NEWSLETTER
The MLB Draft kicks off tonight at 6pm CT on MLB Network and ESPN, with the first round (36 picks). The Cubs pick at number 21, and Bryan has a last-minute look right here if you missed it.
• The sell-off is coming, and assuredly the players now know it, what with Jed Hoyer basically confirming it publicly. So you look at last night’s non-competitive loss to the Cardinals, and you do wonder to what extent the players’ focus is impacted – just human nature, especially two days before the All-Star break. Willson Contreras kinda summed it up:
Contreras, on if he felt the effort was good tonight:
"No I don't, to be honest. I feel like everybody was off. Everybody was distracted. I don't know why. Probably because the All-Star break is really close. Tomorrow is the last game of the first half. I don't think that way."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 11, 2021
Here's Contreras, after saying, "Yes, of course," he views himself as a leader now for Cubs, on if he would talk to teammates about effort level:
"There's a lot going on. There's a lot of things that I would like to say, but I'd rather keep it to myself than say it. That's it."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 11, 2021
• I won’t speculate on any specifics – we don’t really know what the mood in the clubhouse is now, especially given how rapidly the situation changed. But it’s not at all hard to imagine there being some friction with the end of an era coming, with guys who have certain individual needs/goals, and others who can’t help but desperately want to be competitive and win every day because that’s how they’re wired. I doubt it’s easy to sort all that out mentally right now, and it’s a reminder of the human component of the anticipated sell-off, which isn’t something most of these guys have ever had to deal with in-season.
• I suppose I’m also not going to speculate on specifics at this moment, because I doubt this is the last we hear about this topic, conceptually, over the coming weeks. The Trade Deadline is really going to be the predominant focus now until July 30, and the guys in that clubhouse will just have to figure out a way to do their job together while they still can.
• Zach Davies didn’t quite have his best stuff last night, but he’s still on the radar as a back-end starter that some team may look to pick up this month. Here was his take:
Losing streak + All-Star break + trade chatter = recipe for distraction for Cubs.
Zach Davies: "A professional team like this knows their job, knows what they have to do and, once we break out of that streak, take care of business. Hopefully it doesn't come to saying goodbyes."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 11, 2021
• Anthony Rizzo ALMOST made another incredible wall catch – we were over in left field, so I thought he’d caught it and I was jumping:
Anthony Rizzo goes all out to try and steal an out in tonight's game. 3D baseball for the folks in the front rows! @BleacherNation @realcubsinsider @ARizzo44 #CubTogether @MLB pic.twitter.com/6EX92euBVX
— MBDChicago (@MBDChicago) July 11, 2021
• This came just after, by the way, so there was still an incredible out recorded from that at bat:
Javy made a spectacular play in 3rd on an Arenado grounder to his right. Dove, snared and did the ol' reverse spin to get the throw off to second for a highlight-reel 6-4 fielder's choice. pic.twitter.com/3E1SZ0Ot8z
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 11, 2021
• David Ross says each of David Bote (shoulder) and Matt Duffy (back) could start a rehab assignment the week after the All-Star break. It’s too late for their returns to impact the standings before the deadline, but each could still get meaningful innings in the second half relative to what their role could be in 2022 (Bote is under contract, and Duffy could be brought back in free agency).
• Awful news on Ronald Acuña Jr., whose injury turned out to be what you would fear based on how it looked: a torn ACL. He’s out for surgery, and hopefully will be back early next season. How will the Braves respond to losing one of their most important players when they’re only 4.0 games out in the East, alone in second place? It remains to be seen, and my guess is they play out the next couple weeks before making any decisions.
• Christian Yelich got called out on a truly bizarre one last night, with the first base ump apparently believing Yelich had made enough of a move toward advancing to second base to say that he was a live baserunner, and thus tagged out after running through first base. Yelich was OVER-THE-TOP pissed:
Christian Yelich going off on John Libka is all of Wisconsin this series. Called out after being tagged after a wild throw to first. Apparently Libka thinks Yelich made an attempt to go to second. Never seen this before. pic.twitter.com/DS84g9Sgal
— George Balekji (@GeorgeBalekji) July 11, 2021
• You don’t have to be an expert lip reader on that one. And from where I sit, Yelich’s barely half step (not even) to the left should not have been an issue. But since it happened to the Brewers, we can laugh at it. The Reds are to within 5.0 games of the Brewers now. Good for them?
• But back to the not-so-good for the Cubs, this shot does indeed say a lot:
Cubs falling into the abyss, and this shot from @chris_sweda says it all. pic.twitter.com/0Y2mXeFIyD
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) July 11, 2021
