I think the catcher’s interference was the worst part.
It was a bad weekend for the Cubs. With different standings, it would have been a near-disaster. With these, it was disaster. Pure and simple. Anything less than a series win right now turns the screws that much further. Hopes for a playoff return were already on the brink.
The Cubs were not expected to win yesterday. The first two games were tossups on paper, but yesterday’s featured the Cubs as an underdog, hopes pinned on a Kyle Hendricks renaissance against one of the better starters in the National League. We’ve seen those sorts of games, and this is baseball, where games are never lost before they’ve begun, but the Cubs’ path to winning this series involved winning Friday night, and once the contest got where it got, Friday night’s game became the Cubs’ to lose.
They lost it.
A grand slam, preceded by an infield single, preceded by catcher’s interference that kept the inning going with two outs. Would the Cubs have won in the absence of that play? It’s not assured. Should Jameson Taillon still have made a better pitch on a 1–2 count to Jackson Chourio? Sure. But hanging sliders are an expected mistake. They will happen. Catcher’s interference is so rare as to be legitimately inexcusable.
Or at least, it should be.
Catcher’s interference is on the rise across baseball, a byproduct of catchers trying to catch pitches closer to the plate in an effort to improve pitches’ strike chances. Data shows umps call strikes more often when the ball travels less far. Catchers try to catch the ball earlier. Their glove gets in the way of a batter’s swing more often. Miguel Amaya doesn’t lead the league in catcher’s interference in 2024, but I’m pretty sure he leads the league in catcher’s interference over the last two weeks. Because three times over the last two weeks of June, Miguel Amaya committed catcher’s interference, and on two of those occasions, the eventual game-winning home run shortly followed.
The narrative is unfair to Amaya. He’s most likely doing the same thing every inning, he’s doing it for a good reason, and we don’t have the counterfactual: We don’t know what would happen if he wasn’t making this effort. It’s a numbers game—unseen extra strikes here and there in exchange for occasional catcher’s interference. The fact two of the three interferences turned rather directly into losses is bad, bad luck, and it’s easy to pick on the guy hitting .189 because his employer would rather their catcher bat .189 than their catcher come attached to a cumbersome contract.
But catcher’s interference—this stupid, small thing that becomes a stupid, large thing when committed at the wrong time—is too perfect a microcosm of the post-Covid Cubs to ignore. It’s a numbers game. The numbers probably favor the Cubs’ strategy. But like prospect development and hitting with runners on base, the approach isn’t working out. It needs to be done that little bit better. The intent is correct, but the execution is failing, and it’s failed past the simulations’ margin of error.
One way you could summarize the post-Covid Cubs is that they’ve played the video game perfectly. They’ve made the right choices. They’ve operated efficiently in free agency. They’ve completed smart trades and declined dumb ones. They’ve hunted meaningful marginal advantages. The problem is that baseball is not quite a video game. There’s a human element, and it’s coming up short. Execution is not quite there. Development is not quite there. Even Justin Steele’s briefly legendary exhortation to his teammates (one specific teammate?) to “wake the fuck up” came after an inning prolonged by his own error. His wasn’t the biggest problem in the inning—it was an expected mistake; it followed an inexcusable mistake by Nico Hoerner and Christopher Morel—but it made the outburst land familiarly off-center. The team with a target for its logo continues to miss the mark.
Games:
- Tuesday, 7:05 PM CDT: Cubs vs. Philadelphia (Marquee/TBS)
- Wednesday, 7:05 PM CDT: Cubs vs. Philadelphia (Marquee/MLB Network)
- Thursday, 1:20 PM CDT: Cubs vs. Philadelphia (Marquee/MLB Network)
It’s not a great series to walk into when things are going badly, and at this point, the absences of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are more a bummer for fans than a meaningful advantage for the Cubs.
This Michael Mercado guy starting the first game is a fringy prospect who’s been tearing up Triple-A. He got into a game a week ago in relief, but this will be his first MLB start. Expectations are low enough and the Cubs’ bullpen is fresh enough (I know, but it’s still better than a tired bullpen) for the Cubs to be close to a tossup.
The odds should be worse for the second and third games, with Zack Wheeler one of the best pitchers alive and Cristopher Sánchez in the midst of a massive breakout. Shōta Imanaga and Jameson Taillon are trustworthy and could give the Cubs a chance in both those games, but yet again, it’s imperative to win the opener if the Cubs want a chance to win the series.
The wind should be blowing out to left for the first game, out to right for the second, and in off the lake for the finale. Stronger winds the first night than the second two.
Moves/Injuries/News/Speculation:
- Nothing on this front, so instead: With Washington losing to the Mets today, the Cubs are half a game behind the Nationals and the Reds, who are tied for eleventh in the NL. This is distressing, and the gap between the Cubs and the playoff cut line is the most important thing, but passing teams is important as well. It eliminates variables. The Nationals playing the Mets negates any reason to hope for them to lose, but if you’re in a scoreboard-watching mood, the Reds play the Yankees.
Zach LaVine Is Not Worth a First Round Pick
It’s worse than it sounds.
According to Bobby Marks, the Bulls have been trying to attach a first-round draft pick to Zach LaVine and they still can’t get anyone to take him. They aren’t trying to trade for a first-round pick. They’re trying to give a first-round pick away in order to get Zach LaVine off their hands, and the rest of the league is saying, “No thank you, Zach LaVine’s presence on our payroll is not worth your draft pick.” Hopefully it’s protected. Goodness.
The one bright spot to this is that for as long as Zach LaVine’s contract hamstrings the Bulls financially, the Bulls won’t be able to afford to pay another Zach LaVine. A bad scenario would have included the Bulls successfully trading LaVine but then immediately giving a max contract to a man Jerry Reinsdorf saw shooting free throws at the park.
What else they’ve been up to:
- DeMar DeRozan is gone. He’s walking. There are no reports to the contrary. This is sad the way it’s sad to see college end. There are good memories, but prolonging it would make it bad.
- The Bulls and Patrick Williams agreed to a five-year deal which will make him the fourth-highest paid player on the Bulls, behind…I’m not going to list them. Here’s the link. Williams has spent a lot of seasons in prospect no-man’s land, but he’s only going to be 23 this year, a year younger than Coby White. He’s certainly capable of growth, and it’s not like he’s been a terrible player. The Bulls are going to pay somebody. It might as well be Patrick Williams. It might even work out.
- Andre Drummond is going to Philadelphia, who memorably tried to give the Bulls draft picks for him at the trade deadline. Taking his role (unless, God willing, somebody wants Nikola Vučević) will be Jalen Smith, the 24-year-old former Pacer and Sun. This might be an upgrade. It certainly comes with higher long-term upside, since Drummond offered none.
- Torrey Craig picked up his player option, so he’s sticking around. Might get traded, might not get traded, fine guy to have on board for this kind of team.
The Busy Blackhawks
The Blackhawks traded their way into three first round picks Friday night, taking Artyom Levshunov second overall and then Sacha Boisvert (a center in the USHL who’ll play for North Dakota this fall) and Marek Vanacker (a winger in the OHL) later in the evening. I’m not going to pretend to know more than this, but: Three first-round picks is great when you’re a rebuilding team. Maybe next year the Hawks could share one with the Bulls?
In free agency today…
- Tyler Bertuzzi: Blackhawk.
- Teuvo Teravainen: Blackhawk (again).
- Alec Martinez: Blackhawk.
- T.J. Brodie: Blackhawk.
- Laurent Brossoit: Blackhawk.
- Pat Maroon: Blackhawk.
- Craig Smith: Blackhawk.
- Joey Anderson: Staying a Blackhawk.
It’s a big haul. From the back of the ice to the front, the Hawks lock down a backup goalie (Brossoit), add more veteran presence on the blue line (Martinez and Brodie), get two great options at wing from Connor Bedard (Teravainen and Bertuzzi), and bulk up their third and fourth lines (Smith and Maroon). Productive day. I think it leaves them only about three million dollars shy of the cap, so it’d be a surprise to see more big moves, but I am wrong about so many things you guys. Do not put too much weight into my NHL salary cap prognostications.
The one concern I’m seeing is that this will block young players, but I think you’d rather lean that direction than leave young players overexposed? Also, while Connor Bedard isn’t the only young player, he’s the one you especially don’t want overexposed. This isn’t a normal rebuild. This is a rebuild around a potential generational talent.
Away from the Blackhawks but very much tied to them, the NHL reinstated Joel Quenneville, Stan Bowman, and Al MacIsaac today. Bowman is expected to land with the Oilers. I don’t think any head coaching roles are open right now, but one could open to accommodate Quenneville, and if it doesn’t, it’s only a few months til November.
Away from the Blackhawks but mostly just of interest, Patrick Kane is back with the Red Wings and Jake Guentzel ended up signing with the Lightning. The Blackhawks are paying roughly as much per year to Teravainen and Bertuzzi combined as the Lightning will pay Guentzel, and the Teravainen and Bertuzzi deals will end much sooner.
Should the White Sox Trade Garrett Crochet?
Yes.
Moving on.
Just kidding, we can talk Crochet. Bob Nightengale reported that the Sox did sit down with Crochet’s team for extension talks, but that they went nowhere and the Sox will trade him before the deadline at the end of the month. Is this smart? Yes. Crochet is under team control for two years after this one, but the White Sox aren’t going to be good during that timeframe, and even if they were, uncertainty abounds regarding a player who’s made only 18 career starts. This is a gift from the heavens. The White Sox should (and it sounds like they will) take it.
Games:
- Tuesday, 5:40 PM CDT: White Sox at Cleveland (NBC Sports Chicago)
- Wednesday, 5:40 PM CDT: White Sox at Cleveland (NBC Sports Chicago)
- Thursday, 12:10 PM CDT: White Sox at Cleveland (NBC Sports Chicago)
With Gavin Williams coming off the IL and both the Twins and Royals gaining ground this weekend, it’s an interesting series for the Guardians. The White Sox aren’t the Guardians, though. Erick Fedde does pitch the Wednesday game if it doesn’t get rained out.
Moves/Injuries:
- None. The White Sox abide.
What Record Did Angel Reese Set?
The Sky lost 70–62 yesterday to the Lynx, but Angel Reese recorded her tenth double-double in a row. In the spirit of Chicago sports right now, we are going to focus on that instead of the loss.
From ESPN: “Reese broke a WNBA single-season record with her 10th straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks set the previous record in 2015.”
First of all, we love a good more–rebounds–than–points outing for a forward. It may have happened because Reese missed twelve shots from the floor (I don’t know how many of her five offensive rebounds came on her own misses, but I don’t think it was none), but it’s still one of those fun stat lines which usually comes from a grinder.
Secondly, does the WNBA have a separate record for a double-double streak across seasons? That wording really confused me. I guess we’ll find out the next time Reese records a double-double, which will probably be…
Games:
- Tuesday, 6:00 PM CDT: Sky at Atlanta (CBSSN/The U)
…tomorrow night.
The Dream are currently a game ahead of the Sky, who are the first team out of the playoff picture.
Do You Want to Talk About Arlington Heights or About the Bears’ Defensive Line?
There are two things of any note in the Bears’ world. The first is that Arlington Heights is keeping communications open as the doomed lakeside stadium plan marches on towards its eventual doom. The second is that the Bears probably need defensive line help and will probably get it through a free agent pickup, but probably not for another week or two.
