Cubby-Blue

Cubs' David Ross and the Circle of Trust.

Did you watch last night?
Bottom of the 5th?
Cubs 6, Sox 9.
Cubs 6, Sox 10.
Cubs 6, Sox 11.
Cubs 6, Sox 13. 
Then, Ross brought in Rex Brothers, the 4th Cubs pitcher of the game.
Still the 5th.
He threw his second pitch into the ground about half way to home plate.
Then walked the first two batters to load the bases.

For the second time that inning.

Camera cuts to David Ross in the dugout.
He walked off screen.
Into the the clubhouse.
I bet to scream.

I'm not trying to single out Brothers - there's plenty of horrible in the bullpen.
Just sayin'...

Patrick Wisdom is a teeny ray of Cubs fun.

Patrick Wisdom is a 29 year old rookie who was a 1st round draft pic 10 years ago by the St. Louis Cardinals, then spent time with the Rangers and Mariners.
He's been on 8 different minor league teams from Batavia, NY to Peoria to Memphis, and been DFA'd 3 times (including once by the Cubs).
So when you see him laughing and smiling after hitting a 438 foot 3 run bomb, he deserves it.
When you see him dancing out on the field (I can't find the vid, sorry), he deserves it.
When he first came up and shocked us all with 6 dingers and got the NL Player of the Week, he deserved it.
And when people talk about him being in the Rookie of the Year conversation, he deserves that, too.
(Everybody says it'll be Reds' 2nd baseman Jonathan India, and if it is I suspect Wisdom will smile and congratulate him.)

I've been in a crap mood pretty much this whole month.
I went to a game last weekend, and thought... if bought tickets before the trade deadline and, say, had a plan to bring the family to Wrigley to see the Cubs?
Do you know how much money that is?
You'd be furious.
The pitching has been just brutal - Ross' honesty and patience in post game interviews is like... take a class from this guy, aspiring managers.
There's just... no reason to smile.
And yet there's Wisdom cranking a homer and having a blast.
Can't help but like the guy. 
Here's what it says on Spotrack: "Patrick Wisdom signed a 1 year / $570,500 contract with the Chicago Cubs... Wisdom's adjusted salary with the Chicago Cubs is $401,777."
Will they re-sign him?
I would imagine so... all the bombers are gone, and if the plan is to switch up with guys who, for lack of a better term, "hit for average".. then a guy who may eclipse Kris Bryant's rookie (and all-time Cubs rookie record) HR record might be worth keeping.
He just hit his 21st, passing Tyler Colvin's 20, and now has Walt Moryn ('56), Geovany Soto, Ian Happ, Billy Williams and Bryant's 26 homers to beat.
6 homers in about 5 weeks?
Might be one of the happier stories from this year. 

Last thing.
I saw an article (NY Post) that says hot dogs can take 33 minutes off your life, while peanut butter and jelly sandwiches "were associated with an increase of 33 minutes."
Immediately thought of how many dogs I've eaten at Wrigley, and how weird it would be without them.


Okay, White Sox are next.
The Cubs should get creamed, which is why they'll probably win. 
I didn't say that, though. 


 

Cubs win 2 in a row! Cardinals lose. Weird.

No real time to write today, but the Cubs took 2 of 3 (2 in a row!) from the Reds in Cincinnati. 
And while that was happening, the Cardinals dropped the first 2 (in a row) vs the Brewers.
They've got one more in this series, tonight with Jon Lester (still sporting a Nats Hat on ESPN) on the mound.
I know our baseball lives got turned upside down, so just sharing some Cardinals' misery with you. 
This St. Louis Post Dispatch article by Derrick Goold should make you smile.

Cubs off today.
Old news, but you're aware of the new money generating facility that the Cubs will build (after they get one more approval from City Council), right?
The on-site gambling facility coming next to Wrigley, in cahoots with Draft Kings?
It'll go right here, at the corner of Addison and Sheffield (screengrab from Google Maps).

So Ron Santo and Billy Williams will have to move, and it'll be more money spent on real estate rather than the team, but I'm just a small thinker.
Surely one day the profits from this building will go directly to some new players and the Cubs won't be outspent by small market teams like San Diego (like they are this year) ever again.
Block Club (you should subscribe, they're awesome local news) article says: "The sportsbook is part of a years-long plan to restore and expand Wrigley Field (and was) previously approved by the landmarks commission in 2013."
Whoops... I forgot, this is also about saving Wrigley Field and making it more beautiful! 
Can't wait - another big building crammed in there will help Wrigley look AWESOME!
So there's that, and the new plaques going up in the new Wrigley Field Hall of Fame.
One of them is a tribute to the Ricketts!
Here's what Paul Sullivan of the Trib says about today's ceremony:
"And the Cubs also are showcasing their beloved ballpark, celebrating the end of the renovation of Wrigley Field with a “rededication” event Thursday afternoon in Gallagher Way. According to a Cubs news release, the team will unveil two plaques to “commemorate Wrigley Field’s official designation as a National Historic Landmark and … the Ricketts family’s commitment to preserving Wrigley Field.”
That’s right. The Ricketts family is honoring the Ricketts family for “preserving” the iconic ballpark by adding more premium clubs, advertising and a video board, while also charging more for tickets than almost anyone else in the game."

Wow. I take everything back that I said the other day about writers having to write with kid gloves. 
Anyway, can NOT say enough about the tone-deafness of Cubs ownership.
Their timing could not be dumber. 

Okay last thing.
The other day, my wife and I went for a bike ride on one of the bike paths that goes along the Chicago River.
It's really pretty.
I had one little episode, however.
It was probably a gnat, but it felt like a wine cork in the back of my throat.

Cub Fans, what would Harry do?

I'm getting tired of wallowing in sadness over the massive change that happened to our favorite team.
I go back and forth lately.
I actually feel rotten for all the announcers and sports writers who... I mean think about it.
They have relationships with players and David Ross and even Cubs ownership, right?
So when they're talking or writing about the New Cubs, they kinda have to treat it all with kid gloves.
I imagine that Boog, J.D., Taylor, Pat and Ron... I bet all those guys got a memo from higher up that goes something like, "Please don't say oh my god this is a horrible product the Cubs have put on the field today..."

Did you see Kris Bryant hit 2 out last night for the Giants?
Anthony Rizzo is on his way back from Covid, El Mago's got back spasms and on the IL but should be back soon, and Jake Arrieta got a minor league contract with the Pads.
Meanwhile back on the ranch, the Cubs have now dropped 11 in a row, 2nd time this season, 3rd time would be history-making, yada yada.
Just after the trading deadline, and just for the hell of it, I looked at across various sportsbooks on this site to see what happened to the Cardinals' chances of going to the World Series after the Cubs traded everybody. And St. Louis' got a small boost - from +15000 to +13000 (even though they didn't make significant additions).
Of course the Brewers are and will probably end up at the top of the Central, but the Cards are 8-2 in their last 10 with a 6 game winning streak.
All of which begs the question... WHAT WOULD HARRY DO?
Well... Harry stuff.
He'd definitely have fun with all the new names.
"Romine? I had that in a salad once."
"Hey, Mills spelled backwards is SLIM!"
"Wow, that Schwindell has got a schweet schwing!"
And of course, "Let's get some runs!"
(One time in Spring Training, he actually said, "You know they're not going to lose 162 consecutive games."  Hmmm...)

Well, It's still summer. 
Baseball is still on, and yeah the Cubs are barely watchable but...
I can't not.
Pat Hughes is part of what my grill sounds like.
Sure there are player placeholders and there'll probably be more.
But I do believe Rossy when he says some of these guys are getting a meaningful opportunity.
There's some promise in Justin Steele.
I don't really trust his numbers, but Rafael Ortega has been fun to watch.
And seeing Cub pitchers throw 95 is... refreshing.
Hey, you have a BBQ to go to or wanna watch Ted Lasso, I get it.
But if not, they're playing the Reds again at 6:10 Chicago time and Kyle Hendricks is pitching.

Go Professor!

There went Jake Arrieta...

Well I guess of all the recent exits on the north side of Chicago, this one was kind of a relief.
Jake Arrieta.
The Cy Young winner who was literally impossible to hit for a looong stretch over 2 seasons, and then gradually came back to earth until the other day when he bottomed out with the Cubs.
I hate thinking that anyone's lasting impression of him will be this horrible year leading up to a pissy post-game interview where he dickishly asked Bruce Miles to take off his mask. 
I'm gonna try to forget all that.
His baseball story is astounding and will forever be woven into the W flag that flew in Chicago on that Thursday night in October of 2016.

What else is new?
Last time we spoke, I said I thought the Cubs would lose by a combined 50 runs over the course of the White Sox and Brewers series. 
In fact, the bad guys scored 58 while the Cubs scored 18, so... 40.
In those 7 games, the Cubs basically doubled their 2021 negative run differential, which as of Friday afternoon is now -78.
The evening after the sweep, I had sports talk on the transistor out by the grill.
(I knew this was coming sooner rather than later.)
The radio hosts were saying that Cub fans won't stand for garbage baseball any more.
And a caller said (something like): "Yeah well has anybody taken a close look at David Ross? His involvement in this mess? I question so many of his on-field decisions that... I'm just sayin' you gotta spread the blame to the manager, amirite?"

Then yesterday I went to have a burger and a beer and catch the beginning of the Cubs vs Marlins game.
The place had maybe... 10 big screens?
Lets see... there's little league... NFL preseason... golf... no Cubs.
ME: "Excuse me! Yes, would it be possible to put the Cubs on any of the tvs here? I think they just started."
STAFF: "Oh. Sure hang on."
TV: "De La Cruz takes Alzolay deep for a grand slam!"

I watched maybe the most horrific half inning of Cubs in... I can't remember.
Baseball doesn't have a "time of possession" stat, but Miami would have killed them there.
It was the bottom of the 2nd inning.
On Albert Alzolay's 46th pitch, he got his 4th out of the game, but Miami had taken the lead 4-5.
Then another single, Alzolay does a little skip on the mound after he throws and sure enough it's something wrong with his leg.
He's replaced by Dan Winkler, who surely must have wished something was wrong with his leg, too.
In his 31 pitches, the Cubs gave up a: single, stolen base, walk, double, hit by pitch, passed ball, homer, another single, and yet not one out.
It's now 4-12 and it's still the bottom of the 2nd with only Alzolay's one out when Rex Brothers comes in. 
He gets the next 2 outs, but man... that'll take the taste right out of any burger. 

Depressing?
Yeah. 
Is there anything good to talk about?
Hmm.... live murder hornets spotted in Washington, that's bad. 
Willson Contreras's knee injury might not be too bad... that's pretty good.
Ummm... oh wait!
The Cubs FARM SYSTEM!
Keith Law says (on The Athletic) it went from one of the worst to... well, here's what he said: "The Cubs came into the year in the bottom five of all farm systems, but they’ve pushed themselves up at least to the midpoint."
That's pretty good!
But if you don't have an Athletic subscription, you can't read it sooo...  DANG IT!
Okay how's this one?
The Cubs play the Marlins tonight at 5:10 Chicago time.

Apparently I cant' find anything really good to talk about today.

Cubs vs White Sox. This might hurt a little.

Did you believe Jed Hoyer when he said they were going to add players, but decided to sell after the 11 game losing streak?
You think Rossy signed up for this?
Being the manager of the Chicago Cubs is one tough job, bud.
I remember way back when.. people were clamoring for Ryno to manage the team, and I was like: NOOOOO! THE TEAM SUCKS, THERE'S NOTHING RYNO CAN DO, AND HE'LL BE SPIT OUT LIKE A BIT OF PEANUT SHELL.

The trades happened, and then the schedule changed to the terrible Nats and Rockies.
No pressure to do anything (except maybe lose and improve the draft, as many hope happens now).
I bet viewership has tanked.
But today?
The Cubs have to play the 1st place Chicago White Sox.
Comparing their timeline to greatness, I'd say they're kind of the 2015 Cubs.
Because they are stacked with young talent, including some really good ex-Cubs including Eloy Jimenez and of course Craig Kimbrel.
This Cross-Town Rivalry thing... I swear the opposite happens whenever I predict, but I don't think so this year.
If the Cubs happen to be competitive in one of these next 3 games, and say they're down by 1 late in the game... how's Rossy gonna feel when Ryan Tepera and Kimbrel come in?
How are you gonna feel?
Shitty?
Me too.
And it'll get much worse because after the Sox, it's 4 games against the Brewers.
White Sox fans have always seemed to me to take more joy out of Cubs losses than White Sox wins, and I expect that.
And I don't hate the White Sox, either - good for Rick Hahn dodging around Jerry Reinsdorf and his crazy heavy-handed bs. 
But the Brewers have become something else.
Small market team just killing the Cubs.
Total David and Goliath thing, and I wonder sometimes if the Brewers have become the new Dark Side.
Because it's an evil pain I feel when they have their way with us, after years of Miller Park being cheekily thought of as "Wrigley North".

To wrap this up...
1) Cubs trade away their stars.
2) Everyone's in shock and no one (well, me at least) cares about actual baseball being played against crap teams the next couple days.
3) But now it's the White Sox and Brewers and if the Ricketts think they heard bad stuff before... just wait til the Cubs lose by a combined 50 runs over the next week.

I feel bad for Ross.
And I still love Kyle Hendricks, who's on the mound today vs the 10-3, 2.07 ERA Lance Lynn.
So... Go Cubs.
Whoever you are.