This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider.
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The Cubs are 5 1/2 games behind the Brewers with an elimination number of eight, and 8 1/2 games clear of the final wild-card spot. They’re pretty much playing out the string, which is one reason they stuck Kyle Tucker on the IL rather than have him play through left calf tightness.
Notice! The Cubs have had an unsettled bullpen for most of the season, and most recently lost Daniel Palencia, who had mostly taken the ninth-inning role, to a shoulder strain. At the moment, Andrew Kittredge seems to be the closer, with Brad Keller also in the mix. In front of those two are a lot of pitchers who have been both very good and very bad at various times. There’s a scent of the 2018 Red Sox here, or the 2021 Braves, teams that didn’t seem to have very good pens until their relievers went off for four weeks in October. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how good you are so much as it matters how well you pitch in a very small sample. We’ll circle back to this idea if we get a Cubs/Padres matchup in the first round.
What’s Left? 3 @PIT, 4 @CIN, 3 vs. NYM, 3 vs. STL. A dozen or so remaining chances to hear the vocal stylings of the great Boog Sciambi. (Well, the playoffs for ESPN, too.)
Notice! The Cubs have had an unsettled bullpen for most of the season, and most recently lost Daniel Palencia, who had mostly taken the ninth-inning role, to a shoulder strain. At the moment, Andrew Kittredge seems to be the closer, with Brad Keller also in the mix. In front of those two are a lot of pitchers who have been both very good and very bad at various times. There’s a scent of the 2018 Red Sox here, or the 2021 Braves, teams that didn’t seem to have very good pens until their relievers went off for four weeks in October. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how good you are so much as it matters how well you pitch in a very small sample. We’ll circle back to this idea if we get a Cubs/Padres matchup in the first round.
What’s Left? 3 @PIT, 4 @CIN, 3 vs. NYM, 3 vs. STL. A dozen or so remaining chances to hear the vocal stylings of the great Boog Sciambi. (Well, the playoffs for ESPN, too.)
