June 28, 2021: Out of Reach

So, how about that first game of the Stanley Cup finals between the Canadiens and Lightning? Didn’t watch that; shit, that game can’t even make it on a network channel… sad. How about the Suns Clippers game? Nope; no interest in that either. Of course I was tuned into the Cubs game tonight, facing the first place Brewers who sit exactly 3 games ahead of the Cubs; make that 4 now. The game, which was a good one for 7.5 innings, turned ugly in the bottom of the 8th, as the Brewers put it out of reach with a 10 spot, winning 14-4. Where to begin…

I know we need to rest guys, like Rizzo tonight; in fact, his back is acting up, so half rest half injury, fine. Then we decide to rest Willson too, on the same night? OK, I know, I know… you’re putting all your eggs in that Hendricks basket. He was OK tonight; he missed the quality start, but he kept us in the game. He kept us close enough so that when Wisdom hit a 2 run moonshot, the game was tied. Yeah! I guess my next thoughts come in the top of the 8th inning.

Why not pinch hit Willson for Lobaton? Even Rizzo… This dude hasn’t got a hit in years. Thankfully, the Brewers walked him… for the 2nd time in this game!!! What a bunch of idiots. After seeing their first 2 guys out of the pen look like crap, I thought… our pen blows theirs away. Chafin held them down in the bottom of the 7th. Back to the top of the 8th though, OK, so you don’t pinch hit for Lobaton and you get lucky. Now we send up Willson or Anthony right? Wrong. Hey, Ortega has been serviceable, but our chance to win this game was right there. It’s kind of like Spades, a game I’ve been playing on my phone a lot. I was given some advice on that game a long time ago; if you have a chance to take down a trick, you do it. Instead, Ross let this go… waiting for another moment? Kind of like not pitching Kimbrel in a tied game in LA the other night… It’s not the first, and I know it won’t be the last time, I don’t agree with Rossy. Ortega grounded out with the bases loaded; inning over.

I’m not going to talk a lot about the train wreck that happened in the bottom of the 8th. Tepera didn’t have it; I thought Happ could have caught that ball. Megill was horrible. OK, enough. Yet, I wouldn’t turn off the TV. Yep, I’m a glutton for this punishment, watching the entire 10 run onslaught, in a half inning that seemed to last forever. And yes, I watched the top of the 9th. No, I didn’t have illusions of a comeback, but I was going to see this one out to the bitter end. Man it would have sucked to be there watching this unfold. After a healthy back and forth all game long with the “home” fans, I’m sure they were letting Cubs fans have it after that inning. Have to forget about this one quickly…

But what I can’t forget about, is what the Cubs need to make a serious push. You see the Brewers offense? It’s not impressive… other than the 10 run inning of course… haha. But seriously, their pitching is where it’s at. Even if our bullpen is better, our starting pitching cannot hang. If Kyle was our best chance to win a game this series, we’re in some big trouble. And all the backup catchers we’ve seen behind Willson this year, which was a strength of ours, is now… hard to watch. We made our rotation weaker, and turned a strength into a weakness all in one fell swoop, getting pennies on the dollar in return. OK, I know… dead horse getting beaten. Unfortunately, I do not think the Cubs will add, but instead, we will be saying goodbye to one of our big guys. Prove me wrong Jed. Go Cubs.