AP Photo/David Banks

The Rundown: Cubs Avoid Home Sweep, PCA to the Rescue, Trout Reportedly Available This Winter

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 11, 2023

“Monday, Monday…Can’t trust that day. Monday, Monday, sometimes it just works out that way.” – The Mamas & The Papas, Monday, Monday

It was a bummer of a weekend for Chicago sports fans. The Cubs dropped three of four to the Diamondbacks, the Bears got spanked by the Packers, and both teams exhibited a dire need for offense. Yesterday’s 5-2 win by the Cubs prevented a potentially disastrous sweep while doing little to reassure some fans that postseason baseball is a real possibility. Today feels like a great day to sleep in, but here we are. The cool, rainy weather this morning isn’t making a strong case for something a little more motivational.

Though a 4-3 homestand against two potential playoff teams should feel like a success, I expected more. Those last six games at the end of the season against the Braves and Brewers seem like a gargantuan task right now. The Cubs play nine of their next 12 against the Rockies and Pirates, and a loss in any of those games will be as annoying as a pesky new skin tag. Chicago also needs to exact a little revenge when they go to Arizona this weekend, and multiple losses could make the season-ending series meaningless.

At least the offense showed a little life after being held to four total runs in the first three games of the set. Home runs are nice, but the Cubs are failing when it comes manufacturing runs. David Ross juggled his lineup yesterday, dropping Ian Happ from third in the order to sixth, and bumping Christopher Morel up to leadoff. Happ went 0-for-4, but Morel hit the first of three 3rd-inning bombs to give the North Siders a 2-0 lead. Cody Bellinger and Dansby Swanson followed Morel’s blast with solo shots of their own.

The Cubs desperately needed a win yesterday and they came through with their backs against the wall. Let’s hope Jordan Wicks can improve to 4-0 with a win over the Rockies tonight.

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

The Nashville Brewers sounds a little odd considering Tennessee is better known as a distillery state.

“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.” – W.C. Fields

Central Intelligence

Climbing the Ladder

“All our feelings and thoughts expressed in ones and in oughts.” – Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Random Number Generation

Happy Pythagorean Day if you celebrate! The Cubs are 82-62 if outcomes were dictated by the baseball equivalent of a²+b²=c². That’s a winning season, though expected win totals are neither linear nor progressive.

In case you’re wondering, it’s (runs scored ^ 1.83) / [(runs scored ^ 1.83) + (runs allowed ^ 1.83)] at Baseball-Reference, but should be named after Bill James with an assist to Pythagoras.

Full disclosure: I’ve been waiting for a reason to include the Hedwig video in The Rundown and now I have one.

  • Games Played: 144
  • Record: 77-67 (.535)
  • Total Plate Appearances: 5,500
  • Total Strikeouts: 1,224
  • Strikeout Rate: 22.82%
  • Team Batting Average: .254
  • Runs Scored: 725
  • Runs Allowed: 627
  • Chances of Making the Playoffs: 91.9%, 5.4% to win the World Series

How About That!

The Astros are bidding to become the first repeat World Series winner since the 1998-2000 Yankees, but the postseason field will be extremely tough this year.

The Braves clinched their sixth consecutive playoff berth and they’re the first team to qualify for this year’s postseason.

The Giants and Dodgers are the most likely destinations for Trout if the Angels do decide to trade him.

Jim Bowden said Shohei Ohtani will not return to the Angels next season.

Kyle Schwarber has a WAR of less than 1.0 despite hitting 43 home runs.

What do we think of Deion Sanders simultaneously being an MLB manager with the Rockies while serving as the head football coach at the University of Colorado?

Speaking of managers, Matt Holliday is reportedly interested in running a team, even though he recently retired as the Cardinals’ bench coach.

Sunday’s Three Stars

  1. Pablo Lopez – The Twins starter pitched eight innings of two-hit shutout baseball with 14 strikeouts. That’s my type of hype!
  2. Marcus Semien – Four hits, two home runs, and two RBI is a nice day at the office for the Rangers second baseman.
  3. Kyle Tucker – The Astros outfielder was 2-for-3, but he hit two triples (both in the 6th inning), drove in two runs, walked once, and stole two bases.

Extra Innings

Losing Bellinger after this season might hurt more than trading Anthony Rizzo in 2021.

Monday Morning Six-Pack

  1. The Bears were manhandled in a 38-20 loss to the Packers, though the game was much closer in the first half.
  2. Chicago was outplayed in all aspects of the game and Jordan Love bested Justin Fields, but the playcalling by Luke Getsy was suspect.
  3. Temperatures in Phoenix topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit for the 54th day this year, a new record, though it’s a “dry heat.”
  4. You’ll love the game Turntable if you like brainteasers, and you’ll thank me for linking you to it.
  5. Who remembers what airport security was like before the 9/11 attacks?
  6. Rosh Hashana begins Friday night. Shanah Tovah!

They Said It

  • “I’ve never seen waver from our group at all this season. Sure, it’s easy to hang your head or whatever. I don’t know if it is easy to hang your head for this group, to be honest. That’s probably just a saying that I just spit out of my mouth. I don’t believe that actually as I say it. This group has overcome a lot of adversity, has had a lot of challenges, they’ve had a lot of narratives about them, but all they do is continue to go out and play baseball really hard and put up W’s.” – Ross

Monday Walk-Up Song

Like the Longines Symphonette, it doesn’t rest.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 11, 2023
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