NEWSLETTER
Oh for a world where the goings on of the top teams in the league would actually matter to the Cubs. If the Cubs were competitive to enough of a degree, then the performances of the Dodgers or Braves or Phillies or – sigh – the Brewers would matter deeply. I’d be following it quite closely.
Alas. The Phillies could go on a 10-game losing streak and it’s pretty hard to imagine the ways in which that would matter whatsoever to the Cubs.
So normally, while this news would interest in a national baseball kind of way, I wouldn’t make much of a Cubs connection:
Except this time there is a Cubs connection.
Bryce Harper strained his hamstring, and Kyle Schwarber strained his groin. They will miss at least the next 10 days. And this actually WILL have an impact on the Cubs, because they host the Phillies for three games next week at Wrigley Field.
Now, will the absence of two players – even impact bats like Harper (.303/.399/.582/169 wRC+) and Schwarber (.250/.373/.447/133 wRC+) – be enough to tip the scales in the Cubs’ favor in those games when they otherwise would’ve lost? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s inarguable that the Phillies would greatly prefer to have those two available for the series (any series), and now they will not.
The Cubs are in a stretch where every possible win desperately matters, so the temporary absences of Harper and Schwarber for the upcoming series is definitely notable. I won’t say I’m celebrating it, because I just can’t celebrate injuries. But these ones seem not to be TOO serious, so there’s that.
