The Cubs now set out on a ten-game, West Coast road trip. In a vacuum, you’d say that splitting this trip would be a good outcome. Perfectly solid. We would’ve said as recently as a couple weeks ago, too.
But the way things have sorted themselves for the Cubs, with the losses they’ve banked from very winnable games – and knowing that another sell-off looms if the Cubs aren’t really in the race by the end of July – I can’t help but feel a 5-5 trip would actually be a problem. Not just “not solid,” but an actual problem. The Cubs need to make a big, positive move in their record, and merely treading water for ten days is a bad outcome.
In other words, this road trip isn’t happening in a vacuum. There is context. There are months’ worth of games that have been played. There is a hill now. The Cubs have to climb it, which means finding a way to surprise to the upside. They’ve probably gotta go 6-4 or bust.
Because of how the last few years have played out, including multiple injury issues and then shoulder surgery last year, I didn’t have any expectations that lefty Brailyn Marquez would contribute to the Cubs this year or any future year. I had hopes, of course, because that’s still a whole lot of arm talent. But not expectations. The Cubs, you’ll remember, dropped Marquez from the 40-man roster after last season, and then re-signed him on a minor league deal. Since then, though, he still has yet to appear in any kind of competitive game, even in extended Spring Training.
So what’s the deal? Is that that? Well, take a look at how Cubs GM Carter Hawkins answered Marquez questions in the Des Moines Register, and I think you’ll get the message between the lines:
“A little disappointing. He came into spring training and really wasn’t in a place from a health and buildup standpoint to be able to compete. Clearly the talent is there but he just hasn’t been able to get on the mound and show it. The ball’s kind of in his court at this point to figure out a way to get to the point where he can tap into his talent. It’s been a little while. You never want to say time’s running out with somebody, but I think this is the time to fish or cut bait, and we’re helping him fish every day. We just haven’t been able to see him on the mound and that’s a challenge.”
Marquez, 24, isn’t even consistently back on the mound yet? And the GM is saying the ball is in his court to figure out a way to get there? I won’t put words in Hawkins’ mouth directly, but that sounds like a situation where Marquez has not done the things he’s needed to do, or at least hasn’t accomplished the things he needed to accomplish along the way. He hasn’t pitched in a game since 0.2 innings total in 2020, and hasn’t pitched a real season since 2019. That was four years ago. Injuries and his bouts with COVID are a huge part of the story there, but maybe there’s more to it. In any case, my takeaway from those comments is that we should no longer have any kind of real hope that Marquez returns. Such a bummer of a story for such a promising young arm.
Nick Madrigal has gone to Iowa and done exactly what you thought he might do at that level with extended playing time: he just hits line drives all over the place.
It’s good that Madrigal is hitting so far at Iowa, and I certainly hold open the possibility that he could be a capable big leaguer in the years ahead (though the one doesn’t guarantee the other). What I struggle to see is how exactly that happens with the Cubs. Absent a catastrophic middle-infield injury, he’s not going to get regular starts at second base this year or in the years ahead. Near-term, I don’t see regular starts at third base, either, as the Cubs don’t really have a reason to bail on Patrick Wisdom (and may want to try Christopher Morel there anyway if something did happen to Wisdom). So are the Cubs just going to hold Madrigal at Iowa for the rest of this year, or will they eventually bring him back up as a bench guy? What about next year? Back to Iowa? There are certainly options, but it’s still the case that the trade value is probably not significant. It’s not a decision for today, but I just wonder what the plan is if Madrigal rakes at Iowa, as he probably will.
An aside that doesn’t necessarily matter for either guy, but nonetheless provides some context: at 26 years and two months, Madrigal is actually five months younger than Jake Slaughter, a guy we think of as an older prospect who could/should maybe get a shot at some point. (Also, with Chase Strumpf now at Iowa (only one year younger than Madrigal, by the way), the Cubs have to accommodate 2B/3B starts among Madrigal, Slaughter, and Strumpf, all while David Bote and Sergio Alcántara also stay sharp in the middle infield.)
Today is Lou Gehrig Day around MLB, and it’s an opportunity to support causes that work to cure ALS:
Oof. The rough couple of years for Kris Bryant continues:
Bryant, still only 31, is hitting .263/.346/.374/87 wRC+ in the second year of his seven-year deal with the Rockies. He’s played in just 92 games since signing.
The Cubs announced their annual Pride Celebration game for June 13:
Marcus Stroman also spoke up individually, with a message and with direct support:
An LGBTQ person’s existence is not a political or social issue. The confluence of Pride and sports is an opportunity to speak up and emphasize that EVERYONE is welcome. EVERYONE is loved. EVERYONE can boo a missed call. EVERYONE can cheer when the Cubs finally get a clutch hit. Assuming that happens.
Whew, I am no longer worried about A.I. taking over:
Nah, it’s fine:
Scherzer, who hasn’t exactly been shy about his dislike for these kinds of rules changes, is complaining that he didn’t get eight warm-up pitches because (presumably) he took too long with the first seven. Why can’t the umpire have discretion there to allow one more pitch, he muses, angrily. Because then there’s not a rule anymore. Why can’t the umpire have discretion to allow 16 seconds between pitches? Or maybe some discretion to allow 30 seconds with runners on base, because he thinks that the pitcher just needs a little more time? What if the pitcher asks pretty please with sugar on top? I would hope the answer there is really obvious. Should umpires have discretion when it comes to crowd acknowledgements or player injuries or things like that? Of course. But just straight up giving the umpire discretion to not honor the between inning clock because the pitcher wants more time than everyone else gets? Uh … no?
I only just started watching ‘I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson’ so the timing was good for me to actually get this reference:
It’s kind of amazing to me how in the weeds the Cubs got with that promotion. My guess is it was a very smart sponsorship opportunity with Netflix, tied to the release of the third season of the show, and Tim Robinson will be there at the game to throw out the first pitch. And if you’re a fan of the show, I highly recommend reading the ticket page.
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