NEWSLETTER
This is it. Drink in the final day of Chicago Cubs baseball, because you won’t see it again in the regular season for six months. Maybe that’s sadness to you. Maybe it’s a momentary relief.
The Cubs can sweep the Cardinals today, because that would be a perfect ending to a season that knew no level footing. Doing so would leave open the possibility that the Brewers and Cardinals could tie atop the standings and we’d see a Game 163 in the Central for the second straight year.
I know a lot of folks are hoping for that. Me, personally? I really don’t care which of these two teams that I very much don’t like wins the division, and I also don’t really care how they get there. I just know I’ll be rooting against them in the coming days.
HOWEVA, it’s always nice to see the Cubs beating up on the Cardinals and annoying the hell out of them. So I did like last night’s game.
Meanwhile, the Cubs’ win opened the door wide for the Brewers, who blew it (which I suppose is its own kind of fun):
SAM HILLYARD IS CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/fDibQLxwBt
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) September 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/Rockies/status/1178157704704999424
As for the Cubs, the only thing to play for outside of pride is draft pick positioning, and the two wins in St. Louis have really “hurt” them in that regard.
Right now, at 84-77, the Cubs are tied with the Diamondbacks for the 17th worst record, but the Diamondbacks have the tiebreaker by virtue of having a worse record last year. The Cubs are a game “behind” the Red Sox (but the Cubs would have that tiebreaker), and are a game “ahead” of the Mets.
That is all to say, if the Cubs lose today and the Diamondbacks and Red Sox win, the Cubs would climb into that 16 spot. If the Cubs win today – and if the Mets lose – the Cubs would fall to the 19th spot, just one pick better than the Brewers and Cardinals. That kinda feels like it would really suck butt as the compensation for finishing considerably behind those two teams (especially since those two teams get competitive balance picks every year).
The bonus pool swing between pick 16 and pick 19 is upwards of $750,000, so the importance of where you land goes beyond just having a few more guys off the board.
I guess that makes today win-win? Either the Cubs sweep the Cardinals and get some lulz out of it while going out on a high note, or the Cubs lose and improve their draft standing.
