leaguers have done it in three consecutive games.

Extra Innings

It’s going to be a lot of fun watching Hartshorn’s progress. He has demonstrated above-average swing decisions, exit velocity, and in-zone contact skills in his young career.

They Said It!

  • “You don’t deliver every time, but we gotta have some level of production. Pressing? I don’t know. I’m not sure what the answer is to that. The answer is it’s a big-league at-bat with men on base. It’s the at-bat you want in a game and it’s the at-bat you can make a difference for your team. It’s the at-bat you can flip the course of a game. And it’s time for us to deliver.” – Counsell

Thursday Walk-Up Song

Take a load off, Craig.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMay 28, 2026
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