NEWSLETTER
The Cubs finally play a game again tonight (you know, assuming the Indians’ protocol issues don’t result in a surprise positive test … sigh). It’s as if they had an All-Star break, and it’s not like teams always come out of the break dusty. So maybe there won’t be any signs of slowing down for a Cubs team that started the year 10-3.
• Speaking of which, when the Cubs had to shut down because of the Cardinals outbreak, they led the NL Central by 3.5 games. Incredibly, the Brewers and Reds managed to find a way to increase the Cubs’ lead to 4.5 games in that time. Pretty productive time away from the game!
• As for the Indians series that starts tonight in Cleveland, David Ross told the Tribune he doesn’t feel like he needs to address their lapses with his own team. So far, the Cubs players have pretty clearly been good at managing their own behavior, so it’s not as if they need another wake-up call to follow the protocols on the road. Also: who would go out in Cleveland anyway?
• A trio of Cubs pitchers working through their injury issues (Stebbins): Jose Quintana (thumb) is to throw a 45-pitch sim game today in South Bend, Brad Wieck (hamstring) is to throw a bullpen session today, and James Norwood (shoulder) threw a bullpen session yesterday. If Quintana’s outing goes smoothly and the Cubs feel like he looks good to go, it’s probably going to be time to bring him back in about five days. If there have been no injuries in the starting rotation in the interim, it’s possible Quintana would head to the bullpen. I also think it’s still possible he would replace Alec Mills in the rotation, though that seems less likely at this point: Mills has already been scheduled for his next start on Saturday, which does not line up with Quintana’s schedule. Moreover, the Cubs had the opportunity to reset their rotation this weekend, and specifically chose to throw Mills in a scrimmage on Sunday (knowing that Quintana was due to throw on Tuesday).
• This is part of what you bring in a veteran like Dallas Keuchel for when you’re trying to turn the corner from young-up-and-coming team to a contender, though it does underscore that the White Sox still have a ways to go:
Dallas Keuchel: "We came out flat. We have some guys taking professional at-bats. Some guys kind of going through the motions. It seemed like we were taking the night off…very subpar play from everybody."
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) August 11, 2020
• That got me checking the early AL standings, and the White Sox are still solid at 8-9, though they’re just out of a playoff spot. If the season ended today in the new playoff format, you’d have the Yankees and Rays making it from the East, the Twins and Tigers(!) making it from the Central, and the A’s and Astros (sub-.500 record) making it from the West. Then the two Wild Cards would be the Indians and the Orioles(!).
• Good stuff at Amazon’s Deals of the Day today, including super cheap inflatable mattresses, cast iron cookware, snacks, and noise-cancelling headphones. #ad
• If you want to know the tenor around the Indians and the decisions of two pitchers to go out in Chicago against protocol, this is the MLB.com beat writer for Cleveland:
High-risk rotation mate (and skipper), and Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac took the gamble and violated team protocol anyway. A microcosm of our country’s response to this pandemic.
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) August 11, 2020
• Congrats to the Báez family:
https://twitter.com/javy23baez/status/1292982674873708544
