By Marty Gangler
It appears the Cubs have shifted into “Yeah, it’s pretty much over” mode.
In seemingly precautionary moves, they put John Lackey, Hector Rondon and Chris Coghlan on the DL and gave starts to Trevor Cahill and Mike Montgomery.
That’s playoff prep, not stretch drive.
Of course, in true Joe “Magic” Maddon fashion, the Cubs won both the Cahill and Montgomery starts, and even more Maddon fashion, Cahill relieved Montgomery in his game.
But the Cubs did lose their first series since the All-Star break this week, including blowing a 5-1 lead against a really not-that-great Rockie team.
But do we really care anymore? Because I, too, am in “Yeah, it’s pretty much over” mode. And I think you should feel the same way as well.
Oh sure, the Cub could conceivably epically still blow this thing and not make the playoffs, but the chances of that happening are slimmer than Chris Sale. So we might as well just enjoy the last six weeks and start the playoff prep. Get out your calendar and cancel all October engagements.
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Week in Review: The Cubs went 5-2 for the week, which including two Cahill Ws. If you were still wondering if this was a special year, there you go. Trevor Cahill got two wins this week. Cahill. He won twice. In the same week. And was dynamite. Cahill. Dude.
Week in Preview: The boys in blue stay out West as they hit San Diego and Los Angeles for three each. Finally a week of late West Coast finals and sleepily watching the Cubs as you go to bed. Oh, and the grounds crew has to re-sod the outfield after Pearl Jam played Wrigley while the team was away.
Musical Outfielders: And no we aren’t talking about Matt Szczur playing the French horn. Maddon gave Jason Heyward the weekend off in Colorado to think about what he’s done. In fact, Maddon was so intent on Heyward not getting an at-bat that he put Travis Wood in left field during Sunday’s rout and let Wood come to the plate. He got a hit, boosting his average to .222. Heyward is hitting .225.
Former Annoying Cub of the Week: Tommy La Stella finally reported – to AA. But he’s still a former Cub as he is not on the big league club. But he’s on his way and his former and future teammates are preparing to make him less annoying.
Current Annoying Cub of the Week: So, I talk Cub baseball at work from time to time with my co-workers. And they’ve figured out that there are some current and former Cub players that I don’t particularly like. One day after getting a cup of coffee I came back to my desk to see a Marty Hate list. I must have rambled on about this guy or that guy through the season and one guy I work with seemed to be paying a bit of attention. The list changes every couple weeks. Here it is currently:
Mad(don) Scientist: First, Big Poppa Joe said he wasn’t going to bench Heyward because just because he stunk, then he benched him for an entire series – in the most hitter-friendly major-league ballpark that has ever existed. Maddon works in mysterious ways.
Kubs Kalender: It’s Biotech All-Stars Day in San Diego on Tuesday, which is just about the worst promotion ever. But it’s also Taco Tuesday at the ballpark, sponsored by Cholula Hot Sauce. So San Diego is Even Steven.
Beachwood Sabermetrics: A complex algorithm performed by The Cub Factor staff using all historical data made available by Major League Baseball has determined that the Eddie Vedder Cub song is a bit much.
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Marty Gangler is The Cub Factor. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on August 22, 2016