April 22, 2021: A Firm Back End

OK, let me get this blog in before they go on a bad streak. If there is one part of the Cubs team right now that gives me the most confidence, it is… the bullpen?!?! Yes, the bullpen… how about that? With the return of a dominant Kimbrel, and the appearance of a solid 8th inning guy in Chafin, another solid lefty arm in Brothers, and a rookie named Steele, I’m seeing some promise… I’m gaining a bit of confidence, that if our starters can keep us in games, our offense can score a few runs, we may be able to hold on to some small leads. Agreed?

Bullpens are usually pretty streaky, and maybe we’re just on a good one right now. However, it certainly looks like Craig Kimbrel is back. His whole routine on the mound, with him leaning over, hanging both arms to his side, looking like he was going to attack his prey, looked pretty stupid when he was getting rocked. Now though… now that he’s shutting MF-ers down… it looks pretty cool. Funny how that works. He did give me some heart palpations on Tuesday night against the Mets, but he came through again! Yes, it was buckle your seatbelt time, and before this year, that meant Kimbrel was about to drive us off a cliff, but no… NOT this year buddy. Kimbrel is back! Having a lockdown closer is a nice component to have, especially when you have a good team. Are the Cubs good?

How about this guy Andrew Chafin? I saw some funny shit on Twitter about him looking for a beater to drive around Chicago because his pick-up truck doesn’t fit down the streets. He was asking people for help, and we came through; he found himself a little red beater… he’s all set… haha. But more importantly, he looks pretty good on the mound; here’s another guy that is entering my circle of trust for the Cubs. He’s had one bad appearance out of the eight games he’s appeared in. Take that one out, and he’s pitched 6 and 2/3 innings with 10Ks, giving up zero runs. As of right now, I’m chalking that one up as a fluke; I’m a believer.

Rex Brothers. OK, yeah he did get touched up last night, but it was during a blow out; that shit shouldn’t even count. Before last night, 2 runs in 7 and 1/3 innings with 11 Ks. Another arm out of the pen, a lefty at that, who is giving me the warm and fuzzies; is it just me? How about Justin Steele? Another lefty… rookie, who has not been scored upon his first 3 big league appearances. He has pitched in all losses, I’m sure Rossy is breaking him in easy, but so far so good, no? There are other pieces too. I actually like Alec Mills out of the pen right now; that’s a nice luxury to have. Dillon Maples has great stuff if he can just get it under control; I hate walks! Speaking of walks… when I see the name Dan Winkler, I think of him walking the bases loaded after the bad move Ross made pulling Brothers before Kimbrel saved us all against Pittsburgh. But we did see the return of Pedro… no runs given up so far, although when will we admit the Shelby Miller ride is over?

The bullpen isn’t perfect by any means, but I certainly think we have a firm back end in place, although it’s kind of like having a great field goal kicker; it only matters if your team is any good… if your team will be putting the bullpen in a position to be successful, hold leads, keep games close, get Ws. On the flip side, if the Cubs do end up sucking this year, you can certainly see some of these pieces being flipped at the deadline. Teams are always looking for bullpen help down the stretch. Personally, I’d rather see these guys pitching in big spots for US come September. Now I hope I didn’t jinx them… Go Cubs!