Stop me if you’ve heard this recently: The Chicago Cubs were part of a high-scoring affair that ended in fireworks last night. As the team continues to trudge through the most challenging part of their schedule on the season, they have fought adversity every step of the way.
Last night was no different: The bullpen squandered a lead, and the offense’s never-say-die attitude was brought to life, catapulting the Wrigleyville faithful into a frenzy.
During the broadcast, the play-by-play team of Alex Cohen and Jim Deshaies showed a graphic that the Cubs now have a league-leading seven games where they’ve scored at least 10 runs, and the next closest team only has three. It may just be entertaining baseball to the casual fan, but to the die-hard Cubs fan, the feeling is reminiscent of 10 years ago.
Night in and night out, a cold and dreary April game at Wrigley Field turns into a playoff atmosphere in a hurry. The Cubs boast a 15-10 record, which is impressive due to the team having the hardest strength of schedule to begin the year of any team. They’ve already run through six games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, six with the San Diego Padres, seven with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and three with the Texas Rangers.
Jed Hoyer can build a special team in 2025 with the right upgrades
It’s May, but team President Jed Hoyer is already scouring the market for upgrades in the starting rotation and bullpen. It will be tough to pull off a blockbuster of any significance at this stage of the year, but Hoyer has the prospect capital to make a team with a poor outlook on the season stop and think twice.
As explosive as the offense is, the bullpen owns a 27th-worst 5.34 ERA. Some of that may be due to the strength of schedule, and then they could theoretically get better, but if this is what you have against the best teams in the league, upgrades are a must.
Losing Justin Steele was the equivalent of a first-round haymaker that caught the Cubs on the chin, but the team has gotten to its feet, and they continue swinging away in Steele’s absence. With a few key upgrades, this team can get scary good quickly. They’ve guaranteed they will get through the hardest part of their schedule with a winning record, and when the schedule lightens up a bit in May, the trajectory of the Cubs will be aiming at the moon.
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