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A Nice Night for PCA, Falling Way Out of It, Bad Injury News, All-Stars, and Other Cubs Bullets

Brett Taylor Brett Taylor
Jul 04, 2024
Chicago Cubs

There is rain in the forecast all day and night around here today, imperiling the Fourth of July parade, the cookout, and the fireworks. Mother Nature being less than patriotic today …

  • At 13.0 games out, the Cubs are actually the closest last place team (next closest: Oakland A’s at 15.0 games out), which is not something that matters or helps them in any meaningful way, but it was just kinda funny. Of more importances, that 13.0 games out is a fresh season high, just as their nine games below .500 is a fresh season low.

  • In the Wild Card race, the Cubs are 6.0 games back, which doesn’t sound much worse than it did last week, but you have to remember that the Cubs trail SEVEN teams for that final Wild Card spot, and five of them by three games or more. Making up that kind of gap – especially if you have to massively close it by the end of this month – requires one of those stretches where you win like 14 of 15. We have seen things like that happen before, but there is nothing in the evidence of this season to suggest that this particular Cubs team has it in them.

  • As for last night’s loss, one bright spot was Pete Crow-Armstrong, who had one of his better games, with two doubles, a stolen base, and a nice grinding at bat that didn’t produce a hit but was really good to see (line out to center), especially against a guy like Zack Wheeler.

  • Since it’s not just about results at this point with a young player like PCA, I think it’s worth commenting on the development process. There was a little too much out-of-the-zone aggressiveness early in the game – which we know has been an issue for him – and one of his doubles was a blooping benefactor, which is why it was so good to see him tamp that down a bit later in the game. That is to say, it’s great to celebrate a double, but we’re also interested in development, because this won’t always work out:

  • The second double, on an 0-1 pitch much closer to the zone, looked like an entirely appropriate swing decision (and better contact, too):

  • And then, like I said, the really strong third at bat. He’s developing. Too good not to. It’s just going to take time and reps. As for the stolen base, it made PCA 16 for 16 on the season, but it cost him some blood:

  • Hopefully it doesn’t impact him on throws or swings going forward, though it probably wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to give him a day or two so that it doesn’t turn into a cut-that-won’t-heal situation.

  • Bad news for Yency Almonte:

  • One way or another, it sounds like Almonte’s season could be over. He was a thoughtful pick-up by the Cubs as a bit of an add-on in the Michael Busch trade, and he was looking pretty darn good before the injury happened. What might have been.

  • Also bad news for Matt Mervis:

  • Treating a hamate bone injury tends to be pretty straightforward – you can just remove the thing if necessary – but it is one of those injuries that simply requires a minimum of a month absence, and sometimes a good bit more. So he could be out for a while. I wonder if the Cubs would challenge Haydn McGeary with a promotion to Iowa to fill the spot (he’s been on fire lately at Double-A).

  • Old friend alert:

  • The 2024 MLB All-Star starters have been revealed:

    • https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1808646019304866027

  • I will be blasted for it, but I actually like this year’s jerseys:

    • https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1808651620227424478

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    written by

    Brett Taylor

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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