Today’s Reflections
Well. We received the privilege of witnessing an incredible historic achievement. That took some of the sting out of Saturday’s loss. That also made Sunday’s loss twice as bad, however.
Matthew Boyd has been really clicking along in four of his last five starts, so he was due to have a bit of an off game. But to not be able to figure out a guy playing in his first MLB game? THAT was uncharacteristic of him. Boyd only gave up five hits — but four were home runs. Some are already bailing on him for his place in the rotation. I say back off and watch the veteran’s response next time out.
Edward Cabrera, despite wanting to give him the grace I gave Clay Holmes the first outing off the IL, was flat-out awful. Six hits, three walks, seven runs in 3.2 IP. And the return of The Blister! ““That final inning, I tried to push through it, but I wasn’t able to.”“ Um, thanks for trying, but how about stopping it once it makes you ineffective? The last time you did that, you ended up on the IL.
EDIT: The next day from when I wrote this, writers have jumped on this here and here, the latter is where it was written, “It also isn’t hard to imagine that Cabrera broke a level of trust on Sunday …… He did not share this information with anyone until he was eventually pulled from the game.” Options are limited, but just a trip to the IL won’t get through to him, and how deep can you bury a supposed starting pitcher in the bullpen? I think the latter is the proper track because, after healed, any blisters should be limited in 1-2 inning stints, and expand to three once the finger has hardened. Move David Peterson back into the rotation and play it by ear in September. Plus, despite the blister, Cabrera was still hitting 99 with his fastball. Sounds like another weapon in the bullpen to me.
With two out in the fourth Sunday, the dependable Ryan Rolison followed Cabrera and gave up two runs in a third of a inning. He pitched a fine fifth inning, however.
So to find the stars of the two games on Saturday and Sunday ….. Well, it wasn’t the two starting pitchers. Bullpen? Trent Thornton pitched a scoreless inning over the two games where he allowed one hit with two strikeouts. Sunday, Aaron Civale went two scoreless innings, allowed two hits and struck out four. That was nice. And that’s it for good performances (not counting Carson “Iron Arm” Kelly’s scoreless ninth on Sunday).
You would think offensively, scoring four runs in two separate games, would garner you one win. But despite managing 14 hits and seven walks in the two games, when the squad strikes out 17 times and goes 2-for 11 with RISP, that greatly lessens your offensive chances.
The strong performances over two games were rather sparce. While he went hitless on Sunday, Michael Conforto had the big hit, a three-run home run, on Saturday. Pedro Ramirez was 3-for-8 in the two games with a double and a run scored. Miguel Amaya, who caught both games, went 2-for-6 with a walk and a solo HR. And Seiya Suzuki was only 2-for-8 with a walk, but picked up a double and a run scored in each game. Shoot, Tyrone Taylor needs a shoutout, pinch-hitting Saturday, going 1-for-2, then pinch-hitting Sunday and getting an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
And now, I guess we’ll talk about the giant hole in the middle of the Cubs’ defense. Turns out that Dansby Swanson is going to miss 4-6 weeks (bad news) with a mild oblique strain (good news), but obliques are finicky things to mess with (meh). Ramirez will see a lot of time at second with Nico Hoerner moving to short. Here’s a good time to have Matt Shaw healthy — since second is thought of as his natural position. He’s starting his rehab assignment soon, so hopefully he will be available shortly. The Cubs need his glove there more than the bat at this immediate moment. Another name to keep in mind is veteran Owen Miller, who was called up Monday. Miller has played 90+ games in both 2022 (Cleveland) and 2023 (Milwaukee). The job is to minimize any weakness up the middle. Good luck, boys.
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Sunday’s Game Stories:
- Brian Sandalow (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs stagger into White Sox series after losing Dansby Swanson and seeing Edward Cabrera get rocked. “After the Cubs’ 11-4 loss to the Cardinals, manager Craig Counsell said Swanson is headed to the injured list and that the team will have to discuss whether Cabrera takes his next turn in the rotation.”
- Ron Luce (OnTapSportsNet): Edward Cabrera’s Return Rocky in Cubs’ Loss to Cardinals. “Edward Cabrera struggled in his Chicago Cubs return, but they’re going to need him to return to form down the stretch.”
- Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago Cubs have roster questions — including Dansby Swanson’s injury — following series loss to St. Louis. “The Chicago Cubs 26-man roster was under the microscope before Sunday’s finale against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.”
Saturday’s Game Stories:
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): ‘Hats off to him’: Boyd, Cubs on wrong end of historic MLB debut. “Cubs starter Matthew Boyd watched plenty of video of Joshua Báez before the Cardinals rookie stepped into the batter’s box at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.”
- Andy Martinez (Chicago Tribune {#}): Joshua Báez makes history at Chicago Cubs’ expense with 3 HRs in his MLB debut in St. Louis Cardinals’ 8-4 win. ““I mean, he hit three different pitches for home runs,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after the loss. “He had a great game. He beat us for sure.”“
- Sean Sears (Chicago Cubs On SI): 3 Takeaways After Cubs Let Joshua Baez Make History in Loss to Cardinals. “Even the staunchest of Cardinals haters has to admit, this was a pretty cool moment to witness at Wrigley Field.”
- And in the THIS JUST IN! Department: “Joshua Baez heads into his second game in the big leagues today hoping to leapfrog Barney Gilligan, Candy Nelson, and Stump Wiedman on the career home runs list. Stay tuned to Defector to follow this story.“
The Edward Cabrera Injury Suppression Situation:
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Edward Cabrera Put Cubs in Dire Straits by Concealing Blister Issue. “As it turns out, part of the issue was a blister on his middle finger that developed over the course of the outing and that Cabrera kept from the coaching staff until after he was lifted. That’s the same thing that sent him to the IL for the first time this season, and it’s likely he hid the issue for fear of heading right back immediately after being activated.”
- Elias Schuster (Chicago Cubs On SI): The Edward Cabrera Situation Just Got Messier, What Will the Cubs Do? “The Edward Cabrera drama continues for the Chicago Cubs.”
- Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Edward Cabrera’s return to Cubs’ rotation appears to be short-lived. “Cabrera simply has not lived up to the potential the Cubs saw when they acquired him from the Miami Marlins last winter.”
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Cubs’ rotation looks braced for October push. ““I don’t think we’re bound to any of this,” Counsell said. “We’re bound to certainly one time through the rotation, but we’re not bound to any of it.”“
Dansby Swanson injury talk:
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Two Losses That Were Much Bigger Than the Loss of a Game. “From where I sit, the Chicago Cubs suffered two very significant losses yesterday, and neither was a baseball game.
- Elias Schuster (Chicago Cubs On SI): Dansby Swanson’s Injury Timeline is Rough, How Will the Cubs Fill His Void? “The Chicago Cubs will likely rely even more on Pedro Ramírez as they go without Dansby Swanson for weeks.”
Ramping up the Crosstown Classic: “This week we’ll see the biggest City Series since the 1906 World Series”:
- Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times): White Sox at Cubs — the Crosstown Come-Up — takes the stage Monday, a series this city deserves. “Both teams are good. We repeat: Both teams are good. This is real life, isn’t it?”
- Field Level Media (Deadspin): White Sox, Cubs playing for more than Chicago bragging rights. “As for the buzz surrounding the rivalry between the North Siders and the South Siders, the late-season meeting shapes up to be as competitive as any in recent history.”
- Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: A wealth of late summer riches with the Bears, Cubs and White Sox competing for Chicago’s eyeballs. “A potential Fall Classic preview.”
Stories regarding hitters:
- Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Miguel Amaya Has Re-Emerged as an Equal Partner in Cubs’ Catching Corps. “Miguel Amaya Has Re-Emerged as an Equal Partner in Cubs’ Catching Corps.”
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Conforto’s homer not enough to back Boyd vs. Báez, Cardinals. “In Saturday’s game, Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-4 out of the leadoff spot for the North Siders, marking his third straight game with that showing as Chicago’s tablesetter. In fact, dating back to his homer in the third inning against the Nationals on Tuesday, Crow-Armstrong has been stuck in a 1-for-21 spell for the Cubs.”
- Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Looming Cubs roster crunch can be solved with the most obvious move ever. “There’s a very clear odd man out once Matt Shaw returns to the team. Expect to see both Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramirez all over the diamond”
Assorted Stories:
- Darragh McDonald (MLBTradeRumors): Cubs Place Edward Cabrera, Dansby Swanson On Injured List. “Recalled right-hander Javier Assad and outfielder Kevin Alcántara, in addition to selecting the contract of infielder Owen Miller.”
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Daniel Palencia to 60-Day IL as Cubs Make Several Roster Moves. “OOOOOOOOOOF.”
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Eventful Game, Cabrera’s Blister, Swanson’s MRI, Optioning Assad, and Other Cubs Bullets. “Under six weeks left in the regular season … Yesterday’s game was a tremendously eventful one, in the worst possible ways.”
- Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Kris Bryant catches a stray in Kyle Tucker criticism Cubs fans know all too well. “Kyle Tucker is in a conversation by himself.”
- Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: David Ross returns to Wrigley Field with nothing but love for the Chicago Cubs. “There he was in the clubhouse chatting with his many former players, clubhouse men Danny Mueller and Tim Hellmann, and others. It almost seemed like old times again.”
- Chris Pownall (DaWindyCity): One Cubs postseason concern can no longer be brushed aside. “Matthew Boyd had been one of the Cubs’ most dependable starters. One historically ugly afternoon has reopened a postseason question Chicago thought it had answered.”
- Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): 2 Cubs free agents worth another contract, 2 Chicago should move on from. “The clarification needed there is that the Cubs are expected to divert most of their resources–money and prospect capital–toward pitching, and that may not allow for the team to go to the top of the market to retain both Kelly and Suzuki.”
Food For Thought:
Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called “a key transitional figure bridging R&B and soul”, and was known for his “prodigious output”. Burke’s most famous recordings, which spanned five years in the early 1960s, bridged the gap between mainstream R&B and grittier R&B.[11] Burke was “a singer whose smooth, powerful articulation and mingling of sacred and profane themes helped define soul music in the early 1960s.”
He drew from his roots—gospel, jazz, country, and blues—as well as developing his own style at a time when R&B, and rock were both still in their infancy. “Perhaps more than any other artist, the ample figure of Solomon Burke symbolized the ways that spirituality and commerce, ecstasy and entertainment, sex and salvation, individualism and brotherhood, could blend in the world of 1960s soul music.” (Quote via Wikipedia)
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