The Comeback Cubs, the Fourth Place Cardinals, the Ball-Stealing Fan (Or Not), and Other Bullets

Jul 23, 2018

Hey there. I just want to say I hope you have a great Monday and a very good week. High five.

It barely even feels like a come-from-behind win anymore when the Cubs do it, whether they come back after an early deficit or come back late. It’s absolutely a credit to the offense, which just keeps grinding away whatever the score, and also to the bullpen, which has been solid this year despite so many injuries. But, it’s also a credit to the starting pitchers, who always seem to settle down after allowing early runs. Yes, it tends to shorten up their outings, but at least they seem to pitch very well in those 3rd through 5th innings or so.

Yesterday’s comeback was the Cubs’ 32nd such win this year, best in baseball.

These standings make me smile for many reasons:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BljjNacDxUT/?taken-by=bleachernation

One thing to note in there, the Pirates are hot as heck, and have passed the Cardinals in the Central and the Wild Card standings. I think they’re too far out of the divisional race to realistically do anything there, but they’re only 4.0 games out of the second Wild Card spot, behind three teams. I mean, if they were a “contender” coming into the season, there’s no chance you’d expect them to sell this week. And yet in our heads, we kinda expect them to sell, and the Cardinals to not sell. I’m not sure either should sell, given how things can play out when you’re that close to a playoff spot, but I think they both might seriously consider it now.

Luke Farrell will make a spot start for the Cubs tonight against the Diamondbacks. With the doubleheader this past weekend, the Cubs were going to need a sixth starter and they decided to defer it to this series against the Diamondbacks, which not only allowed the front five to go against the Cardinals, it also then gives everyone an extra day of rest.

So, there’s good and bad in here, and it’s a reminder that it’s hard to tell *exactly* what happened without all the context, even if it looks perfectly clear:

When going to a baseball game, DON'T be this guy. pic.twitter.com/pAeiRN6Q2X

— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 22, 2018

A @javy23baez signed ball should take care of it. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/4YzUlG8qfN

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 22, 2018

I spoke with people from the Cubs. The man who grabbed the ball on the widely seen video had actually already helped the little boy get a ball earlier. The young man has a game used ball and a Javy Baez ball. All is well. Guy is A-OK so let it go people.
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) July 23, 2018

This was a dang good move, eh:

On this day in 2003, Cubs acquired Aramis Ramirez, Kenny Lofton and cash from Pirates for Matt Bruback, Jose Hernandez and PTBNL (Bobby Hill)

— ChicagoCubsOnline (@TheCCO) July 23, 2018

I remember finding out about that trade during a Cubs broadcast, as then-GM Jim Hendry came to the booth to discuss. Can you even imagine finding out about a huge trade that way today? “Looks like Jed Hoyer is joining us in the booth for a few minutes – there’s strike two on the outside corner – and he’s got something to say about Jacob deGrom … “

Even when angry, Javy remains extremely GIF-able:

When they don't seem to notice you're a legit MVP candidate. pic.twitter.com/vB1XNl1Euw

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) July 22, 2018

If you missed anything from a very busy weekend, catch up on the headlines here. It turns out I initially typed “Jesse Sanchez” twice when, of course, meaning Jesse Chavez, the new Cubs righty. The problem is that for years I’ve been typing “Jesse Sanchez” in reference to the MLB.com reporter of that name. It’s just kind of stuck in my fingers. So if you see that particular typo again, be sure to heckle me about it.

written by

Brett Taylor

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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