Can you believe the baseball season is almost halfway over? Time flies when you’re having fun… well, when you’re having something. With both the Cubs and the Sox in the 2 worst divisions in baseball, you would think there would be some fun in Chicago this summer. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. The teams sit a combined 16 games under 500; that sucks.
Let’s start with the Cubs; I expected it. The Cubs are 37-41 so far; after sweeping the Pirates last week in Pittsburgh, and taking the first game in London from the dead birds, they were on the brink of 500; they’ve lost 3 straight since then. I didn’t expect much more than 500 from this team. Regardless of the decent streaks of baseball that they’ve played, and the surprising 1-2 punch of Stroman and Steele, I’m just not buying the Cubbies. This is strange for me, since I’m about the most positive person you’ll meet, especially when it comes to my teams. It’s still the 2021 trade deadline hangover I think… Deciding to start over vs accepting playoff appearances every year, the Cubs screwed the pooch. Yes, I know the guys that have left aren’t exactly tearing it up, but as a team, the Cubs were in it; they haven’t been “in it” since. It’s a shame though. With the Cardinals playing horrible baseball, the NL Central is totally up for grabs. With the Cubs’ resources, we should be sitting atop the division, instead of in 3rd place, 4.5 games out. I’m certainly not mailing in the season by any means; I’m just not that confident that we’ll see much better from our boys. With the 2023 trade deadline approaching, what side of the fence do you think we’ll be on? Now you know part of the reason that confidence in the 2023 Cubs isn’t building…
Looking at the AL Central, the absolute worst division in baseball, you would have thought the Sox would be sitting pretty. Heck, even if they were at 500, they would be in first place! Yes, the Guardians, the 1st place team in the AL Central, are sitting at 39-40; absolutely pathetic. Expectations for the Sox 2023 season had to be higher than the Cubs. Expectations for the Sox last few seasons have been sky high. And… nada. Yet, at 35-47, they’re still only 5.5 games out. You’d have to think they’d make a run at some point, you know, that “run” that has been coming for years… With a manager that has a pulse in the dugout this year, you’d think that may have swayed things, but… at the end of the day, it’s on the players; at the end of the day, the players haven’t come through. Robert has been a bit hot lately, but what about the rest of the lineup that was supposed to cause terror in the AL? It’s really mind boggling that this Sox team isn’t better, but… that’s baseball I guess. Speaking of the trade deadline, what do the Sox do?
Centrally stuck is a good way to describe both teams’ seasons thus far. In winnable divisions, our Chicago baseball teams are throwing another year in the dumpster; it’s extremely disappointing. With the Cubs going on 6 years without a playoff series win and 2 straight years under 500, and the Sox, well, they haven’t won a playoff series since 2005, I ask the question: when will Chicago baseball finally be back? Maybe that wait until next year should be a shared motto…
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