Though there hasn’t been any official word yet from the Cubs, multiple fans have spotted David Bote at Wrigley Field this morning. Because he’s not on the 40-man roster, the Cubs would have to clear space by designating someone for assignment or moving an injured player to the 60-day IL. Source: me, because I saw him with my own eyes — Lauren Wisdom (@cubsfanscentral) June 2, 2024 That someone in the first situation most likely Nick Madrigal, who, in addition to being a central figure in Friday’s loss, has simply not played well for the Cubs aside from a short streak here and there. It’s als ..read more

The Cubs and the Reds had to wait out a three hour and 20 minute rain delay before their game began Saturday night, and the conditions played havoc with both teams. After a crazy first couple of innings, things calmed down a bit and Chicago was able to pull out a badly-needed win thanks to a dramatic home run from the struggling Dansby Swanson. Starter Justin Steele ran into problems in the top of the 2nd with a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases with one out. After a popup for the second out, the Cubs lefty appeared to escape the jam with a lazy fly ball to right off the bat ..read more

Hoo, boy, the Cubs are mired in a stretch of poor play and bad luck that makes them absolutely no fun to watch or write about. That’s why I’m not going to write much about them here. They could really use a feel-good win tonight against the Reds because they’re 2-8 over their last 10 games and just can’t seem to do anything right. Justin Steele had been somewhat flat since returning from the IL and was giving up all kinds of hard contact, but he was dialed in against the Brewers in his most recent start. His fastball was particularly effective after looking lifeless in three previous outings ..read more

Friday’s loss would still have been disappointing had it come during a stretch in which the team was playing well. Based on this prolonged stretch during which they’ve barely been the best team in Chicago, however, the bullpen blowing a lead and Nick Madrigal being thrown out badly for what feels like the 17th time this season was par for the course. They truly are embodying the concept of being the Flubs. Because there’s little value in belaboring this any further than necessary, I’ll do my best to be brief. There’s no reasonable explanation I’ll accept for why groundball god Madrigal was pin ..read more

The Cubs continue to find new ways to lose as they finished a very difficult month of May with an incredibly frustrating defeat at the hands of the Reds. The game ended with a chaotic bottom of the 9th inning that featured bizarre decisions by Chicago’s coaching staff and the home plate umpire that led to a one-run Cincinnati win. Ian Happ gave his team the lead with a two-run homer off of Graham Ashcraft in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Javier Assad didn’t have the best control and had to battle most of Friday, but kept his opponents in check for the most part. The Reds finally got to him in ..read more

“In my dreams, I’m dying all the time. Then I wake, it’s a kaleidoscopic mind.” – Moby, Porcelain  Thursday was another tough one for the Cubs, with a 6-4 loss to the Brewers that served as a microcosm of Chicago’s 1-5 road trip. Luke Little and Tyson Miller were the latest relievers to let the team down and the offense was decent but not good enough. Little and Miller couldn’t find the strike zone, which was difficult to stomach as I sat behind home plate. I have a question, and perhaps one of our avid readers can help me. If a reliever isn’t throwing strikes while warming up, why is he ..read more

There’s no way to sugarcoat it, the Cubs suck right now. Even if they manage to win this afternoon, they’ll finish May at 6 games under .500 and well out of first in the division. Ian Happ is the only hot hitter on the team, and his 132 wRC+ over the last two weeks is tied for 93rd in MLB over that time. Even when they manage to produce a little punch on offense, their opponents just punch back harder. Javier Assad probably needs to pitch another gem, which is certainly a possibility as he bounces back from his worst start of the season in St. Louis. Walks are becoming something of an issue, h ..read more

The Cubs (28-29) are in their biggest funk of 2024 after going 1-5 on road swing through St. Louis and Milwaukee to drop a game below .500 for the first time since the season opening series in Texas. They have posted a 10-17 record in May with one more day left to go in the month and now hobble back to Wrigley Field to start a three-game set with Cincinnati. The Reds (24-32) have had a very disappointing start to the season after being hopeful about competing for the NL Central title in 2024. Several key injuries have hurt the offense, especially a shoulder surgery that has kept 2023 breakout ..read more

“And the sun will leave the room, will leave you to the night and that’s alright.” – Future Islands, Balance Shōta Imanaga is mortal after all. Christian Yelich put the Brewers up 2-0 in the 1st inning with a two-run homer, and Milwaukee added five runs in the third off Imanaga, who entered the contest with a 0.84 ERA. He had allowed just five earned runs in his first nine starts. Milwaukee had not scored a single run against Cubs starters in 32.1 innings before Yelich’s blast. Imanaga left Wednesday’s start with a 1.86 ERA. I wouldn’t get too worried about it, though. Heck, Cy Young lost 315 ..read more

The Cubs have won just one of their last seven games, with the most recent loss coming in the worst start of Shōta Imanaga‘s young MLB career. But hey, at least it’s the second game in a row and third in the last five that they’ve scored six runs. That’s at least better than getting shut out, though this team can’t seem to get everything working at the same time with any regularity. If the pitching is nails, the bats are quiet. If they hang crooked numbers, their opponents hang crookeder ones. Now the Cubs need to win Thursday afternoon to avoid losing the series and dropping below .500 for th ..read more