While I’m holding on to that towel for the Bears season 2 games in, am I letting go for the Cubs with only 12 games to go in the season? Going into the weekend with a solid hold on the 2nd wild card spot, the Cubs were swept out of Arizona, and now, are tied for the 3rd wild card spot with the Marlins, with the Reds only a half game behind. What the hell just happened?
It actually all started back in Chicago, against this same Diamondbacks team. Arizona came into Wrigley and took 3 out of 4 games against us. We were coming off a sweep of the Giants, and in total, only losing one series in the past 15; that was a crazy good run! After dropping 3 out of 4 at home, the Cubs promptly traveled to Colorado, where we lost 2 out of 3 to the sorry ass Rockies, then, after a day off, headed to Arizona and got swept. The Cubs have picked a bad time to go on one of our worst streaks of baseball all year.
Forget about the division. Any hopes we had of catching the surprising Brewers is out the door. The focus has to be squarely on surviving the 6 team scramble for 3 wild card spots. The Phillies appear to be the safest, but between the Dbacks, Marlins, Cubs, Reds, and Giants is only a 2.5 game spread; that’s crazy! The Cubs get Monday off to lick their wounds, and hopefully, come back and finish strong. Do the Cubs have anything left in the tank after their great 2nd half run?
The Pirates should help that; we’ll get a chance to get back at the Rockies in this final homestand of the year as well. At the bare minimum, we need to take 2 out of 3 in each of those series. Next week, the road gets a little tougher, although… it may not be as tough as we think. Heading to Atlanta and then Milwaukee seems daunting, but… the Braves are already in, way in the playoffs, and the Brewers may have clinched the Central by then, so… the Cubs may be the team in both of those matchups with something to play for. That would be a nice setup.
I was watching that Saturday night game vs Arizona; that one hurt. We were one strike away from winning in the bottom of the 13th; I would have called a fastball instead of that slider which was lined off Wesneski’s shoulder, scoring the tying run. Next batter won it. Painful, painful loss… didn’t catch any of Sunday’s game, thankfully, but man… it’s been a bit of a free fall losing 8 out of the last 10 games…
I’m not letting go of that towel for the Cubs season either. It’s been a really fun season, one where I had low expectations, and one where I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Will the Cubs top off this surprise with a playoff cherry? That would be really, really cool. As they say, one game at a time… Go Cubs!!!
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