Cub Tracks sees the potential

Happy Lee Smith Day!

I’d actually be happier if I didn’t see so many balls barreled and caught, setting aside for a minute the issue of bad home plate umpiring, which is ongoing. So often a shutout is just the reflection of a momentary ineptitude — all teams get that from time to time. But this wasn’t that. The Cubs hit any number of atom balls, the problem being that none of them left the building. Frustrating to hear the crack of the bat and see the ball settle comfortably into the glove.

“That’s a tough shutout,” Maddon said. “I can’t say we swung the bats poorly, because we didn’t. There was a lot of bad luck involved today.

“It doesn’t show up. People think you’re nuts when you score zero runs, but overall, I thought we actually played well today, pitched well today and they beat us today.”

That was only exacerbated by the spotty umpiring, ably covered by Al in his recap. So the winning streak goes by the boards and so does the chance to regain a share of first tonight or tomorrow... but the Cardinals (75-59) are 8-2 in their last 10 and that’s not going to continue, especially as they are in a stretch of 11 games in nine days which began Saturday. The Cubs (73-62) are a very sustainable 6-4, 2½ games back. The division lead is closer than the top wild card spot, where the Nationals (76-58) lead by 3½ games. But the Nationals are also sporting a SSS 8-2 record and are unlikely to maintain that pace for long.

Philadelphia (69-65), Arizona (70-66) and Milwaukee (69-66) are on the bubble. Atlanta (83-54) and L.A. (88-50) have chokeholds on their respective divisions. The Braves haven’t done so well against the N.L. West this year (16-14). The Dodgers have the worst record against the Central (22-11) and are perhaps the most consistent and formidable. But they have holes, too.

“It’s been all year,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s been a dogfight for us all year, just as far as getting on a roll. So, there’s highs and lows and hopefully we can go on a high for the next two months and not look back. If another punch comes, we’ll be able to take it.”

Ben Zobrist was already activated Saturday night and other reinforcements will likely arrive later today. Let’s see how the dance goes, and hope the Cubs aren’t put down. Albert Almora Jr., Robel Garcia, who else?

Here’s today’s Cubs News and Notes. As always, * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used here as sarcasm font.

• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Which Cubs employees are under the most pressure in the final month? We ranked the top 20. “Almost everyone with home clubhouse access at Wrigley Field has something to prove in September, from the minor-league call-ups to Ben Zobrist to Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts.”
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): From Rizzo to Zobrist, to Contreras, reinforcements are on the way for Cubs. The Cubs will get a boost to their roster each day this weekend. Paul Sullivan reinforces this opinion.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): 5 Cubs X-factors for the final month of the 2019 season. “This division is not gonna be easy. It was never gonna be easy,” said Cole Hamels.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): ‘You have a monster out there that can do anything’: The key to Yu Darvish’s arsenal might be his splitter. “Mike Borzello watches Darvish’s side sessions and sees the potential.”
• Brendan Miller (Cubs Insider): Hamels’ velocity down since returning from oblique injury. “Hamels has allowed a .474 ISO on his fastball in August, a significant departure from the .070 he allowed in June.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Zobrist is really eager – he stayed after school today to take more infield practice in the rain. “... a baseball player who has been away from his big league team for over three months...”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): There is joy in Wrigleyville, because the mighty Castellanos brings it every ‘Opening Day’.
• Phil Thompson (Chicago Tribune* {$}): For some Cubs fans, going to Wrigley Field now means rarely staying in the ballpark — even though they have tickets. “On game days, Gallagher Way is part hangout bar and day care, a seemingly impossible mix.”
• Cubs birthdays: Joe Marty, Rico Carty, Kevin Orie, Also notable: Jim O’Rourke (HoF)

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.