The Rundown: Playoffs Proving Pitching Prevails, Cubs Have 5 Gold Glove Finalists, Brewers 1 Win Shy of NL Pennant

“Look me in the eye and tell me that I’m satisfied.” – Unsatisfied by The Replacements

It’s Pick on Jed Hoyer Day in the Canter household, and though I’ve tried to avoid writing this column, it’s all I’ve got. I also lack the irrepressible optimism that many of my colleagues at other sites possess, though I’m not going to deliver something akin to a morgue piece or flatliner. The Cubs excavated that gravesite for me and anchored its tombstone when they collectively failed to hit in the Wild Card series. At least the Wrigley Field offices are fully decorated for Halloween.

Trust me, I’d love to write a column praising Hoyer and his front office entourage, but the president of baseball operations gives me little to work with. The postmortem presser has become an all-too-familiar rite of October on Chicago’s North Side. Hoyer has yet to build a division-winning roster, and the Cubs have failed to develop a bona fide starter since Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano debuted a quarter-century ago. Yes, Justin Steele and Cade Horton have had their moments, but neither has been healthy enough to compare to Big Z. Prior, in his short career, started more games than Steele has.

That’s not all on Hoyer, of course, but the flaw that dates back to the days of Jim Hendry and beyond compounds other roster deficiencies. Hoyer, who can squeeze a nickel until the buffalo squirts, believes elite defense is the panacea for any and all roster blemishes. It’s certainly the most economical approach, especially when it comes to putting lipstick on the pig that is Chicago’s pitching staff. Ok, that’s a little harsh, and injuries played a huge part. The Cubs used 39 different pitchers in 2026, and that doesn’t include Carson Kelly. That’s equivalent to three 13-man pitching staffs, which is remarkable.

Still, Hoyer’s staff was worth a meager 6.0 fWAR in 2026, the lowest for the franchise since 1998. Chicago won 89 games this season because its offense was worth 37.8 fWAR, and though wins against replacement isn’t the weighty statistic that we’d like it to be, it does carry a lot of analytic value. Then again, you don’t need 30 years of scouting experience to see which Cubs pitchers would have made the rosters of any of the other playoff teams, and which ones wouldn’t.

We could (and will) beat that dead horse all winter, but that’s not Hoyer’s most damning transgression. His fear of missing big is what generally drives Chicago’s small-ball approach to roster construction. The Cubs have had too many misfires on low-cost veterans, including a never-ending line of marginal starters and bullpen retreads. Hoyer has been mostly lucky with his patchwork relief corps, but those gambles are calamitous more often than not. Cubs fans annually bear witness to that nefarious reversal because of Hoyer’s aversion to shutdown closers.

One example is Ryan Pressly, who joined the team in 2025. He still hasn’t been picked up since being released last August, meaning 29 teams saw what Hoyer didn’t. Jacob Webb led the Cubs with nine saves in 2026, but he failed to close out a win eight times, with five of those games ending in losses. Yikes. The list of closers during Hoyer’s tenure also includes Héctor Neris, Adbert Alzolay, David Robertson, and the well-past-his-prime Craig Kimbrel. The team has 237 saves in 367 save opportunities since Hoyer took over for Theo Epstein, and though the Cubs eventually won some of those games, that’s slumlord bullpen building at its very worst. There are no victory laps for leading after six innings unless Mother Nature intervenes.

I fully understand that the reluctance to overspend for a closer is the prevailing attitude among our readers, but Mason Miller, Josh Hader, Ryan Helsley, Kenley Jansen, Edwin Díaz, and Aroldis Chapman have all been available since Hoyer ascended to the throne. Then there’s Trevor Megill, a Cubs castoff whose career was resurrected by Pat Murphy and the Brewers in 2023. Chicago’s closer situation is characteristic of a much larger reality: Hoyer builds teams that are good enough to compete, but never good enough to finish.

One more thing, if I may. Forget about the lack of offense against the Padres in the playoffs because slumps happen. The Cubs were outscored 12-1 in that two-game set, while the Brewers held San Diego to 10 runs in four games in the NLDS. If anything, this year’s playoffs have proved that pitching wins, period. Therefore, asking an offense to plate 14 runners in two postseason games is much too tall a request, even when a lineup is clicking on all cylinders.

Cubs News & Notes

• Tarik Skubal and the Cubs are a perfect fit on paper, but Hoyer will have to exceed his comfort zone if he hopes to land the two-time AL Cy Young winner.
• Hoyer also has to address his outfield and will likely do so with the creativity that he uses to build his bullpen each season.
• Chicago has five 2026 Gold Glove finalists and should have at least one more.
• One Wrigleyville rooftop owner will continue his fight against the Cubs to sell game day tickets with a limited view. The Ricketts family successfully sued Aidan Dunican in 2024, arguing he was illegally profiting, an operation the family has called “parasitic.” The Ricketts’ businesses have bought and acquired 11 buildings and their rooftop businesses surrounding the park. They’ve also reached revenue-sharing deals with a few others. Dunican is the lone holdout.

Ball Four

I’m not one to cling to the old times, but afternoon World Series games do provide fond memories. Then again, maybe it was the broadcasters. Vin Scully, Mel Allen, and Curt Gowdy could say more in one sentence than John Smoltz can in one of his rambling soliloquies.

Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Oct 6, 1960 – Pirates pitcher Bob Friend pops up ending the 2nd inning and leaving two runners in scoring position and Game 2 of 1960 World Series scoreless. However, that would soon change as Yankees would score 15 runs in next 5 innings in a 16-3 rout pic.twitter.com/3CGJLgYGbM

— Old-Time Baseball Photos (@OTBaseballPhoto) October 12, 2026

Playoff News & Notes

The Brewers are one win away from making their first World Series appearance since 1982.

The Dodgers will attempt to become the second team to rally from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series. The Red Sox did it in 2004, and current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played a big part in that comeback.

Milwaukee’s Game 3 battery of Robert Gasser and William Contreras might not have happened if the club didn’t draft J.J. Hardy in 2001.

Jake Bauers had another long at-bat, this time against Los Angeles starter Blake Snell. The 11-pitch battle ended with a game-changing home run.

The Guardians will start workhorse Gavin Williams in Game 3 of the ALCS on Thursday afternoon. The Rays will counter with Griffin Jax in the deadlocked series.

How About That!

If Milwaukee ousts the Dodgers, baseball will be faced with a reality that directly opposes its current CBA stance: Two small-market teams playing for a championship.

Joe Espada, who guided the Astros to two AL West titles in three seasons, will not return to manage the team next season.

The Phillies have agreed to a two-year extension with manager Don Mattingly.

A growing number of MLB and NFL fans are concerned and angry that terrifying movie trailer commercials prevent them from letting their children watch televised sports. Who knew Bill Murray was that far ahead of his time when he released ‘Scrooged’ in 1988?

Speaking of which, I saw my first Christmas commercial of the 2026 shopping season during Wednesday’s Brewers-Dodgers game. I better get my tree and ornaments out.

If I were a parent of a young child, I’d be more concerned with the Sydney Sweeney gambling ads.

Extra Innings

We live in a world where Seiya Suzuki is a Gold Glove finalist and Nico Hoerner is not. Hear me out, however. Suzuki led all National League right fielders with 14 defensive runs saved and was first among the right field finalists in DWAR.

Seiya Suzuki is a finalist for the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award at right field in the NL! pic.twitter.com/7yZ0tRqeos

— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) October 14, 2026

They Said It

• “We can’t retain everyone. The team’s going to look and feel different next year. In a lot of ways, that’s a good thing. But I do want to emphasize that we have a lot of good players who are going to be free agents, and we’ll be in touch.” – Hoyer
• “I don’t know if I was able to reach the expectations that people had. I feel like each year, there was frustration at the end of the year. Just looking back at it, I felt like I did get better, I worked hard. I think the plus was this last year, my defense improved a lot. All that work I put in, that did help me improve.” – Suzuki

Wednesday Walk-Up Song

I never saw this video until today, though I have heard this song on almost every Caribbean vacation I’ve been on.