We’ll start with the good from this weekend: The Cubs only lost the series by one run, on the aggregate. The Cubs hung in there in two spot starts. The Cubs’ bullpen is no longer last in the MLB in FIP. On the one hand, if you’re going to lose, it’s a better sign to lose close games than not-close games.
On the other, though, blowing three straight early leads is about the most frustrating way to lose, especially against a team that, history aside, is the biggest rival right now for the North Siders. Tyler Chatwood’s injury is worrisome. And the team still has significant flaws.
There’s a piece of this that leads one to wonder if the Brewers are in the Cubs’ heads, or if the Brewers are in their own heads in the way that they feel like the Cubs’ big brother. The familiarity of collapsing against Milwaukee made the last three days especially dejecting, and the reminders that the Cubs aren’t much better than the Brewers on paper, despite a significant lead in the standings, were sobering. Preferred as it may have been, the Cubs aren’t going to cakewalk their way to a division title. There are four other teams in the division, and only one of them is not good.
With the Cardinals performing surprisingly well over the weekend coming off of an extended break with a depleted roster, and with five whole games ahead of us in these next three days, the situation feels suddenly fraught. But there’s good to be had at the same time. Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish, pitching two of the first three games, are the best options the Cubs have. So, if all goes well, the ship could feel righted by bedtime tomorrow, even if Wednesday would still provoke some anxiety. The lineup is still the best in the division, and when it comes to late-inning production in the immediate term, the Cardinals’ bullpen—while relatively healthy, and certainly competitive—is not that of the Brewers.
The goal, as usual, is to win the series. With the Brewers playing in Minnesota, it’s hard to imagine three wins this week not leaving the Cubs still at least three and a half up in the division race entering the weekend. That’s easier said than done, though, and even if Hendricks and Darvish take care of business these next two days, it’ll be interesting to see whether Alec Mills faces Jack Flaherty on Wednesday or if those who decide such things try to aim for the split. At the beginning of the season, we said that David Ross, with his perceived ability to instill a sense of urgency, was hired for a year like this one. It may feel hyperbolic, and it may be hyperbolic not-quite-twenty games in, but real or not, there’s a sense that these five games are something of a defining moment for this particular roster.
The pressure’s on.
