NEWSLETTER
The kiddos return to school today, another year of not-quite-normal, which marks their third straight school year impacted by the pandemic. If I let myself think about it too much, I get pretty damn depressed, since these are elementary kids, which means now the majority of their school years were pandemic-impacted. And then I get angry about all the things that people don’t do to help end this thing.
• With last night’s key win, the Chicago Cubs pulled to within 14.0 games of the second Wild Card. *please clap*
• The win, of course, ended the 12-game losing streak, so the Cubs won’t match their club record 14-gamer. They do, however, now have the chance to put together their first ever season with three double-digit losing streaks. Back to the grind this afternoon!
• Pitching, which had been the biggest problem during the losing streak, was definitely the story last night, and doing so in a tough place to pitch well. Kyle Hendricks was his typical solid self through six innings of one-run ball (he has struggled in Cincy in the past, so it was a great effort).
• Special shoutout to Codi Heuer, who got the final two innings in a one-run game (answering the question: who closes for the Cubs when Rowan Wick has already pitched in the 7th and Heuer has already pitched in the 8th). He got a whopping 6 whiffs on just 17 pitches, and also had three called strikes. More than half of his pitches were either a called strike or a whiff, and he was just in complete command.
• Heuer, like Wick, is one of the few guys in the bullpen right now that you already know the Cubs want to be able to count on as a late-inning option in 2022. Him looking good in the final six weeks, as the Cubs work with him on the new-ish four-seamer, is pretty darn important.
• Note the two fly outs there to Michael Hermosillo, who made his debut with a pinch hitting appearance in the 7th, when the Reds brought in a lefty to face Rafael Ortega. Hermosillo basically just tagged Ortega out and stayed in the game. I don’t want Hermosillo to be a platoon guy at this point in the 2021 season (just give him starts), but he has historically been much better against lefties, and we also know that Ortega has been destroying righties, while basically unplayable against lefties. So it’s not that hard to imagine a very productive platoon there in center field from those two. But again, I’d much rather each was just starting a whole lot so you can best figure out what you want to do with them next year (at which point, if you have added a big bat or two in a corner outfield spot, well, then, yeah, maybe we talk about an Ortega-Hermosillo platoon as your primary option in center).
• Nico Hoerner (oblique) progress, via Jordan Bastian: “Ross noted that Nico Hoerner, beyond doing fielding work today, hit in the cage. Will do so again Wednesday with the goal of then advancing to on-field BP on Friday in Chicago.” If Hoerner were physically able to return very soon thereafter, it’s possible he wouldn’t need a minor league rehab stint, because he hasn’t been out all that long. That said, with any injury recovery, you prefer caution over aggressiveness, so if easing him back in is best – say, a couple games at Iowa would help make sure he didn’t push too hard too fast before knowing how he was feeling/recovering after a game – then so be it.
• Like I’ve said, while I don’t much care about whether Hoerner’s return leads a lot more winning for the 2021 Cubs (something something Operation Tank Commander something something), I *very much* care about him getting as many big league plate appearances as possible before the season is over. He’s just missed so much time, and has had so little pro experience overall. If you’re wanting this guy to go into 2022 as your expected starting shortstop (or center fielder? or even an everyday super utility guy), then you need him to get reps upon reps upon reps.
• Cleaning stuff, kitchen stuff, desks, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad
• As Michael mentioned last night, the Cubs stat of the day from the game against the Reds is pretty wild when you consider who else could have done this: “First baseman Frank Schwindel finished 2-for-4, raising his average to .382 through 16 games for the Cubs. His RBI double in the second inning made Schwindel the first righty Cubs hitter to record at least one extra-base hit in six consecutive games since Aramis Ramirez did so from July 16-22, 2011.”
• Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt was struck by a line drive last night, and, according to those who watched (I did not), he went straight to the ground, face down, and there was a lot of blood as he was ultimately carted off the field. The A’s later tweeted that he was “conscious and aware” at the hospital. The hope is that it was just a really bad set of cuts, and there aren’t facial fractures. Prayers up to him.
Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt was carted off the field in the second inning of Tuesday night’s game after being hit in the head by a line drive. https://t.co/DIMOz8lS8l
— ESPN (@espn) August 18, 2021
• Marcus Stroman could apparently moonlight as a shortstop:
Stro: Gold Glove. 🪙 #PitchersAreAthletes pic.twitter.com/QiAnoUKvkk
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 18, 2021
• This really should be a Players Weekend design for the Cubs:
Rumors were floating around that there were Players Weekend jerseys leaking. The problem? There is no Players Weekend this year, sadly. Turns out, the unis were just concepts crafted up by a reddit user last year. Lot of ’em are dang good, though: https://t.co/D2Magl1JF3 pic.twitter.com/gSHjMBltAa
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 18, 2021
• The Cubs haven’t had a starting pair of brothers like the Romines in a very long time:
The Chicago Tribune box score from the Chicago-Cleveland game on May 8, 1894. The last time (prior to Tuesday) that the Cubs franchise (known then as the Colts) had brothers in the starting lineup in the same game. Kid and Lew Camp.
Via https://t.co/2scQdofEP0 pic.twitter.com/Q6XYYczZ6o
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 17, 2021
