So, as I mentioned yesterday, my computer crapped out in the middle of the morning. Thankfully, I was able to get a new and get up and running before anything around here was too badly impacted. But, behind the scenes, man, it’s always such an adjustment when you have to change things. Not only did I have a world of preferences built into the computer – years worth of settings, scaling, shortcuts, etc. – but there are also a number of things inherent in the old computer that I won’t be able to duplicate in the new one. It’s all a bit of a new learning curve. For example, this morning’s EBS (Giants/Braves, just for fun) took me three or four times as long to create than I’d been used to. Everything was just a tiny bit different.
/blogger probs
I knew the Mets – still trailing the Cubs and the Giants in the Wild Card race – had a soft schedule the rest of the way, but this underscores just how soft:
The Giants have it especially tough in the coming weeks, and the Cubs’ unbalanced schedule (i.e., heavy on an NL Central with two great teams on top) makes their road tougher than the Mets, too. Also notable: the Mets, with their win last night, passed the Nationals for first place in the NL East. I still suspect it’ll be the Mets battling for a Wild Card spot when all is said and done, but this is why the Nats bear following, too. They are currently three games behind the Cubs (the Mets are two games behind the Cubs), but have a quality roster and an easy schedule.
Incidentally, the Giants – now three games behind the Dodgers in the NL West – like the Mets had a divisional incentive to make more robust upgrades at the deadline than the Cubs. Just one more reason to hate the Cardinals.
It sounds like Jon Lester is willing to pitch on Thursday (moving up his start from Saturday) because of his short outing last night (Tribune). In the end, it probably doesn’t matter too much, since Lester would pitch during the Giants series either way, and is not likely to net an extra start out of that kind of move by the end of the year. But I suppose it’s nice to have the option so the Cubs can line things up thereafter how they would most prefer.
Also, Lester thinks it’s good that the team is young and doesn’t know what it doesn’t know about a playoff race (CSN). They’re not quite an underdog, but the Cubs are far from being expected to make a deep run.
After his head-first slide scare on Sunday, Kris Bryant is rethinking his approach on the basepaths – not his aggression, but the way he slides (CSN). I understand why players slide head first, but it sure does seem to result in more injuries than feet-first slides. I know that’s not an earth-shattering revelation, but there is a calculus there – it would be safer to walk to first base on groundballs, but that wouldn’t get you many infield hits. You have to weigh the upside of better baseball play against the downside risk of injury. I’m sure there’s an intern somewhere running data and doing calculations.
Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight baseball everywhere:
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
The Tyson Miller trade is now official, with the Chicago Cubs sending minor league utility man Jake Slaughter to the Seattle Mariners for Miller, who figures to be mostly a match-up righty/middle reliever in the bullpen. More on the trade...
I have been to more Cubs and MLB games than I could realistically remember. And not ONCE — not even once — have I caught a ball. No homers, no foul balls, no outfielders chucking it to me. Nothing. And...
We don't yet know if there's an "injury" here, but it's a pretty scary possibility, so I'm leading with it. If you didn't catch the moment in last night's game, Christopher Morel fouled a ball off his toe in the...
The Chicago Cubs are acquiring righty reliever Tyson Miller from the Seattle Mariners for minor league utility man Jake Slaughter, per Jeff Passan. The Cubs did it! An early-May bullpen trade! It can be done! ... ok, there are some...
Well that ninth inning rally started off great, with Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel reaching, the latter on 12-pitch walk (the longest PA of his career). And then POOF. In just two pitches, the Cubs made three outs and the...
Well you don't see that very often. Craig Counsell was just thrown out of the game from inside the Cubs dugout *by the FIRST BASE umpire* after a check-swing appeal. Here's what happened. In the bottom of the fourth inning,...
CUBS LINEUP — The Atlanta Braves are one of, if not the toughest opponent the Cubs will face this season. But Seiya Suzuki is back, Cody Bellinger is back, and Shota Imanaga is on the mound. This Cubs team is...
It felt like this situation with Adbert Alzolay could not go on much longer, and it has now resolved itself with an Injured List move. Today, the Cubs placed Alzolay on the 15-day IL with a right forearm strain. Jose...
Fans can now watch MLB games via Roku. Do with that what you will. The "MLB Sunday Leadoff" games will begin this weekend. The first game, featuring the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, starts at 12:05 p.m. CT,...
Cubs vs Braves — Six of the Cubs next ten games come against the Atlanta Braves, and the first three are on the road starting tonight. And while the Cubs did recently get Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, and Justin Steele...
The Tyson Miller trade is now official, with the Chicago Cubs sending minor league utility man Jake Slaughter to the Seattle Mariners for Miller, who figures to be mostly a match-up righty/middle reliever in the bullpen. More on the trade...
Heading into the Oilers and Canucks second-round series, Vancouver was thought to be the team with the bigger concern in between the pipes. Vezina Trophy finalist Thatcher Demko was ruled out for at least the first four games of the...
I have been to more Cubs and MLB games than I could realistically remember. And not ONCE — not even once — have I caught a ball. No homers, no foul balls, no outfielders chucking it to me. Nothing. And...
We don't yet know if there's an "injury" here, but it's a pretty scary possibility, so I'm leading with it. If you didn't catch the moment in last night's game, Christopher Morel fouled a ball off his toe in the...
The Chicago Cubs are acquiring righty reliever Tyson Miller from the Seattle Mariners for minor league utility man Jake Slaughter, per Jeff Passan. The Cubs did it! An early-May bullpen trade! It can be done! ... ok, there are some...
The Las Vegas Aces face the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET in the season opener for both teams. The matchup airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+.Watch the WNBA all season long on Fubo!How to Watch...
The Minnesota Lynx take on the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. The game, the first of the 2024 season for both teams, tips at 10:00 PM ET on ESPN3, BSNX, FOX13+, and Prime Video.Watch...
The Philadelphia Phillies will take the field against the New York Mets (19-21) on Tuesday. The game begins at 1:10 PM ET on SNY, with the Phillies listed as -140 favorites on the moneyline.Aaron Nola starts for Philadelphia while Jose...
The New York Mets (19-21) play on Tuesday in Queens against the Philadelphia Phillies (29-13). First pitch is at 1:10 PM ET.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Phillies will send Aaron Nola (4-2) to the mound, while Jose...
The Boston Celtics are massive 15.5-point favorites in a decisive Game 5 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on Wednesday, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET on TNT. The Celtics have...
NEWSLETTER
So, as I mentioned yesterday, my computer crapped out in the middle of the morning. Thankfully, I was able to get a new and get up and running before anything around here was too badly impacted. But, behind the scenes, man, it’s always such an adjustment when you have to change things. Not only did I have a world of preferences built into the computer – years worth of settings, scaling, shortcuts, etc. – but there are also a number of things inherent in the old computer that I won’t be able to duplicate in the new one. It’s all a bit of a new learning curve. For example, this morning’s EBS (Giants/Braves, just for fun) took me three or four times as long to create than I’d been used to. Everything was just a tiny bit different.
