At the end of the first half, every team but Iowa was in the thick of the playoff hunt. When the smoke cleared, though, only Myrtle Beach had won their division in the first half and clinched a slot in the postseason. And that’s good for Myrtle Beach, because in the second half, they own the worst record in the league.
South Bend has not been able to get back into the postseason contention, and Iowa remains a sub-.500 team. That leaves Tennessee and Eugene, and both have a chance.
Tennessee is nine games back in the second half title chase, but that doesn’t matter because first place Chattanooga also won the first half. The real battle is between Tennessee and Montgomery for the overall season record, and Tennessee trails that race by two games.
Eugene, meanwhile, is tied for the second half division lead with Hillsboro. Since Hillsboro also won the first half, that means Eugene is actually in good shape. If Hillsboro wins, the second half playoff slot goes to the next best record for the season, a race Eugene leads by five games over Boise.
Why do minor league playoffs matter? Besides the fun factor, minor league playoffs give the Cubs’ prospects a chance to experience a playoff atmosphere and the pressures of performing in the playoffs prior to reaching Chicago. There is no way to fully prepare a player for extra innings on a rainy night in Cleveland, but minor league experience is worlds better than no experiene at all, so for the Cubs it pays off to position what prospects they can to get a taste of that experience in the minors.
There are two big takeaways from Dakota Mekkes’s appearance yesterday. First, in his first appearance after getting roughed up in Frederick, he was right back to pitching scoreless innings. Second, all four batters he did not strike out he retired on the ground. This season Mekkes has gotten away with a surprisingly high fly ball rate; if he can work in more grounder inducing stuff, his odds of success probably tick up a notch or two.
And finally, the highlights from Myrtle Beach last night are well worth watching.
We had a very nice Mother's Day with the kids, who were very kind to her and each other, and sometimes that's all you're looking for. They got a good mom. Starting in 2024, Statcast has begun tracking bat speed,...
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...
Meaning no offense to Kyle Hendricks, but if you had to choose a veteran right-handed in the Cubs' rotation to face the Atlanta Braves this week, you're probably going with Jameson Taillon. We may never know if that was part...
There is something about seeing Cubs players homer with pink bats that makes me smile extra wide. I suppose it's PROBABLY at least a little because this is one of my favorite Cubs memories: https://twitter.com/ChiSportsDay/status/1788291377333170611 Javy Báez, with the pink...
It's Mother's Day. I'm hanging with the family. I don't feel like being as pissed off as a game like that threatened to make me. So I am QUITE relieved by that 10th inning (and the fact that the Cubs...
I'll just presume he was sending this one out for mom. And I'll also presume that the knee is indeed feeling good. Home run number nine on the season for Christopher Morel: https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1789713524052087082
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have played thirteen series so far this season, and this is already their eighth rubber match. Let's see if Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs can bring this one in. Chicago Cubs Lineup: Nico Hoerner, SS...
No surprises here, as the decision to start Kyle Hendricks this afternoon against the Pirates was made yesterday, but the news has officially hit the wire, and here it is. Kyle Hendricks Activated Kyle Hendricks is returning from his short...
Happy Mother's Day to the mothers among you, and to the mothers in my life! I'll be doing some extra family stuff today, so I'm gonna cruise through these Bullets ... Up front, because this was certainly the thing most...
The Sunday TBD has been D'd, and it's going to be Kyle Hendricks coming back an outing early. Instead of making another rehab start at Iowa, Hendricks is going to be activated from the IL to rejoin the rotation tomorrow:...
The Washington Nationals (19-20), led by the red-hot Eddie Rosario and his two-game homer streak, are -135 favorites to pick up a win over the Chicago White Sox (12-29) Monday at 7:40 PM ET, live from Guaranteed Rate Field and...
The Texas Rangers (22-20) and Cleveland Guardians (25-16) meet Monday at Globe Life Field, with first pitch at 8:05 PM ET on BSSW. The Rangers are -117 moneyline favorites for the contest, however, the Guardians are favored against the spread...
The Pittsburgh Pirates (18-23) will look to Connor Joe, with homers in two straight games, to pull off an upset win over the Milwaukee Brewers (24-16) Monday at American Family Field. The Brewers are -145 moneyline favorites for the game,...
Two of the league's top power hitters meet Monday when the Houston Astros (15-25) and Oakland Athletics (19-23) take the field at 8:10 PM ET, live on SCHN. Kyle Tucker has 13 home runs for the Astros (-183 favorites on...
The Boston Celtics meet the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at 7:00 PM ET in Game 4 of the second round of the NBA playoffs, and if the Celtics' Jayson Tatum connects on three 3-pointers, he'll beat his prop.Jayson Tatum's Three-Pointer...
The Boston Celtics meet the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:00 PM ET on Monday, in Game 4 of the second round of the NBA playoffs, and one of the 3-pointer over/unders available for this matchup requires three triples from Derrick White.Derrick...
The Cleveland Cavaliers play the Boston Celtics on Monday at 7:00 PM ET in Game 4 of the second round of the NBA playoffs, and if the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell makes four 3-pointers, he'll beat his prop.Donovan Mitchell's Three-Pointer Prop...
Jaylen Brown needs to make two 3-pointers to beat his prop when the Boston Celtics meet the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at 7:00 PM ET, in Game 4 of the second round of the NBA playoffs.Jaylen Brown's Three-Pointer Prop Odds...
One of my biggest frustrations with the Ryan Pace regime was how the former Chicago Bears general manager didn't invest in wide receiver upgrades the way you'd expect a team building around a young quarterback should. Meanwhile, his replacement, Ryan...
The Toronto Blue Jays (18-22) enter Monday's matchup with the Baltimore Orioles (26-13) following their 1-2 series defeat to the Twins. The Orioles, coming off of a series win against the Diamondbacks, are listed as -176 favorites for Game 1....
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