Back to Home Sweet Home, Zobrist Plans, Road Unis, and Other Bullets
The Cubs return home to THE EXTREMELY FRIENDLY CONFINES of Wrigley Field tonight, hosting the Giants. Having finally won a series on the road, though, is anyone else irrationally panicking that the Cubs’ home joojoo will now be reversed?
I sort of kid, but just as it was probably unreasonable to expect the Cubs to keep losing at a .371 clip on the road, it is also potentially unreasonable to expect them to keep winning at a .683(!) clip at home …
- With the Cardinals beating the Brewers last night, the Cubs are now a half-game out of first place again in the Central. It’s fine. Just don’t get swept, Brewers.
- As Michael noted last night, Ben Zobrist has departed from Iowa in favor of Tennessee as his comeback ramp-up moves along. There was still a lot we didn’t know, and Tommy Birch offers a little more clarity:
“He said that he was close.” Ben Zobrist could be back with the @IowaCubs this weekend and more importantly, could be back in Chicago soon. https://t.co/85Lipp4JII
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) August 20, 2019
- It sounds like Iowa Cubs manager Marty Pevey is expecting Zobrist will be back with the Iowa Cubs this coming weekend, so it’s possible Zobrist will see time before that with the Tennessee Smokies, who are currently playing in Jackson, Tennessee – about 45 minutes from Zobrist’s home outside of Nashville. Geographically, it would make some sense.
- In any case, it’s also possible Zobrist will simply take a day or two, and then return to the Iowa Cubs for a final ramp-up. It seems increasingly likely that he will be able to return to the big league Cubs at some point this year, assuming he continues to feel physically well. Rosters expand to the full 40-man on September 1, but with David Bote optioned to Iowa, the Cubs will have flexbility in advance of that to bring up another utility man – be it Zobrist, or currently-rehabbing Daniel Descalso.
- Good news on Willson Contreras’s hamstring rehab, as he’s over the pain at this point, and is just strengthening, per Theo Epstein.
- Randall is so spot on:
Mild take:
1. Take yesterday's #LittleLeagueClassic jerseys
2. Tweak the colors slightly
3. Swap out "CUBBIES" (meh) for CHICAGO (yeh)
4. Install them as a full-time road jersey or road alternate
5. Never lose another road game again pic.twitter.com/erEr5c5XHO— Randall J. Sanders (@RandallJSanders) August 20, 2019
- Speakers, routers, jumpstarters, and sound machines are among your good Deals of the Day today at Amazon.
- Luis and Michael TOOK OVER THE SCORE yesterday … OK, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but they were in the studio for a while with Joe Ostrowski:
We’re in the studio! @lcm1986 @JoeO670 on at 8:00! pic.twitter.com/aWJp2gRxca
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) August 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/JoeO670/status/1163783897672380416
- And Luis was on an all out blitz, because he was also on SportsFeed:
Do the Bears have their man at kicker? Or is another move to come? @lcm1986 answered that and other questions on the team on Sports Feed on Monday. Watch his full discussion on the Bears & Cubs with @paytonsun & @Josh_Frydman here: https://t.co/1VJWjhyTkN pic.twitter.com/5OyrpIsbkN
— @CLTVSportsFeed (@CLTVSportsFeed) August 20, 2019
- Awesome moment as Carlos Carrasco, battling leukemia, gets back into game action:
Carlos Carrasco finishes off his inning with a strikeout and a roaring ovation. He threw 16 pitches, 9 for strikes.
0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K pic.twitter.com/FQO2RGMoRF
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) August 20, 2019
- Bears bits, both enjoyable and ridiculous:
PFF Ranks Mitch Trubisky Among Its 10 Worst Starting Quarterbacks https://t.co/a5zrDDG0Dz pic.twitter.com/0t9aIbjKgA
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) August 19, 2019
Bears Sign Rookie Running Back Josh Caldwell to Preseason Roster https://t.co/WUk57h6Ru1 pic.twitter.com/c7mUHSXWGv
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) August 19, 2019
The Bears Winning the Super Bowl is Vegas’ Most Popular Bet https://t.co/mxmTO1YC0K pic.twitter.com/La9BM8iB37
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) August 19, 2019
- Enjoy this many times:
Every time you think the Cubs have finally turned a corner. pic.twitter.com/l1jRfn0UqB
— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) August 19, 2019