Today’s Reflections
Hot take here: I think it is a lot more enjoyable watching PCA’s quest at 40/40 than Sosa/McGwire ‘98. Back then, almost 140 home runs between two guys (yes, it was “unreal and unprecedented”), but it got a little predictable and boring. Sammy never met a curtain call he didn’t love. I haven’t watched PCA in the dugout after every home run, so I could have missed it (like after a three-HR game or the cycle), but I don’t recall PCA doing a curtain call (yet). It’s possible I missed it. But it seems to be all business for Pete. It’s watching a budding superstar. I just find it more fun.
Wednesday night, we had TWO! TWO! TWO amazing offensive performances in one game. PCA and Alex Bregman each went 3-for-4 at the plate. PCA had a triple, two home runs and three runs scored. Bregman had a double, triple and home run. The duo had seven RBI and TWENTY total bases combined.
Almost completely covered up was the performance of the year so far by Shota Imanaga. The lefthander allowed one junk run over six innings on four hits without a walk and struck out eight. He had a similar outing in May, where he allowed one run over six innings and struck out 10, but allowed six hits (including a CSPSHR*) and three walks. Shota’s game Wednesday was smooth, professional and was only jittery at he approached 100 pitches, but he wrapped things up well.
All that to pick up another series win on the way to the postseason.
I appreciate your reading.
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Wednesday’s Game Stories:
- Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman make case that Cubs’ bats could bash their way through playoffs. “Cubs pitching is raising questions about how far this team can go in October. But Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman are hitting the cover off the ball, making the case that the Cubs’ best-in-baseball bats could slug them deep into the postseason.”
- Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Pete Crow-Armstrong hits historic milestone and Alex Bregman stays hot as Chicago Cubs protect wild-card lead. “Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell couldn’t help but turn to third baseman Alex Bregman standing next to him in the dugout after they watched Pete Crow-Armstrong go deep for a second time Wednesday night. “We don’t get to see things like this,” Counsell noted to Bregman.“
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): PCA adds 2 more blasts to season Cubs fans will ‘tell their grandkids about’. “”(Counsell to Bregman) You spend your whole life in baseball and you just don’t see this happen on a baseball field. You’re grateful to be a part of it.”“
Possible First Specific, Deep-Dive Off-Season Acquisition Flier That I’ve Noticed:
- Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Cubs could take offseason chance on forgotten Mets pitcher with plenty left to offer: There’s no doubt: Chicago will be big players in the pitching market this winter.“
Assorted Pitching Stories:
- Paul Niemiec (North Side Baseball): Jed Hoyer Doesn’t Like to Spend on the Pen. He’s Paying the Price for That Now. “The Cubs have a world-class offense, but the bullpen is still a glaring weakness. They got unlucky this time, but this is how this front office has always operated. Can they escape a self-inflicted demise?”
- Josh Kirschenbaum (MLB.com): With plenty of options as playoffs near, Cubs have decisions to make in rotation. “Shota Imanaga continued his strong September with his best start in a month, this time against an opponent bound for October baseball.”
- Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): A Mid-Game Adjustment Wednesday Neatly Captures Shota Imanaga’s Longer-Term Ones. “Shota Imanaga was pitching well. In fact, he’d just struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. to lead off the third inning. Yet, there was Tommy Hottovy, on the way to the mound with the team interpreter…”
- Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): How one inning could be a ‘fatal flaw’ for Cubs in 2026 MLB postseason. “”It doesn’t feel good heading into the postseason and wondering who is going to get the ball in the ninth inning.””
Assorted Hitting Stories:
- Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Pete Crow-Armstrong, in an MVP season that can’t be wasted, keeps pushing Cubs toward playoffs. “The two-time World Series champ continued his torrid second half (.971 OPS) by nearly hitting for the cycle against the Braves, falling a single shy of the feat.”
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Dansby Swanson’s Visit to Wrigley Field and the Plan Going Forward. “The Chicago Cubs’ plan for Dansby Swanson this week was to have him play in a couple games with the Iowa Cubs and then return to the big league team on Friday, fully recovered from his oblique strain.”
- Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Pete Crow-Armstrong is on the verge of a rare MLB feat. His hitting coach explains the leap. “His inner drive always wants more.”
- Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): The Evolutions Keep Coming: How Pete Crow-Armstrong Stayed Ahead of the Adjustment Curve. “With yet another awe-inspiring display, Pete Crow-Armstrong ensured a series win for the Cubs and set off a new round of fun facts. Under the hood, though, the more interesting waves aren’t of tidbits, but of tweaks.”
- Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): As everyday stint ends, ‘old soul’ Pedro Ramirez keeps impressing Cubs: ‘He can pretty much do everything’. “Ramirez will return to his bench job now that Dansby Swanson is coming back from injury, but the rookie keeps impressing a veteran Cubs team chasing a championship.”
- Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs may have finally found in Alex Bregman what they never had with Kyle Tucker. “It’s night and day.”
- Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong’s MVP race declared to be ‘over’ by ESPN analyst. “It’s not over in that PCA has no chance, but that every other player in baseball isn’t even close to Crow-Armstrong this year.”
- Elias Schuster (Chicago Sun-Times): The Cubs Suddenly Have Kevin Alcantara Playing a New Position. “The Chicago Cubs are giving Kevin Alcantara a chance to prove he can be an even more versatile player.”
Assorted Stories:
- Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs’ Wrigley Field advantage makes their NL Wild Card positioning impossible to ignore. “Sweet home, Chicago.”
- Brandon Glick (Cubbies Crib): Cubs are crushing NL Wild Card field in every stat besides the one that matters most. “If only expected record actually meant something.”
- Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago baseball report: Anything goes for Cubs pitching staff — and Sox are fighting for their playoff lives. “With 10 days left in the regular season, the Cubs could clinch a playoff spot this weekend in Cincinnati.”
- Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Fan angst hits fever pitch as Cubs and White Sox take playoff hopes into final days of wild season. “There have been few baseball seasons in Chicago like the one we’re going through.”
- Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Of Course They’re a Playoff-Capable Team, Bregman’s Big Year, Near Double Cycle, and Other Cubs Bullets. “There’s no reason to believe these Cubs cannot compete with the other playoff teams in a postseason series.”
Food For Thought:
Slim Harpo (born either Isiah Moore or James Isaac Moore; February 11, 1924[a] – January 31, 1970) I was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues style, and “one of the most commercially successful blues artists of his day”. He played guitar and was a master of the blues harmonica, known in blues circles as a “harp”.
Moore was born in Lobdell, Louisiana,[4] the eldest child in his family. After his parents died he worked as a longshoreman and construction worker in New Orleans in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Influenced in style by Jimmy Reed, he began performing in Baton Rouge bars using the name “Harmonica Slim”, and also accompanied his brother-in-law Lightnin’ Slim in live performances.
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