The dog days of summer are upon us. This is the time of year when the men get separated from the boys in the MLB. Sure, you may have had a decent 4+ months of the season, but can you finish? Can you get hot at the right time? How’s your lineup and pitching depth? What about strength of schedule? Will the Cubs be able to continue their push and make the 2023 postseason?
Looking at the recent schedule, it appeared favorable. The Royals, Tigers, and Pirates are certainly not world beaters. Yet, you can’t just pencil in a W; I mean, you can, but you better be ready to use that eraser. You just can’t expect to win every game, even if it is against inferior competition. Yet, with a victory against Detroit on Wednesday, the Cubs were able to register series victories over both AL Central opponents; this is what it’s really about, right? Sure, sweeps are great, but they’re just not that common. Winning series… that’s how you get to the postseason. Next up, is 4 against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Winning THIS series will consist of winning 3 of 4; how you feeling?
The Cubs have to keep pushing. After losing a series in New York against the Mets, they bounced back winning a series in Toronto, before needing a Morel miracle to split with the lowly Sox; those crosstown games are a different animal. Taking 3 out of 4 vs the Sox this year is definitely a W. Then the Royals, then the Tigers… they certainly put up a good fight, each taking a game, but at the end of the day, 2 more series wins. Winning 3 of 4 vs Pittsburgh is important, considering the schedule gets tougher from there. The Brewers, Reds, Giants, Diamondbacks… all teams in the postseason hunt, before we travel to Colorado. As Pat would say, buckle your seatbelts Cubs fans.
The Cubs have still been scoring runs. Sure, it’s been 3 weeks since we notched double digits, but that can’t be expected. 5.4 runs per game over the last 10 feels OK. How about our pitching? Certainly feels like the Drew Smyly starting ship has sailed, yet… Ross wants to be the last guy playing the violin on that boat? Bring him out of the bullpen. Assad has been a great revelation for us, while Stroman’s return is still a question mark; it’d be nice if Marcus came back soon… Taillon has turned it around; Steele has continued to be rock solid. Hendricks knows what to do. Need somebody else to step up on the bump; who else we got that could start? Let’s try them, whether they’re on the current roster or sitting in the minors. Now is the time.
3.5 games back of Milwaukee; 0.5 game up over 2 teams for a wild card spot. Yeah, it’s about to get real real, for real. From my point of view, I’m just happy to be in the hunt; I certainly don’t think we’re in the same league as the Braves or Dodgers and maybe Phillies. But everybody else? Sure, at least in the NL. Let’s see what happens. For what I thought would be another lost season, we have found some magic; very nice surprise. Ride that wave all the way to October boys. Go Cubs!!!
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