'25

That's it. With Saturday's Cubs loss and Mets win, the Cubs have been eliminated from the 2024 playoff race.

Look here for a season postmortem once the season is over.

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The Cubs blew a 3-1 lead and lost 5-3 to the A's on Wednesday to be eliminated from the NL Central Division race.

 

Congratulations to the Brewers on their division title.

 

Wild Card Magic Number:  18

Wild Card Tragic Number:  3

 

The Nationals come to Wrigley to kick off a four-game series on Thursday. 152 games down, 10 to go.

 

Go Cubs go!

As in 2025, that is.

22

The Cubs lost to the A's 4-3 on Tuesday despite three hits apiece from Ian Happ (including two home runs) and Nico Hoerner. Unfortunately, the team went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and were unable to pick up Jordan Wicks, who gave up four earned runs in five innings of work.

The Brewers also lost on Tuesday, preventing the North Siders from being mathematically eliminated from NL Central Division title hopes. But, the Mets won, moving the Men in Blue six games back from the final NL Wild Card berth ... and the Mets hold the tiebreaker (season head-to-head record) over the Cubs.

So, to the surprise of no one who's followed this year's Cubs team, things aren't looking good on the north side of Chicago:

Magic Numbers

Division:  22

Wild Card:  18

Tragic Numbers

Division:  1

Wild Card:  5

151 games down, 11 to go. The series wraps up Wednesday at Wrigley.

Go Cubs go!

23

Holy cow! The Cubs beat the A's 9-2 on Monday behind a quality start from Shota Imanaga (6 IP, 2 ER, 11 K), 18 hits, and four RBI from Dansby Swanson.

 

Swanson went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer while three Cubs (Suzuki, Paredes, and Amaya) each had three hits on the night. Eight of their nine position players tallied at least one hit.

Wingenter and Neely combined for three scoreless relief innings to seal the victory for the North Siders.

Unfortunately, the Brewers and Mets also each won, putting the Cubs one game closer to elimination from both the division and wild card races.

 

Magic Numbers

Division:  23
Wild Card:  18

Tragic Numbers
Division: 3
Wild Card: 8

The series continues Tuesday at Wrigley. 150 games down, 12 to go.

Go Cubs go!

 

24

Hey hey! The Cubs beat the Rockies 6-2 on Sunday behind a quality start from Kyle Hendricks (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7 K), two homers from Michael Busch, and one homer from Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Meanwhile, the Brewers, Braves, and Mets also lost, keeping the Cubs slim playoff chances alive for another day.

 

Magic Numbers
Division:  24
Wild Card:  19

Tragic Numbers
Division:  4
Wild Card:  9

 

The North Siders kick off a seven-game homestand at Wrigley on Monday, with three games against the A's and four games against the Nats.

149 games down, 13 must-win games to go.

Go Cubs go!

 

Image Credit:  Chicago Cubs

Magic number, as described below, is the sum of Cubs wins and rivals' losses needed to clinch the division or a wild card berth (Brewers, for the NL Central Division title, and the Mets, for the third NL Wild Card berth).

Tragic number is the sum of Cubs losses and rivals' wins needed to eliminate the Cubs from division (Brewers) or wild card (Mets) contention.

26

Well, the Cubs rolled into Denver with a sliver of a chance to make the playoffs. But after losing the first two games of the series, that sliver of a chance has dwindled to nothing more than historically unlikely mathematical possibility.

The bullpen imploded in both games -- a recurring theme that put the Cubs nine games under .500 by July 3 and has plagued the team off and on throughout the season. This weekend's performances once again highlighted both the bullpen's injuries (Alzolay, Merryweather, Lopez, Wesneski) and its construction (via Jed Hoyer's ongoing affinity for reclamation projects).

At this point, the North Siders' playoff chances have all but evaporated. Here's the math:

 

Division Magic Number:  26
Wild Card Magic Number:  21

And on the other hand:

Division Tragic Number:  4
Wild Card Tragic Number:  9

 

Any combination of Cubs losses and Brewers wins totaling four would mathematically eliminate the Cubs from NL Central title contention. Any combination of Cubs losses and Mets wins totaling nine would eliminate them from contention for an NL Wild Card berth.

The math hasn't said it yet, but I will:  wait 'til next year.

148 games down, 14 to go.

Go Cubs go!

 

Image Credit:  Chicago Cubs

27

Holy mackerel! The Cubs came back to beat the Dodgers 6-3 on Tuesday behind a quality start from Imanaga (7 IP, 3 ER, 4 K), a five-run 8th, and THREE amazing catches from Pete Crow-Armstrong!

PCA had himself a night, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and making a spectacular running, diving catch in the 7th ... followed by a "how-did-he-do-that?!?" behind the back running, sliding catch in the 8th ... capped off with a leaping, home-run robbing catch to end the game in the 9th.

Nate Pearson picked up a hold with a scoreless 8th, during which his fastball routinely hit 100 MPH. Porter Hodge threw a hitless 9th to pick up his fifth save of the season.

 

Hodge gave his teammates and fans a scare when he stepped off of the mound with what was later reported to be a racing heartbeat. He took a break as he discussed it with the trainer, threw a few warmup pitches, and then finished the game. Hopefully all is well with him.

The series wraps up in LA on Wednesday. 145 games down, 17 to go.

 

The Cubs Magic Number for a wild card berth is 22.

 

Go Cubs go!

Image Credit:  MLB

28

Holy cow! The Cubs downed the Dodgers 10-4 on Monday behind a 4-for-5, 3 RBI night from Michael Busch and a 2-for-4, 3 RBI night from Cody Bellinger.  Paredes, Hoerner, and Crow-Armstrong each had two hits.

 

Kyle Hendricks allowed 2 ER in 4.1 innings and the bullpen held LA to 2 runs over the final 4.2 innings.

 

The series continues Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

 

The Cubs Magic Number for a wild card berth is 24.

 

144 games down, 18 to go.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credit:  Chicago Cubs

29

The Cubs avoided the series sweep by beating the Yankees 2-1 on Sunday. Isaac Paredes drove in both runs for the North Siders, and Jameson Taillon tossed a quality start (6 IP, 1 ER, 6 K) to pace the Men in Blue.

Nate Pearson threw two perfect relief innings and Porter Hodge added a scoreless 9th to pick up his fourth save of the season.

The Cubs kick off a six-game road trip Monday at Dodger Stadium.

143 games down, 19 to go.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credit:  Chicago Cubs

44

This is an Anthony Rizzo appreciation post.

 

Tony returned to the Friendly Confines today for the first time since he was traded to the Yankees and received several well-deserved standing ovations from the Wrigley faithful.

Rizzo was the heart and soul of the team during the best stretch of Cubs baseball in 100 years.  During his ten-year tenure on the North Side, the Cubs made the playoffs five times, including two runs to the NLCS and, of course, a World Series title.

A three-time All-Star, he won three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger while pacing the Cubs with an .861 OPS and a 130 OPS+. He hit 30 or more home runs four times and also drove in at least 100 RBI four times.

It's a shame that the Cubs' inept front office traded him, as his 2022 and 2023 replacements paled by comparison and just one of the two prospects they received in that trade are still in the Cubs organization (Kevin Alcantara, AAA).

 

That aside, it was great to see Rizzo back in Chicago, where, at least among the fans, he is a Cub for life.

 

Image Credit:  Audacy

 

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The Cubs Magic Number to win the NL Central is 32.

The Cubs Magic Number to earn an NL Wild Card berth is 27.

141 games down, 21 to go.

Go Cubs go!

35

Hey hey! The Cubs won their sixth straight game on Sunday to sweep the Nats, coming back to win 14-1 behind a nice start from Jordan Wicks (5 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 ER) on his 25th birthday, three RBI from Isaac Paredes, two RBI apiece from Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, and Miguel Amaya, and four innings of one-hit ball from the bullpen.

Wicks looked sharp in his return to the rotation, throwing 47 of 69 pitches for strikes. Down 1-0 early, the Cubs answered to take a 3-1 lead after three innings. They took a 7-1 lead into the 8th and tacked on seven more runs to put the game well out of reach.

That makes two series sweeps and five series wins in a row for the North Siders, who are currently the hottest team in MLB.

Next up:  a six-game homestand that kicks off Monday, with three against the Pirates and three against the Yankees.

 

The Cubs currently sit nine games back of the Brewers for the NL Central title and three games back of the Braves for the third NL Wild Card berth.

The Cubs Magic Number for an NL Wild Card berth is 29.

138 games down, 24 to go. 

Go Cubs go!

Image Credit:  RFBleachers