AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

The Rundown: Cubs Seeking Turnaround in Toronto, New Prospect Rankings, Brewers Stay Hot

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 12, 2025

“Well the race is on and here comes pride in the backstretch. Heartache’s goin’ to the inside. My tears are holdin’ back and they’re tryin’ not to fall.” – The Race Is On written by George Jones and performed by the Grateful Dead.

It’s a slow news day, so let’s talk about the NL Central Race.

The Brewers won again last night and are now 30 games over .500, so they can finish with 96 victories by winning half of their remaining games. In contrast, the Cubs need to go 30-15 (.667) to finish with 97 wins, though that calculus changes drastically if Chicago can sweep Milwaukee next week. I don’t want to sound like it’s time to wave the white flag, but the Wild Card race should be our focus for now.

The Cubs are currently up one game on the surging Padres for the top Wild Card seed. They also hold a 4.5-game lead over the Mets, but the North Siders have fewer games remaining than all of their opponents. Those two losses to the Dodgers in Tokyo to open the season loom very large now. New York is followed by the Reds (two games out), Cardinals (-3), Giants (-4.5), and Marlins (-6).

The good news is that the Cubs are still 17 games over .500, and this would be considered a very successful season if the Brew Crew looked a lot less like a wrecking crew wreaking havoc on every opponent. We’d have been ridiculed in March had any of us predicted Chicago would be a few wins shy of playing .600 ball by mid-August, let alone that good but still 6.5 games off the divisional pace. Still, the Cubs need to avoid looking past the Blue Jays and Pirates to next week’s five-game set with Milwaukee. Now is not the time to fall further behind.

It’s probably asking too much to hope Chicago can pick up two games in the standings before Monday, but it’s not impossible. The Brewers have won 10 straight and can tie a franchise record for consecutive wins by sweeping the Pirates and winning their series opener at Cincinnati on Friday. The Cubs practically need to run the table against Toronto and Pittsburgh just to stay within striking distance. The reality of the race is that Milwaukee will simply pull too far ahead if Chicago doesn’t start stacking wins. It would subsequently be dispiriting if the Brewers series proved almost meaningless once Monday gets here.

At a minimum, the Cubs need to win as many games as the Brewers do through Sunday. Then they’ve got to win at least four of five against Milwaukee at Wrigley Field next week to make the race competitive again. The Brewers have been playing pressure-free baseball for two months and it’s time to light a fire under their asses.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

“Better lucky than good, right?” – Shane Falco, played by Keanu Reeves in the movie The Replacements

Tip your cap to the Brewers and hope you get a shot at them in the playoffs. That’s not a surrender, just a different battle plan because there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Milwaukee’s sweep of the Mets this past weekend was an exercise in serendipity. It featured a go-ahead hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, a rare error by shortstop Francisco Lindor that allowed two runs to score, a bloop ground-rule double, a home run by William Contreras that was made possible because of a Ryan Helsley pitch-clock violation, and a game-tying single off the glove of first baseman Pete Alonso.

That kind of dumb luck doesn’t happen in September and October.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

MLB dropped its 2025 postseason schedule earlier today. Schedule November 3 for a PTO parade day if you still believe in the Cubs. That’s kind of an historic date, yes?

Josh Hader is dealing with a shoulder issue, so the Astros’ all-star closer will be sidelined pending test results.

Extra Innings

You can’t blame Jed Hoyer because the Brewers are on an insane run. It’s also not his fault that the best lineup in baseball collectively stopped hitting. I’ve been as critical of Hoyer as anyone, but this is still a very good team.

They Said It

  • “Nothing is really wrong. I just suck at hitting baseballs sometimes right now. That’s OK. But it doesn’t feel OK when I’m on the field and want to help my team win. You’d like to be the kick-starter or game-changer. I think it’s just one of those situations where one barrel, one blooper — if I get that one knock, then I get that knock. If not, then I just gotta go out and play center field.” – Crow-Armstrong
  • “If you don’t see the scoreboard in a major-league stadium, there’s something wrong with you.” – Craig Counsell

Tuesday Walk-Up Song

Canada’s finest, which reminds me that I recently bought an original, now sold-out LOOP 97.9 t-shirt. It’s too bad traditional radio is nearly as dead as the Cubs’ chances of winning the NL Central.

 

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 12, 2025
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