A Much-Needed Reliever, a Hurricane is Coming, a Special Olympian Sings, and Other Bullets

The march of rough sports days continues. The Cubs need to pull out a win tonight for the collective psyche of the fan base, if for no other reason.

  • You hoped that when Carl Edwards Jr. came into the 6th inning last night, with two outs and a base open at first, he could get a quick out and start to mentally turn the corner on a stretch that his seen him fall completely out of whack with his command. And even if he walked a guy, first base was open, and then he could just get the next guy. It was a good spot for Edwards. And his very first pitch was wild as heck, allowing the lead run to score for the Brewers.
  • Joe Maddon confirmed after the game that he was thinking the same thing about that situation (ESPN): “I just wanted to reduce his outing tonight to one out. Once Jon was in the situation he was in, I thought, ‘Get Carl out there, get one out, let him walk off the field, feel good about himself, and then you have the other guys for the rest of the game.'” Unfortunately, it went very much in the opposite direction (including more wildness even after the first pitch).
  • Like we’ve said before, GOOD Edwards is so good that the Cubs need to do everything they can to get that guy back before the postseason. But the thing is, they have to balance it against losing games in the meantime. Because, you know, they still have a division to win, and a mere 1.0-game lead at this point.
  • Also: not a good look that Edwards seemed to forget to cover home at first on the wild pitch. It had the appearance of a guy who was so defeated by the fact that he’d just done what he’d done that he had a momentary climb-into-your-shell blip. We all know there’s a mental component to this game, and it’s almost never safe to assume you know what’s going on in a guy’s head. But given the last couple weeks and Maddon’s comments, I think it’s fair to say that Edwards is really in his own head right now when he’s out there. And that’s not good.
  • (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

  • With Hurricane Florence strengthening and still headed for the East Coast, you hope everyone is going to be safe this week. The possible outcomes for the storm – in terms of flooding – sound very scary, and people remain the primary consideration.
  • As it relates to the Cubs’ planned makeup game in Washington on Thursday, it’s still not clear if that game will happen or not, and if MLB will shift the game before the Cubs have to travel (Mike Montgomery is currently scheduled to start). Maddon would prefer that the game was played on October 1 (Cubs.com): “Of course, I think that would be optimal if we could do that. Even when you get a day off when you get rained out, it’s not a day off. Your motor is still running. You got up, you went through your routine, you practice like you normally practice. You get ready, then you sit when the game’s not played. For us, the better outcome would be that the game would not be played, but if it is, we’ll be there.” Unspoken: by moving the game to the end of the season, the Cubs not only avoid unnecessary travel and not only get their much-needed off-day back, but they also push the Washington game to a time when they might already know their postseason fate and could coordinate their rest/travel plans accordingly.
  • Jason Heyward is able to swing, and tested out some outdoor running yesterday (Cubs.com). He quite rightly notes that he’s gotta play it super conservative, because at this time of year, there’s no room for a setback.
  • Cubs fan Stefan Xidas got his dream of signing the National Anthem before a Cubs game last night, thanks to his own efforts to raise $18,000 for Special Olympics (which was matched by the Cubs). It was beautiful:
  • Meanwhile, the other Chicago sports team that crushed you this weekend:
  • Deals of the Day at Amazon today include a massager and a luxury shower head, each of which sound like they might help me relax right about now …
  • written by

    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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