Week In Review: Cubs Make Waves, Not Ripples, in Big Week

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As one of his most prominent supporters, this sentence brings me no great joy: Christopher Morel is a Tampa Bay Ray, and power-hitting third baseman Isaac Paredes is a Chicago Cub.

Image courtesy of © Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Considering the calm before the July 30th trade deadline storm, Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins are orchestrating the old switcheroo from their earlier proclaimed “seller” status. In scooping up the career .734 OPS slugger Isaac Paredes, the Cubs’ brass boldly reneged on packing it in for this season, holding only an eye for the future.

The Cubs are going for it, even though Paredes factors into the team’s long-term future at twenty-five years old. The second great sell-off since the franchise-changing 2021 season is (probably) nothing more than an educated guess now that Isaac Paredes and former Blue Jays reliever Nate Pearson are en route to the North Side of Chicago to boost the team’s postseason hopes. I can’t believe this is happening, but I guess the powers that be were as disgusted by last season's ending as I was. And with all that, Craig Counsell’s team still had pivotal games to play on the field, producing mixed, if not eyebrow-raising results. Let’s dive in…

This week, the on-field action kicked off with the Cubbies notching what at the time was a heartening victory versus division rival Milwaukee. Still settling in after a lengthy stay on the IL, Javier Assad labored through 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball. Though he managed to keep the Crew off the board, Assad racked up a high pitch count early, issuing six walks and tiptoeing through some serious traffic on the base pads. The recently resurgent bullpen sparkled in relief of Assad, delivering quick innings and frustrating the Brewers’ frequently potent lineup. With key at-bats from Ian Happ, Michael Busch, and Mike Tauchhman, the Cubbies did enough of the little things to earn a win in the series opener.

Final Score: 3-1 Cubs

Game two in the series brought back the familiar sinking feeling the Cubs and their fans have come to know all season long: a one-run loss. What lingered about this defeat was the brilliant performance from Cubs’ starter Jameson Taillon. He dealt 7.1 efficient innings of work in which he would allow just one run on four hits and three free passes, striking out three batters as well. It's something to remember him by, should he be hurling for a new team next week. If Paredes had brought the power and offensive charge he’d promised to have, the Cubbies could have used it in this one. Zero runs won’t win you too many ball games, and it didn’t in this case. Scattering seven hits (the same as the Brewers), the Cubs went a putrid 0-5 with RISP.

Final Score: 1-0 Brewers

After getting blanked the previous day, could the Cubs tally a series win against their division rival before hitting the road to Kansas City? No. This one hurt a little extra in a season teeming with one-run losses. Justin Steele often yields nearly unimpeachable results on the mound for his squad, but not on this day. Going 5.1 shaky innings, the Cubs’ offense once again left their starting pitcher with almost zero margin for error. It’s hard to be worse than nothing, but the Cubs stranded five base runners in this one, going one for four with RISP. They wasted opportunities and a devastating series loss.

Final Score: 3-2 Brewers.

After a day off for travel, the Cubs arrived in Kansas City to take on the respectable Royals of the AL Central. The wildly inconsistent veteran Kyle Hendricks took the mound for the Cubs in this one. Decent through four innings of work, the Professor got shelled in the fifth inning, getting touched up for a staggering six runs. That would be more than enough as the Cubs again got shut out, and though they collected only four hits, they left five on base and went 0-7 with RISP. On this night, in this game, it looked as if the team had given up for the year.

Final Score: 6-0 Royals

They all count as one, and in game two of the series, the Cubs proved this fact. Scoring consistently throughout, the Cubs’ offense somehow resurrected itself and, in doing so, made a statement that they’re not done with this season yet. Pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom was anything but conventional in the seventh inning, in which he absolutely obliterated a game-changing grand slam to left field at Kauffman Stadium. Julian Merryweather recorded the win in relief after valiant efforts from fellow bullpen arms Porter Hodge and Hector Neris. Shota Imanaga recorded 5.1 innings of work as the starter.

Final Score: 9-4 Cubs

After an improbable bounce-back win, the Cubbies set their sights on dethroning the Royals again to earn the series win. And they did. I love it when a starting pitcher can bookend a let-down performance with a redemptive one. That’s exactly what Javier Assad managed to do in this rubber match. The Cubs’ new Javy sparkled in 6.0 innings of work in which he allowed only three runs and punched out five batters. Offensively, the Cubs got clutch hits from Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Boat Show himself, David Bote. It’s games like this that urge me to keep watching for what this soon-to-be new-look Cubs team can do when they play to their potential. Hope sprang eternal on an emotional swan song day for Christopher Morel.

Final Score: 7-3 Cubs

So here we go: The new-look Cubs, who could be even newer-look Cubs by the time you read this, are set for a critical week of games that could vastly change their fortunes in the division. First up, the North Side ball club takes to Great American Ballpark to battle Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds for three games. They’ll start August back at Wrigley, welcoming the Saint Louis Cardinals to town for a four-game set. With the dust settling on moves geared to shake things up for the Cubs’ organization, the team figures to keep our attention, if not thrill us, as the season's final two months get underway.

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