You don’t know how much you don’t know about your extended family until you go through a genetics counseling session. We are going through some detailed genetic testing with The Littlest Girl, and like a dunce, I didn’t realize just how much I was going to need to know about, like, my dad’s cousins’ genetic history. Even for closer relatives, IÂ thought I knew a lot about them, but it was only after going through the battery of questions that I realized how many gaps there are.
It’s also a little scary – totally separate from the stuff with The Littlest Girl – to know that, through this process, The Wife and I might find out things about our own genetic makeup that could give us information about our own futures. Things we didn’t even know were there, lurking. Science is crazy, yo.
The Cubs’ 7th straight win last night marked a season-high winning streak for the team, and also pushed them to a season-high 18 games over .500. The year hasn’t gone how folks envisioned in Spring Training, but the Cubs have the best record in the NL in the second half, and stand a very good chance of winning 90 games. Also, of the most importance: they’re a good bet to make the playoffs for the third straight season. Just. Get. In.
Oh, about that, a scary thought: if the Cubs had gone just, say, 4-3 during this seven-game winning streak, they would be just a half-game ahead of the Brewers entering play today. That’s how hot the Brewers have been.
Cubs fans were out in force last night to watch the team win in Tampa:
That was Wade Davis closing things down for his 32nd consecutive save. After some mid-year hiccups with command, the dude looks like a machine again. Last night, in particular, he was ruthlessly nasty, pumping mid-90s fastballs with life, a perfectly placed curveball, and then his devastating cutter. Although his walk rate on the year is still higher than you’d want to see (12.8%), his strikeout rate – 31.5% – is higher than it’s been since 2014, his first year as a reliever.
Jake Arrieta will be back out there on the mound for the Cubs tomorrow in Milwaukee, but like other returning injured Cubs, he’ll have to ease back into things (Cubs.com). For Arrieta, that’ll likely mean a pitch count in the 75 to 80 pitch range, so hopefully he can be especially efficient, and get through five or six innings.
The Cubs have been without Hector Rondon for a little while with elbow inflammation, but he’s expected to throw a bullpen session today (Gonzales). If he feels good, I’d have to imagine the Cubs will want to get him some medium-leverage appearances ASAP for the purposes of making playoff bullpen decisions. The same is true for Koji Uehara (back, knee), but it’s not clear when he’ll return.
Either way, I think last night’s one-run win confirms that the 7-8-9 for the Cubs right now is clearly Carl Edwards Jr., Pedro Strop (in some order, depending on match-ups), and Wade Davis.
Hoping to get a chance to give some dedicated love to Mike Montgomery for his fantastic start later today, but in case I don’t get the chance: dude was sooooo good, especially when you consider that he just swung back into the rotation from the bullpen from the rotation, all within the last week.
(Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
Thank God the Cubs never traded Javy Baez in one of those many, many, many rumored deals for pitching over the past few years, eh? Patrick Mooney talks about that over at CSN.
De La Cruz has the unrealized potential to be a top-of-the-rotation type, but he has been injured for most of the past two seasons, and now won’t even be able to make up lost innings in the Arizona Fall League due to yet another injury (all of which have been arm/shoulder-area-related).
Congrats to AA Tennessee announcer Mick Gillispie, who won co-minor league broadcaster of the year honors at Ballpark Digest.
Kevin Kiermaier is incredible to watch out in center field … except maybe when he’s robbing Addison Russell:
.@KKiermaier39 does something amazing almost every single night.
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.
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