The Chicago Bears blowing a huge lead (and wasting a fantastic Justin Fields performance) on the same day the Chicago Cubs’ season ends after blowing a big September playoff lead … that is just some chef kiss sporting gods taking a dump on all Chicago fans, man.
Although it seems likely that the Cubs’ manager is safe, the same can’t be said for a whole host of others around the game. Those announcements should be coming soon for the teams that missed the playoffs, including Buck Showalter announcing his own firing to the media. Mets owner Steve Cohen issued a statement:
“We are heading in a new direction, with a new President of Baseball Operations and we let Buck know we’ll be parting ways. We will begin the search for a new manager immediately,” Mets Owner, Chairman and CEO Steve Cohen said. “Buck is a generational manager, and we value what he has done for our team, including leading us to a 101 win season and postseason berth last year. The commitment and heart that Buck brings to the game will be felt by our organization for years to come. We wish Buck all the best in the next chapter of his career.”
So, as long expected, David Stearns will pick his own manager for the Mets, and Craig Counsell is on speed dial for the second his contract with the Brewers expires. I don’t look forward to the Mets being good, but I’d be pretty excited about Counsell leaving Milwaukee. So thank you David and Buck.
Cool cool cool cool cool:
Gonna be hearing this stat for a long time:
Thing is, the 8% possibility DOES play out sometimes. It just sucks like hell that it played out this time, and that it changes the shape of how we think about the entire season (because it does). Being able to stamp a season with “Playoff Team” means something. It’s the winning argument on how this 2023 Chicago Cubs team was better than people thought. That’s STILL TRUE, but missing the playoffs just makes it a much more difficult sell (to others, and to myself).
Also, let me say the quiet part out loud: because this year’s Cubs team was highly unlikely to ACTUALLY progress very far in the postseason, the mere act of making the playoffs may have been the highest realistic goal. They came so close to achieving it, but failed.
Yup:
While it’s not a surprise based on his swing, and he’s also just 21 with limited pro experience, I think we know the SUPER DUPER CLEAR hole that Pete Crow-Armstrong needs to work on: remotely decent velocity in the upper third of the zone. Big league pitchers went to it with ease against him in his limited appearances, and he had nothing for it. In that way, it’s probably good that he got this challenging experience just to confirm what’s needed next in his development.
To that end, while it was already unlikely he actually opened the 2024 season as the Cubs’ starting center fielder, I don’t think it got any more likely over the last month. The tools are loud, the athleticism incredible, and the bat – though we didn’t get to see it – has a surprising amount of pop. But there were definitely times when it looked like PCA needed to learn how to control his aggressiveness a bit, and how best to use his athleticism. I’m thinking of some unreasonable risks on the bases (stuff that plays in the minors, but doesn’t in the big leagues), and that ill-advised dive in center field in Atlanta. He’s still extremely young and has limited pro experience, so I have zero worries about him long-term. It was just a reminder that, even for top prospects, they still have things to work on.
Terribly sad news in the baseball world, as long-time pitcher Tim Wakefield has passed away. He was 57:
Wakefield, a famed knuckleballer, pitched in parts of 19 seasons until he was 44. It was a fun time watching him pitch, and the baseball world was better for getting to experience it.
Mariners youngster George Kirby threw a knuckleball yesterday in honor of Wakefield, and I’m thinking maybe he should actually keep this in the arsenal:
A lot of could-have-been-his-finale type games yesterday. Joey Votto hasn’t yet decided on retirement, but how fitting would it be that, in the final game of his career, he got ejected for arguing a strike call that he was right about:
We’ll also see if this is the end for Zack Greinke, another of baseball’s unique characters:
And this could have been Brandon Crawford’s last game, at least with the Giants:
We know that it was definitely Miguel Cabrera’s last game, though, and he got to leave the field to a standing ovation – with his kids – after making a play at first base. Pretty cool how that worked out:
NEWSLETTER
