AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

The Rundown: Snoozing Through West Coast Baseball, Gausman Twirls Gem in Cubs Win, Manfred Wishes to Avoid Work Stoppage

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 25, 2026

“Out of sight in the night, out of sight in the day. Lookin’ back on the track gonna do it my way.” – Little Green Bag by George Baker Selection

I lose all interest in baseball when the Cubs play on the West Coast. That’s because I’m at the age where getting to bed by 10pm is a near necessity, so watching a baseball game until the calendar rolls one day forward is almost impossible for me. I try, but ultimately fall asleep by the 3rd or 4th inning. I’ve tried napping, eating better, and abstaining from sugary substances — which lead to hard crashes — to no avail. If I’m up past 11, I’m either working or sick, and I’m not watching baseball in either case.

Yet, miraculously, the game goes on without me. The Cubs lost two of three in Seattle, and then beat the Diamondbacks 7-0 last night. The optimist in me will try to convince my pessimistic alter ego that Chicago has won two straight by a combined score of 26-2. That makes the North Siders sound unbeatable, especially since I am not watching the games.

I am trying to stay off social media as well. Sure, it’s a great way to catch the Cubs in condensed form, but at what cost? I’m tired of reading about synthetic veterinary hormones and antibiotics in my meat, kitchen workers allegedly spitting into meals at Texas Roadhouse, and, let’s face it, an abundance of vile speech and heavily subsidized hate groups. Who knew when Tom What’s-His-Face created MySpace that it would eventually birth a platform of despondency? I genuinely long for the pre-mobile device world I grew up in. Well, except when it comes to managing my 401(k).

Rant over, back to baseball. Specifically, the pennant races.

The fact of the matter is that when I look at the standings every 5-6 days, the Cubs almost always sit 5-6 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. Chicago’s six-game lead over the Phillies for the top Wild Card spot has shrunk to three games. Fate leads the willing, but ultimately drags the reluctant.

I am once again perplexed by how good Milwaukee is, and I suppose my Chicago bias is what blinds me. The Brewers are a complete baseball team, just one with a whole lot of forgettable individuals. They should win the World Series, and if they do, it’s going to lodge a locomotive-sized wedge into the owner’s pro-salary cap argument in the ongoing CBA negotiations. If the Brewers play the Rays or White Sox in the Fall Classic, it would render that disputation Kevorkian. They couldn’t spin that in their favor, and would look foolish to try. Then again, optics have never been a concern for the 30 oligarchs that meet at the Owners Meetings each November.

Doom and melancholy aside, I still believe the Cubs are the team to beat once the playoffs start. I don’t have as much faith in the starting pitching as I do in the offense, but this team will mash more often than not. The keys are Alex Bregman, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs score an awful lot of runs when that trio is clicking. I’m counting on all three, plus last night’s winner Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes to deliver a championship this season. Justin Steele and Shelby Miller are my bullpen X-factors, if they play.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

The Diamondbacks bench was hot because Merrill Kelly was tipping his pitches and third base coach Quintin Berry was supposedly relaying signals to the batter. Kelly later confirmed that the D-backs thought Berry was relaying signs every time he threw a changeup to lefties. Ryan Flaherty basically told them all to sit down and shut up.

“Stealing signs is as old as baseball,” Kelly said. “I think it’s a little bullshit when it comes from a coach. I think if it’s a guy on second base and they see the grip in your glove or if the hitters can see something that you’re doing with your glove, I think that’s fair game.”

For the night, Kelly threw 28 changeups, though only one of the earned runs he allowed came off the pitch, a two-out RBI triple to Pedro Ramírez. That makes the entire incident one big nothingburger.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

Rob Manfred is not in favor of a work stoppage after this season, though his message was very carefully worded.

The new Padres owners have vowed to spend ambitiously to keep the team competitive.

The Astros and GM Dana Brown have mutually agreed to part ways.

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh rediscovered his 2025 stroke, at least for one game.

Dodgers righty Tyler Glasnow returned from the 60-day IL to make his first start since early May.

Framber Valdez threw 84 pitches across five innings in his loss to the Rays Monday night. Tampa Bay batters swung at 41 of his offerings and put wood on every single one. It was the most swings in a game against a Tigers pitcher without a miss since pitch tracking officially began in 2008.

Which walk-off home run do you most associate with playoff baseball? Carlton Fisk waving the ball fair in 1975 or Kirk Gibson hitting his impossible home run in 1988?

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  1. The Brewers were the first team in MLB to reach 80 wins this season, achieving the milestone on August 21, 2026. They did it in 129 games this season after doing it in 128 games last season. If they lose their final 32 games, they’d finish at .500, which could be enough to win the AL West.
  2. Craig Kimbrel is 38 years old and seemed done, but then the Royals signed him. In five appearances, Kimbrel has pitched 5.1 innings with a 0.00 ERA, a .071 BAA, and a 0.56 WHIP. He is 1-0 and 1-for-1 in save opportunities.
  3. Nobody had homered on the first and last pitch their team saw in a game since Vic Power in 1957. That is until last Monday, when Crow-Armstrong did it. A couple nights later, Randy Arozarena did it, and he did it against PCA and the Cubs.

Apropos of Nothing

I’m not a gambler, but…

The Cubs are generally priced between +1200 and +1400 to win the World Series. The White Sox, who lead the AL Central and who also have a tenuous hold on a first-round bye, are priced between +2500 and +2800 to win it all. Both teams made it to the postseason in the same year just three times — 1906, 2008, and 2020 (shortened season).

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Of course you are.

If I lay $1500 on the Cubs and hedge that with $1500 on the White Sox, I could have a nice chunk of change by November 2 if one Chicago team wins, or I could be out $3,000. A bet that might be more fun, and with a more realistic chance of winning, is to wager $1500 on Bears QB Caleb Williams to win the NFL MVP award (+1600).

I suppose I am a gambler, then, at least in theory. I work too hard for my paychecks to gamble them away, however. No matter what, fans of Chicago sports are looking at a potential October nirvana with the Cubs, White Sox, Bears, and upstart Blackhawks and Bulls.

Oddly (pun intended), the chances of a Cubs-White Sox World Series are a hefty 63-1 according to recent simulations by Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.

Son of Apropos

We have a small, family-owned grocery down the street called G. Groppi’s. I don’t know why, but whenever I reference Doolittle, I have a Pavlovian inclination to shop there. I do love their butcher counter, and they have a fantastic beer/wine tasting area. And hey, they sell grass-fed beef. Take that, Twitter.

Extra Innings

I’d choose Carlos Zambrano over Ryan Dempster. I’d also choose Carlos Mármol over Pedro Strop, but it’s very close. Mármol holds the team record for the highest K/9 mark (11.7) and notched 117 saves. Strop has 120 career holds, also a team record. I’d also pick Dexter Fowler over Jose Cardenal, and PCA deserves a spot on this squad, too.

You could make a case that Mármol is the most underrated Cub of all-time.

They Said It

  • “I don’t have to have a better season than [Jacob Misiorowski and others], I’ve just got to be better that day. When you line up against [an ace], you don’t sit there and go, ‘Man, that guy’s had a better career than me.’ Yeah, their track records speak for themselves — they’ve had great seasons, some of them have had amazing careers thus far — but that’s why you play the games.” – Boyd
  • “It’s just been a long road. It feels really good to get towards the end of that tunnel. You see how the team’s playing, you just want to get back and help.” – Steele
  • “We need to get [Justin] pitching in games first. We’re not going to skip steps. He rightfully should be [focused on returning this season], but we have a lot of steps to go before we get there. He hasn’t pitched in an affiliated game in almost two years, so let’s get him pitching in an affiliated game. We can understand that he’s going to have to pitch in multiple games before he’s ready.” – Counsell
  • “We feel like we’re never out of it. How this offense was built is grinder at-bat after grinder at-bat, guys that can hit the ball from line to line, work counts, get on base. Guys are mature in their approach to not try to do too much.” – Bregman
  • “We’ve had stretches this year where we’ve been the hottest team in baseball, and then the coldest team in baseball, and then the hottest team in baseball again. It was one of those things early in the year, but the main thing in this second half is just being consistent and playing consistent baseball. I feel like we’ve done a good job of that in all three phases of the game.” – Bregman

Breaking News

Dolly Parton passed away today at the age of 80. Parton’s nephew, Brian Seaver, announced the news in a video posted on her Instagram. He did not provide details about her death.

Tuesday Walk-Up Song

One of most favorite remakes of all-time. I’ve only seen John Mellencamp live once, and that was about 25 years ago. I need to put another show on my agenda. The original, by the way, is by The Hombres and it is just as good, if not better.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 25, 2026
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