Going to Bed Happy

I wonder how many people’s moods were changed last night by Pete Crow-Armstrong’s second home run to complete a late inning comeback against the White Sox. It has to be in the hundreds of thousands, right?

I’m only speculating, but I would guess that there are lots more Cubs fans than White Sox fans out there. And for White Sox fans, as much as they enjoy their team beating the Cubs, after sweeping the Tigers to take a 5.5 game lead in the AL Central, it can’t have been too painful to lose a game where they had more hits than runs. Not to mention that they are playing well beyond expectations.

But for the Cubs and their fans, it had been a really rough couple of days, as I highlighted here:
https://cubsin7.blog/2026/08/17/well-that-sucked/

So, if they had lost another game where they squandered several opportunities on offense, and allowed nearly every runner the White Sox got on base in the first 9 innings to score, it would have piled on shit-ton more negativity to our collective psyches.

Not to say the Cubs did not get some breaks. Jake Rogers, new catcher for the Sox, could have challenged two pitches in an at-bat to Ian Happ that would have been strikes, but instead challenged a bit that was upheld, which was their last challenge. Had Happ gone down on strikes, it is much less likely the Cubs would have scored the tying run in the 9th.

I’ve been a vocal proponent of moving all ball/strike calls to ABS, so while that might have robbed us from a thrilling end and a Cubs victory, I still think that it would be good for baseball to use the technology that is available to make ball and strike calls more accurate.

Some interesting tidbits from last night:

• Shota Imanaga just can’t get through a start without giving up at least one home run, but he has been so good about avoiding other baserunners that it usually doesn’t hurt him that much. But last night was a worst case scenario, when a walk and single before the home run turned what would have been a great start into a decent start. This is why I would be afraid to have him start in a postseason game, where a 3-run-homer is often a death blow in a close game. Or would take a game that was under control, and flip things around
  
  
• Imanaga, on an extra day of rest, had the increased fastball velocity that we saw early in the season. This would make a 6-man rotation very intriguing, although I don’t think the Cubs could swing that until roster expend in September.
  
  
• We go the first look at David Peterson, reliever, and he did pretty well. Caleb Thielbar did pitch on Sunday – in more of a mop-up situation, so I wonder if this showed that Counsell might trust Peterson more than Thielbar late in a game. With Hoby Milner set to return anytime, it Thielbar expendable?
  
  
• What the hell was Alex Bregman doing when he got picked off at third base? My only thought is that the double-pump by Rogers may have temporarily short circuited his brain, which is why he did not even try to dive back into third base.
  
  
• It was disappointing to see Pedro Ramirez and Miguel Amaya get runners in from 3rd base with 1 out in separate situations. I don’t have the stats to back this up, but I feel like this is a situation where the Brewers execute every time.
  
  
• Ryan Zeferjahn has not been good so far. It looks like he doesn’t know where the ball is going. The home run he allowed really was not that bad of a pitch – just that it was exactly what Benintendi was looking for. I think the key there is that Zeferjahn could not get the slider over the plate, so Benitendi could sit on a fastball. Maybe this is nerves from getting thrown into a playoff race, but he has lots of work to do to be added to the very small circle of trust in the Cubs bullpen.
  
  
• Speaking of lack of command, Edward Cabrera is back on the IL due to the blister issue. I’ve been mentioned for a long time that with that issue, it might be better to put him in the bullpen. But he did allow a home run in his first inning of work on Sunday. With 15 more games on the IL, any chance for him to have a positive contribution down the stretch is shrinking.
  
  
• Speaking of lack of command part 3, it looks like Daniel Palencia might be activated today. It was mentioned that he would not have any more rehab appearances, and his next game would be in the majors. Meanwhile, he was moved to the 60-day IL to make a roster sport for Owen Miller. That leads me to believe that we may have seen the last outing for Aaron Civale, as the Cubs would need sports on both the active roster and the 40-man roster to activate Palencia. He control in his last outing was good, but I think the Cubs try him out in the 6th or 7th inning on his return, and leave Webb as the closer.
  
  
• So many roster moves to account for the oblique injury to Swanson and the Cabrera’s blister. No surprise that Assad is back – although by keeping him in the majors, I believe the Cubs will lose a year of club control. And Alcantara gives the Cubs another right handed bat. The swap of Miller for Triantos was a bit surprising in looking at Miller’s major league stats – as the primary reason for his promotion would be to provide some cover at shortstop behind Hoerner, and he’s almost never played shortstop in the majors. However, Miller has played lots of games there in the minors in the last two seasons.
  
  
• It was mentioned that the Cubs might want another option at first base. But I don’t think a Carlos Santana reunion makes much sense, as he’s been terrible for a while now. There were a few intriguing names who were released recently, but I’m not sure if any can play first. Starling Marte was just waived and Jorge Soler and Marcell Ozuna are still out there. But none have been very good against lefties. Against lefties, Marte has a .630 OPS. Soler has a .626 OPS and Ozuna a .661 OPS. And again, none play first base. It would be nice if Tyler Austin had not gotten injured, as he was supposed to be a weapon against lefties.