Gelof My Cloud

 

I said going into this season that if Zack Gelof went about 2026 the same way he went about the last few seasons [hitting .210 and getting hurt], it'd be a one way ticket to Colorado. So he must have heard me, cause he used an injury to Max Muncy to become an everyday third baseman and is hitting incredibly well, with an .833 OPS, a .282 average, 11 homers and 29 RBIs. After so many years of being the 'and the rest' portion of the young A's core, Gelof finally has something to say. Now...preferably it'd be happening for a non-4th place A's team, but they can get there.

I knew they wouldn't be a 1st place team forever, and they were really just one rough stretch away from where they usually are, and sure enough that's the case. They had a tricky end of the month schedule, they didn't find an upper hand barring more Kurtz homers, and now they're 41-49, trying to get back above the Astros. 

The good news is that, as this was already the fullest vision of this A's team going into the season, it's gotten even fuller as we've gone on. Here's what the A's train has gained as we've embarked on another campaign: Henry Bolte, a working centerfield bat with great defense, Gelof becoming an everyday infielder, J.T. Ginn reaching ace status, Gage Jump finding his footing in the bigs [despite a rough go of things last night against the Marlins], Jonah Heim as a kickass backup catcher, and the rise of Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, from New Brunswick, who's looking to take over for Jeff McNeil going forward, and is hitting enough to potentially unseat McNeil soon. We already established the baseline pieces of this team [Kurtz, Wilson, Butler, Rooker, Soderstrom, Langeliers], but now we're filling things out and adding some pitching mainstays, which is very helpful.

Now...of course this is the exact moment that some of the baseline pieces start going down. Brent Rooker's out for the season, which has to smart. Tyler Soderstrom's out for a few more weeks, despite a really nice June. Wilson's once again hurt, meaning Muncy's gotta cover short. Denzel Clarke is still out, hence Bolte. It's not all insurmountable, there's enough guys like Carlos Cortes, Colby Thomas and Alika Williams who can cover those positions while not just being replacement-level. But seeing the rest of this season without Rooker is pretty tough. It's also not helping that Lawrence Butler still hasn't found his groove, he's hitting .202 with only 5 homers. Granted, his whole thing is catching fire after the all-star break, but is that sustainable??

The back half of the rotation still worries me, as does the 3.75 ERA the bullpen's been sporting. But this is a better A's team than we've seen, and there's still room to be potentially good this year, even if they're not able, with the pitching, to truly go deep yet. Getting Zack Gelof in place is a very big thing though, and won't go unnoticed.

Coming Tonight: Extremely weird that this guy's stayed in one place for 10 years, and is still pretty elite.

Winn Now?

 

The maddening thing about the Cardinals being a good team is that it's still not a certainty that they're good for the long haul. They may just be good right now. I'm not getting a ton of roster depth that would indicate a deep run, especially pitching-wise. And yet...they're 7 games over .500, have some of the biggest performers of the division, and aren't looking like they'll be selling. Like...they've been linked to Skubal. That's how all-in they are, as of right now. The stats can tell you otherwise, cause the Cardinals only have one guy going to Philly next week [though it arguably should be two], but here they still are as a major player in the NL. It's the kind of run that doesn't make sense, but is fueled by pure momentum and ability.

Getting Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Ivan Herrera and Lars Nootbaar all on the same page, and healthy, the last few years has literally been like herding cats. 2024 was a terrific year for Winn, okay, so that's set, right? No, he struggles a bit in 2025. Jordan Walker has an amazing start to the season in 2024, he's ready, right? No, it takes him another two years to actually become a consistent power hitter in the majors. Ivan Herrera finally finds a niche as a DH, he's good, right? No, he immediately gets hurt. Nootbaar keeps conking out right when things get good as well, and while he's back now he's still trying to catch up. But as it stands, Winn, Walker, Herrera, Burleson and J.J. Wetherholt are all in really nice form. Winn has 37 RBIs so far, and is helping the team that way on account of some rising errors. Walker has 20 homers and leads the league in RBIs with 67. Burleson's got an .818 OPS with 14 homers and 63 RBIs, he's having his fullest season to date. Wetherholt's been so good that people think he should have made the all-star team, and I'm one of them.

What does worry me is that now you're seeing a shelf of non committing prospects beginning to form. Already Nolan Gorman and Victor Scott have been demoted back to Memphis. Blaze Jordan is up with the team, but he's a .246 hitter and not adding much, so Bryan Torres's taking most of the starts at third. Thomas Saggese is once again back in Memphis as well. They brought up Brycen Mautz a couple months ago, longtime pitching prospect, that didn't work either. These guys are beginning to pile up. Tink Hence, Cooper Hjerpe, Tekoah Roby, Hunter Dobbins, all prized organizational pieces just not progressing as planned. The only promotion so far that HAS worked out, aside from Wetherholt, has been the return of Ryan Fernandez, who's over his 2025 struggles and has been lights-out in relief. But we're gonna need a lot more than that if this team is supposed to be something.

This team just won games against the Cubs, but they've got a LOT of Brewers matches up next, followed by a Braves series. If they want it, they've gotta break even on this series, or else they'll be headed back towards .500 and could be in danger of falling out of the race. This week could decide the direction of the season for the Cardinals, and they need it to turn out positively. 

Coming Tomorrow- For years he struggled to find a place on this team as his colleagues outran him for starting spots. Now, suddenly, he's a power player at last.

Paperweight Beats Rock

 

The Minnesota Twins really just won a series against the Yankees in the Bronx. And honestly, somehow, they deserved to.

It's been no secret that since mid-June the Yankees have been spiraling out of control. In fact, I may have been in attendance for the last time the Yankees actually felt like a dominant winning team, their excellent shutout of the Reds. Immediately after that they've lost all direction. The team's stopped hitting, management keeps sending down players who are doing well because they've got options left, Gerrit Cole keeps giving up runs, and the absence of Judge is feeling more and more evident. Ben Rice initially looked like he'd fill that void, but since that Reds game where he had a 3-run shot, he's been hitting .135 with 7 hits, 3 home runs and 15 strikeouts. The whole team's gone cold, including him. So us losing another series? Why not at this rate.

But the Twins?? On paper you'd think they were directionless, but somehow they've become one of the sneakiest bad teams in baseball. They're not supposed to compete, but they're skirting through the middle of the AL Central, hanging around .500, winning big against great teams solely because they can. They are without Ryan Jeffers right now, and the fear is that they're about to lose Byron Buxton to a hip issue [because that man couldn't be any more cursed]. But barring that they've had a really surprising lineup, filled with guys like Luke Keaschall, Kody Clemens, Austin Martin, Brooks Lee and Trevor Larnach, who aren't burning the house down but are providing steady work. They've even got Josh Bell bringing his usual brand of cheesy power, with 13 homers and 59 RBIs, meaning there's an outside chance Bell nabs a 100 RBI year. I'm not sure if he'll finish it with the Twins, but considering he only has one to date, it'd be a pretty cool achievement. 

The Twins are not a better baseball team than the Yankees, but right now only one of these teams has any spark or unpredictability, and it's not the friggin Yankees. The Twins have guys that you're gonna underestimate and they make you pay anyway. Keaschall and Lee have been so hot recently that they're both on my fantasy team. Ryan Kreisler has 5 homers and 23 RBIs as a bench bat. Alex Jackson is somehow hitting .300 as a backup. They're getting quality starts from Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews and Mike Paredes, who are mostly around to fill in for Pablo Lopez, Mick Abel and Bailey Ober and eat innings. Matthews is looking the most MLB-ready yet, and despite a 4.43 ERA has a 1.164 WHIP. Yoendrys Gomez went from a roster hanger-onner to an MLB closer. There's genuine unpredictability to this team, and it's very much appreciated. The Yankees are what you see. Ryan Weathers and Will Warren are gonna get up there and strike you out but leave homer possibilities on the table, so of course you go for it. Jazz Chisholm's gonna make an error or strike out 3 times. Camilo Doval's gonna shit the bed. I'm not saying we're always gonna be this predictable, but we were this series, and the Twins took advantage.

The Twins have the Guardians and Angels up next before the break, and because of the jester's privilege they've received in the AL, no matter how these series' go it might not even matter. They may sell, but I don't even think they'll need to sell Buxton or Ryan. They may just gestate as a spoiler the whole rest of the year. Meanwhile, the Yankees need to get to a point where they're not being tripped up by someone like the Twins. 

Coming Tonight: A young infielder who seems to finally be getting some ample battery-mates.

French Depress

 

The 2026 Padres have only been successful as a way of giving a third-string slugger a return to the glory days he never had. Let me explain,

In 2019, Ty France was all set to take hold of third base in San Diego. It was looking like he was next in the depth chart, he was a highly-prized corner prospect, the stars were aligning. And then the Padres signed Manny Machado, locking up third for the next 4 years, and ultimately the next 14 years. Machado was 26, fully in his prime, and ready to carry the team on his shoulders. Which meant France...was now going to be the backup. Eric Hosmer was covering first, eventually Fernando Tatis would take short; Ty France was completely blocked from the playing time he'd just thought was about to be his. The resulting rookie season was a .234, -0.2 WAR campaign. Despite 20 games of .300 hitting in 2020, the Padres still had no room for France, and dealt him to Seattle for Austin Nola [who would not, ultimately, solve the Padres' catching woes] and two relievers. This deal also brought Andres Muños to Seattle, but that's less important.

What's important is that Ty France, in Seattle, becomes a corner infield mainstay, having an all-star season in 2022, and being a decent part of the M's 2022 playoff squad. Then he stops hitting consistently, gets traded to Cincinnati, and splits the following season between the Twins and the AL Champion Jays. And as a result of his strong postseason as a bench bat, he rejoins the San Diego Padres, 7 years later, as a bench 1B option. And now he's got an .800 OPS, 10 homers and 30 RBIs in a basically everyday role for the Padres. 

Right now, Ty France is the best hitter on this team, something that may have happened if the Padres never traded him. Although what's worrying is that this team has Tatis, Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts and Miguel Andujar...and TY FRANCE has the highest OPS. That's a twilight zone twist, man. Okay, you get to be a star for the team that drafted you...but at the risk of literally everyone else in the lineup. The bizarre bit is that France was away from this team long enough to miss the rest of Machado's prime. Machado's been here 7 years, arguably cemented a Hall of Fame case, become a Padres legend, hit a ton of home runs and dialed back down...and NOW France is back being the hero. Good for him honestly, but it just feels a bit poorly timed. 

Obviously there's still things that work about this team. They can steal bases, the rotation isn't too bad, the bullpen's still good. The depth is just gone, and when the team isn't hitting that becomes all the more clear. It's really France and Bogaerts coming off the best, and you can make the case that Bogie isn't even hitting all that well. When Samad Taylor's batting near the front of your lineup, you've gotta question what went wrong. 

Clearly any team with Fernando Tatis and Mason Miller can't be completely counted out, but this is dire. They could use one of their usual post-ASG-break swoons, because otherwise they're really gonna need to think about the future after this season's over.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy I still can't believe stayed around longer than the real reason we traded Michael King to San Diego.

deMystified

 

Well, we were due. A positively average season from probable future Hall of Famer Jacob deGrom. After years of lights-out work, it was bound to happen eventually.

Like Paul Skenes' more comparatively-average 2026, deGrom, on paper, isn't doing too badly. He's 7-5, has a 3.48 ERA, 115 Ks, a 0.993 WHIP. One of the best pitchers on the Rangers, and pretty healthy to boot. But considering what we've seen deGrom do, it does feel like a step down. The last time deGrom had a season with an ERA over 3.10 was 2017, where he had a bloated 3.53 ERA, while notching 15 wins and getting a 4.2 WAR. To him, those are scary numbers. Everybody else would kill for a season like that. 2018-2021, deGrom goes to work, winning 2 Cy Youngs, leading the league in ERA in 2018 with a 1.70, striking out nearly everyone, and eventually getting a bit injury-hampered. But even while he was fighting injuries, deGrom still had a 2.50 or a 1.50 ERA. Which made last year's return to form, with a 2.97 ERA, all the more exciting. 

So here are some things that are true. deGrom, in 2026, is on pace to eclipse his 2025 strikeout total of 185. The Rangers are improving, so there's a chance that his ERA could drop as the second half rages on. This could end up being another banner year for the legendary starter. But even if all of those things happen, this will still go down as one of the most pedestrian seasons of his career. Considering that he just turned 38, it's understandable. I still blame the Mets for not calling him up til he was 26. Yes, he missed all of 2011 recovering from surgery, but he could have seen time in 2013. Harvey was out, it'd have timed up. But alas. 

The less-distressing news, I suppose, is that an average deGrom season is happening in a season of many average years for this Rangers team. Nathan Eovaldi, despite 9 wins and 110 Ks, has a 4.02 ERA that he's been trying to get down since a disastrous first month and a half. MacKenzie Gore, gotten for his velocity, is 5-7 with a 4.31 ERA. Corey Seager's been on and off the IL, and has hit .182 when healthy. Wyatt Langford's also been back and forth from the IL. Even Josh Smith is having a rough year. The team is now in 2nd in the AL West, ahead of the A's, but they're only one game over .500. They had a really good week last week, and while that can be leverage for a bit, we don't know if it's sustainable, especially for a scattered lineup that's relying on Jake Burger, Joc Pederson and a non ironically great Josh Jung season at the moment.

I don't think the Rangers will be sellers later this month, they're on the cusp of 'good'. If they sell anyone it'll be someone disposable, a reliever here or there. They might even buy, who knows. I just don't see this team, which isn't even the best version of this kind of Rangers team, going especially deep. But at least deGrom's healthy and doing his best.

Coming Tonight: One of the best hitters on the Padres right now. Hold your applause. 

2026 All-Star Rosters: Who You Callin' Legend?

 

Before I get into the specifics of who'll be occupying my city in a couple weeks, a word on how asinine the system of roster reveals is. A couple days ago, someone posted on Twitter that the streets of Philadelphia were already laden with banners depicting the all-star selections and nominees, guys like James Wood and Matt Olson and Nick Kurtz, two days before the 'official' release. So if the people that make the banners know ahead of time....and the teams know ahead of time....why draw it out so the fans, who this is FOR, know last? It's the same energy of holding a wedding right above a train station in 100 degree heat. Not even pretending it's about the common folk anymore.

Alright, alright, so they did announce the rosters tonight, for the benefit of us, and they had to act surprised as if everybody in the industry hadn't known for a week. When they do the Oscars, only the people in the back know what's in the envelopes. It's not like you cut to Timothee Chalamet and he mouths 'I lost' to the camera. There's speculation, but it doesn't come off like a badly kept secret. That's what this feels like now.

Anyway. The thing I do every year. Right.

Last week I made a bunch of predictions of who'd make the roster, which would inform my reactions to the actual decisions made. They were based on who was having the best seasons, who would be picked by the league AND the players, and who was the most deserving from each squad. These picks were made with enough of the voting of the starting lineup having elapsed, so I guessed all of those pretty much, and was spot-on. Everybody else I took some wild guesses with, and now we're gonna see how far off I was.

So, let's start with the AL:

Starters:

C: Shea Langeliers, A's. Love that it's happening, more deserving than Kirk. Way ta go.

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays. So...so the A's fans could vote Langeliers, but they couldn't vote for the guy who's having an MVP season?? That's the part that vexes me. Vladdie starts every year, most of the time he deserves to, this year he's been kinda meh. Nick Kurtz deserves to start. The Jays massive outweighed even the most sensible of the already-small A's fanbase, which is wild because Jacob Wilson started last year. Anyway, Vlad I kinda get but...really should have been Kurtz. Or Rice. [UPDATE: Apparently Vladdie seems to know this, and is sitting this one out. Kurtz gets to start in his place. As it should have been all along.]

2B: Ernie Clement, Blue Jays. This is where the Jays voting massive made themselves the most clear, as he led the AL. Honestly, good for him. Deserves an accolade for how great he's been.

SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals. No brainer.

3B: Junior Caminero, Rays. If J-Ram hadn't been hurt it'd have been closer, but Caminero's EARNED this after the last week of power.

OF: Mike Trout, Angels. Absolutely. I'm glad he seems to be healthy enough to make the game.

OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees. Yes, but won't be playing, which we kinda knew and could have maybe resulted in a different final 3. Cody Bellinger should take his spot.

OF: Byron Buxton, Twins. So happy this is happening. Deserves it.

DH: Yordan Alvarez, Angels. Of course. Who else, other than Yandy Diaz, deserved it more?

Reserves:

C: Dillon Dingler, Tigers. Called this one, he's been excellent.

C: Adley Rutschman, Orioles. Did not call this one, I A.) thought Gunnar Henderson would be the O's nod and B.) thought Rice would negate the need for a third catcher. But fine with this.

1B: Ben Rice, Yankees. Deserves it.

1B: Nick Kurtz, A's. Deserves to start. 

2B: Travis Bazzana, Guardians. Called it. What a year from the rookie.

SS: Kevin McGonigle, Tigers. I thought Gunnar Henderson would get this spot, can't be too mad at McGonigle getting his due though.

3B: Miguel Vargas, White Sox. Called it. Him being the only White Sox rep is an absolute travesty and proof of league bias.

OF: Cody Bellinger, Yankees. Duh. Should start.

OF: Randy Arozarena, Mariners. I thought they'd give it to Julio but Randy's honestly had the better season. Like Vargas, him being the only Mariner, especially when two last place teams get two reps apiece, is a CRIME.

OF: Riley Greene, Tigers. This is a pretty savvy pick, but I honestly thought Wilyer Abreu would go here. Fine with this though.

DH: Yandy Diaz, Rays. It'd have been a shame if he didn't the way he's been hitting.

Pitchers:

SP: Dylan Cease, Blue Jays. A shoo-in, for sure.

SP: Parker Messick, Guardians. I actually guessed Gavin Williams would get the nod, but this makes more sense.

SP: Drew Rasmussen, Rays. Called it.

SP: Joe Ryan, Twins. Called it, deserves it.

SP: Cam Schlittler, Yankees. Absolutely, and he should start.

SP: Ranger Suarez, Red Sox. DID NOT CALL THIS ONE. I had this spot going to Nick Martinez.

SP: Michael Wacha, Royals. I don't agree with this one at all. You mean to tell me that you didn't have room for Tarik Skubal but you had room for Michael Wacha? Not to disparage Wacha, he's having a fine season, but I thought Skubal deserved a spot. OR. OR HOW ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT? OR ANY MARINERS PITCHER? Either of those guys would have fit better than a Wacha rep. Schneider only wanted to carry 7 starters. Alrighty.

RP: Bryan Baker, Rays. This one surprised me. Martinez doesn't get it but Baker does. I do think it does ultimately make sense, I just don't know if I'd have included as many relievers as it entails to get to him on the list.

RP: Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox. At the last moment I swapped Jacob Latz to his spot but he was deserving of it. 

RP: Jacob Latz, Rangers. Only Rangers nod. I'd have thought Ezequiel Duran would have squeaked in but I guess not.

RP: Cade Smith, Guardians. Shoo-in, of course.

RP: Louis Varland, Blue Jays. Nobody's been doing it better, so of course he's here.

NL:

Starters:

C: Drake Baldwin, Braves. I do think he deserves this, I'm just worried because he's gone very cold since coming off the IL.

1B: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers. Matt Olson deserved this but I can't stay too mad at Freddie.

2B: Ozzie Albies, Braves. Can't really argue with that.

SS: C.J. Abrams, Nationals. With the season he's having, absolutely.

3B: Max Muncy, Dodgers. I guess so. I don't know if there was anybody that deserved it more, I just feel like the Dodgers fans really made their voices heard this year.

OF: Brandon Marsh, Phillies. I am 100% here for this. I dunno how we got Philly to vote for this, especially considering Harper, Schwarber and Turner couldn't get the votes. But I'm grateful.

OF: Juan Soto, Mets. Very much atones for last year's snub.

OF: Andy Pages, Dodgers. I was thinking Acuna would win the vote and just hand the position to Pages, but we cut the middleman out here.

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers. Again, Schwarber might have deserved this more but we've gotta have Ohtani there. In his prime, with LA, we have to have him represent the sport.

Reserves:

C: William Contreras, Brewers. Called it, deserves it.

C: Hunter Goodman, Rockies. Called it, also deserves it. Only Rockie, as predicted.

1B: Matt Olson, Braves. Should be starting.

1B: Bryce Harper, Phillies. This is a surprise. Good surprise though. This was apparently Rob Manfred's 'legend pick'. Let's examine that. Last year, Rob Manfred came into the Phillies clubhouse with his pro-salary-cap propaganda, and Bryce Harper told him to leave, and the idea from the league was that the worker advocating for better wages was being the bad guy. So...what do we make of this??? Is Manfred trying to extend an olive branch before ensuring a lockout? What the hell is this move? I'm happy about it, Harper's having a great year, but...it's such an odd choice, making THIS the 'legend' pick. Cause it also reinforces the Dombrowski 'oh he's past his peak' thing, expressly calling him a legend. Like, you know if Verlander was healthy, Manfred would have advocated for him, but in lieu of that, we have...this really awkward move. I dunno, man. It gets stranger..

1B: Sal Stewart, Reds. Okay, so, Harper's shoehorned in, right? So that means we are carrying FOUR first baseman. Five if you count Muncy, who's fundamentally a first baseman. Stewart plays first AND third, but first is his primary position. I think Stewart deserves this, but I had Matt Chapman in this spot because ideally, at some point, a third baseman should play third base. Like...

2B: Luis Arraez, Giants. Like, we do have Luis Arraez, who could play third....and also he's the SIXTH first baseman here. But like...you've got to get at least someone who's good at playing third, right? Matt Chapman's your guy. Or get Bregman or Arenado or somebody like that. No disrespect to Arraez, who deserves this, but if there's a lot of errors at third, don't be shocked.

SS: Otto Lopez, Marlins. Deserves it. 

OF: Corbin Carroll, D-Backs. Called it, here for it.

OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs. Called it, and called he'd be the only Cub. 

OF: Jordan Walker, Cardinals. Did not call this! Thought it'd be J.J. Wetherholt. Happy for Walker though.

OF: James Wood, Nationals. Didn't call this either, figured Michael Harris would have his spot. This honestly makes more sense though. Would have preferred Chourio making it in any case.

DH: Kyle Schwarber, Phillies. Wouldn't make sense without him. Remember, there could be a tiebreaker swing-off.

Pitchers:

SP: Chase Burns, Reds. Deserves it, for sure.

SP: Max Meyer, Marlins. Absolutely called it, deserves it.

SP: Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers. Is not going to play. Which is fair, he's starting next sunday. If there's suddenly a vacancy...might I suggest adding Zack Wheeler, like you should have all along???

SP: Eduardo Rodriguez, D-Backs. Didn't expect this one. To me, Kyle Harrison deserves this spot. 

SP: Chris Sale, Braves. Absolutely.

SP: Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies. Should start now that the Miz isn't.

SP: Paul Skenes, Pirates. Would ya believe I actually thought Braxton Ashcraft would be here in his place? I guess Skenes kinda does have to be there though.

SP: Logan Webb, Giants. I had Wheeler in his spot, but Webb's such a good pitcher that I can't be too mad.

SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers. 100%. Wrobleski should have had a chance, but Yoshi's something special.

RP: Jhoan Duran, Phillies. In Philadelphia? That's a no-brainer.

RP: Raisel Iglesias, Braves. At the last second I swapped Aaron Ashby into his place, but Iglesias is having a terrific year. Maybe Ashby slides in to replace a guy pitching sunday.

RP: Mason Miller, Padres. Absolutely deserves it. Wild that he's the only Padre.

So yeah, aside from one or two really painful omissions [Wheeler, NL third baseman, the rest of the Mariners], this is pretty spot on. But of course, people are gonna start getting injured and the second and third team guys are gonna land on here, and I'm not gonna vibe with all of them. So I hope for prolonged health and sunday rainouts for all of these folks, and for a really fun Philly-set ASG. Is that too much to ask?? Probably.

First It Giveth..

 

On Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs won a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, 23-3. Dansby Swanson had 3 home runs and 8 RBIs, coming off a game where he had 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Then yesterday, the Chicago Cubs lost a baseball game 17-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Dansby Swanson, who came into the game hitting .210, now sits at a measly .208. I know, if you can't take it, don't deal it, but it's gotta be a wild 48 hours for the Cubs. The Padres might even be a better overall team than the Cardinals, but in those games, the stars both aligned and slammed shut to provide the outcomes we got.

The Cubs are a truly confusing team, in that they should be better than they are, and oftentimes do capitalize on the talent they have but not in a way that boosts them long term. Without Justin Steele, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera, this team is sort of balancing plates trying to keep teams down. Matt Boyd is back, he's been fine thus far, if still a bit imperfect. Imanaga's been struggling but is still a decent option. Rea's having an awful year, Assad's mostly eating innings, and David Peterson got the snot kicked out of him yesterday. Additionally, the bullpen's falling apart as well, with Palencia, Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, Ethan Roberts, Riley Martin, Hunter Harvey and Shelby Miller all out. If the pitching injuries was actually a map of the active roster this would be a first place team. Unfortunately it is not, and this team is just plugging guys into places [Bryse Wilson, Trent Thornton, Tyler Ferguson] and hoping nothing goes wrong.

And it sucks because this team truly can hit, and confidently so. The team's sent down Moises Ballesteros, who went cold after May, and Michael Conforto's been playing DH in his place, and he's not half bad. Hitting .248, 7 homers and 21 RBIs. Not Mets good but a good role player. Seiya Suzuki's got 13 homers and 42 RBIs, and Ian Happ's got 17 homers and 41 RBIs, meaning with PCA that's an entire outfield of solid run producers. With the exception of the DH spot, it's an entire lineup of people with a WAR of 1.4 or higher [weird that Nico Hoerner's bringing up the rear after a great start], and all of these guys know how to score runs and keep pitching scared.

But, as we've seen time and time again, that means nothing without a comprehensive pitching staff. And the Brewers are leading this division, handsomely, because they can backup their lights-out lineup with guys like Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Brandon Sproat, Brandon Woodruff and Shane Drohan. The Cubs don't really have more than just one of those guys right now, at best. Which is why a team can take them for 17 points. I think if this pitching staff can grow back over time, and recoup to the level its potential let on, this team could make a wild card run, but...even then, Cabrera was on and off before getting hurt, Taillon's just completely off this year, and there's no chance of Horton being back til midyear next year. Steele is still a 'wait and see' thing, and who even knows what he'll look like when he gets back.

The Cubs should hold onto days like Wednesday, where they can take a team for over 20 points, and figure out how to get around days like yesterday. Cause they have a team that could compete, it's just not complete yet.

Coming Tonight: A man I've never known to throw a pedestrian season...yet here he is throwing one..