Did you see how the Yankees clinched their playoff berth yesterday? The weirdest ending to a game I’ve seen… Yankees took the lead in the 10th; Mariners lead off the bottom with a single… 1st and 3rd, nobody out. Guy strikes out, and as he swings, the bat flies down the 3rd base line… almost hits Julio. He dodges it, but forgets to get back to the bag; they throw it down, double play. Next guy strikes out. Guess who was on the Mariners last night? OK, this isn’t about bad beats again… What has happened to the Cubs in the past two series can certainly be defined as BAD. Losing series to the Rockies and As when your whole season is on the line? Not great. You really have to see it to believe it. Although, not to beat a dead horse, but that’s what I like to do, it’s not surprising.
After starting September with a win, completing the sweep of the Nationals in Washington, getting to 6 wins in a row, and finishing an 8-1 road trip, there was hope. Now, the Cubs are all but out. They have lost 4 of the past 5 series; the only one they did win was in LA against the Dodgers… go figure. They are 7-9 in September. The Cubs have faded away in the last month of the season, just like they did last year, which makes total sense, since it’s the same exact team as last year, pretty much. Shota continues to shine. Counsell is our skipper, and although he can’t play the games, he certainly hasn’t added much value IMO. Bottom line: you need horses. The Cubs have a good team; they should have a VERY good/great team, but for some reason, we choose not to. It’s a conscious choice by the leadership of this organization, don’t get it twisted. It’s why the frustration has risen up in my body. It’s why I haven’t felt fully all-in like I normally am… one of the reasons at least.
Meanwhile, the Cubs latest loss against the As, meant that the Brewers clinched the division; congrats to them? They lost their “great” manager and didn’t skip a beat. Is their current manager better than ours? Is their roster better than ours? What is it? The Brewers have lead this division since the start. Other teams within the division had their moments, including us, but never really threatened. Are the Brewers just that good? Or is the division just that bad? I’m picking the latter, since there will be zero wild card teams coming from the NL Central.
The only team I really care about is the Cubs; this will be our 4th straight season out of the playoffs. Coming off the run we just had before this downturn, it feels worse than that. 71, 74, 83… the win totals the previous 3 years. This year will be right there too. It just doesn’t make sense why the powers that be aren’t putting the Cubs’ full resources at work here; the Cubs ain’t broke. Will next year be the year we get a big free agent? There have been whispers of Juan Soto, but I’m betting that’s just wishful thinking. Somebody like that WOULD make a difference; this is the type of move the Cubs need to make, to go from just a “good” team to one that can make the postseason… one that can compete for a World Series; remember those days? Go Cubs.
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