So uh, remember the commanding lead the Brewers had over the NL Central that many people thought would propel them to the NL Central title? Uh...not the case, it seems.
And it's not really the Brewers' fault, they had a major winning streak going until yesterday, still have so many great pieces in place, and were expected to roll towards October. Only issue is the Cubs decided to get hot at the same time, are creeping up the divisional leaderboard, and used a three-game series this week to move up two games thanks to beating the Brewers twice. So now the Brewers are only 3 games in front of the Cubs, and have this mounting terror breathing down their backs.
It's actually kind of fitting, because we all remember the 2018 season where the Brewers snuck ahead at the last second after the Cubs had led the whole year, then forced the Cubs out at Wild Card week and went toe-to-toe with the Dodgers in the NLCS. This Brewers team isn't quite the same as the one that broke big in 2018, but a few key figures, including Christian Yelich, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Corbin Burnes, Wade Miley and Adrian Houser, all still remain. Meanwhile, the only 2018 holdovers in Chicago are Ian Happ and Kyle Hendricks, the latter being a year away from a full ten years of service with the Cubs.
The Cubs, after selling the farm a few years ago, have used the last few years to rebuild. However, unlike many rebuilding teams [the Orioles, Tigers, D-Backs and Reds come to mind], the Cubs still have a strong enough ownership to be able to buy crucial pieces in their prime. So, yes, getting Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki does help. But, as we saw in Texas last year, getting three great pieces doesn't mean much if the team hasn't been built up to support them.
So the Cubs, having firmed up a lot of their own options, look a lot more confident this year and are able to supplant Swanson and Bellinger. It's not just the preexisting guys like Happ, Nico Hoerner and Adbert Alzolay that are impressing people this year, but the people that have come up in the last year or so. Christopher Morel had a big come up in 2022, yes, but his power numbers have cemented this case as a Cubs mainstay [even at the mercy of Patrick Wisdom's playing time]. Miguel Amaya and Nick Madrigal haven't always been starting but they're still crucial depth pieces that could aid this team fully going forward. And while I did think Javier Assad returning to the rotation would be the team's last smart retooling in that division, bringing up Jordan Wicks in time for him to be ready to strike everybody out does make me feel like their hard work paid off.
Plus, August has also provided Seiya Suzuki with a chance to return to the conversation. The prized Japanese outfielder hadn't succeeded a great deal since last April, but Suzuki has improved, and is hitting .333 this month with 19 RBIs and 5 homers. Suzuki is a strong hitter and reliable player, he's just a little streakier than the Cubs would like. I do think he's got some super seasons to give to the Cubs going forward, and his heating up now does make me excited for the rest of this season.
The Cubs' growing momentum could either lead to a surprise division title or a boost in their wild card case. Either way, though the Cubs could be looking at a lower seed, they have enough depth and momentum to not completely make me confident that they'll be an early departure from the playoff picture if they do make it.
Coming Tomorrow- When I do the end of the year superlatives post, I usually denote a 'team most depressing to talk about each week'. Most times it's a really boring last place team. But this year, it might be the team that had the single worst luck, where it pained me to even report what was happening. Tomorrow, a pitcher from that team.
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