AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

The Rundown: Combined No-No Has Cubs Still Trying to Compete, Path to 88 Wins, Counsell Comfortable Pulling Imanaga

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 5, 2024

“…And if you ask me how I’m feeling. Don’t tell me you’re too blind to see.” – Rick Astley, Never Gonna Give You Up

Can we keep Shōta forever?

Is a no-hitter not a no-hitter if the achievement is not completed by the pitcher who started the game? Semantics aside, three Cubs pitchers — Shōta Imanaga, Nate Pearson, and Porter Hodge — kept the Pirates hitless in a 12-0 win at Wrigley Field Wednesday Night. When Imanaga was removed, he didn’t realize he was six outs shy of a historic evening.

“That’s 100% about taking care of Shota and making sure we’re doing the right thing for him,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s not fun to do, but when you’re prioritizing the player’s health and you don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward, we want him to stay healthy.”

That’s a veiled attempt by Counsell to convey that he believes the Cubs are still very much in the playoff race despite dropping two of three to Pittsburgh. Chicago broke out of its two-game slump by battering the Bucs for 12 runs. Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Dansby Swanson each had three of Chicago’s 17 hits, with Swanson and Crow-Armstrong both finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Imanaga walked two batters, and Isaac Paredes had three errors.

The Cubs’ (72-68) magic number for postseason elimination is 20. They’ve gone 1-1 since I mentioned on Tuesday that they needed 88 wins to reach the playoffs. What’s the path to 88?

  1. Take two of three from the Yankees. The Cubs won’t beat Gerrit Cole on Sunday so they need to take the first two games of the series.
  2. Take two of three from the Dodgers. The pitching matchups favor Chicago despite the loss of Justin Steele.
  3. Sweep the Rockies, A’s, and Nationals. I fear a letdown in this nine-game swing, so Counsell needs to keep his team motivated.
  4. Take one of three from the Phillies. I’d be happy with one win against Philadelphia.
  5. Close the season with two wins in three tilts against the Reds. Cincinnati would love to spoil Chicago’s season if a postseason berth is still a possibility.

And, as far as last night’s game, yes, a no-hitter counts even if two or more pitchers are needed to complete the task.

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

It’s easy to love a hometown hero who embraces Walter Payton even though he never saw him play.

Ball Four

PCA is on a month-long heater and is closing in on a .700 OPS. Still, the Cubs need offense and Jed Hoyer might have to get creative this offseason to add good bats. We should assume Juan Soto or Pete Alonso won’t be options, so which pending free agents could help the Cubs in 2025? I’ll give you my list in order:

  1. OF Anthony Santander
  2. IF Willy Adames
  3. OF Teoscar Hernandez
  4. DH Eloy Jiménez
  5. UT Amed Rosario

I love that Santander is a switch hitter and that he’s been quietly consistent throughout his career. Adames, if he can play third base, is a big upgrade over Paredes, who does have trade value. Hernandez could be the first Cub to reach 30 home runs since Kyle Schwarber played for Chicago. Jiménez and Rosario should be cheap options with decent upside potential, though Jimenez can’t be allowed to play the field.

The Cubs could and should promote from within, however. What might that look like?

  1. Owen Caissie
  2. Matt Shaw
  3. Kevin Alcántara
  4. Alexander Canario
  5. James Triantos

I think you can make a case that all five are ready to play in the majors. Hoyer, however, prefer to protect his prospects. Hoyer has come this far without making a big splash in free agency, other than Swanson and Imanaga. I’d hate to see a shift in his philosophy at this point. Ride or die with the rooks, but be prepared for growing pains.

Central Intelligence

Race for WC3

How About That!

The Giants extended Matt Chapman with a six-year contract that guarantees a cool $151 million.

Schwarber tied a major league record by belting his 13th leadoff home run of the season.

The Yankees are struggling to finish off wins, so manager Aaron Boone said he intends to “get creative” with the closer’s role down the stretch.

The White Sox snapped a 12-game losing streak with an 8-1 win over the Orioles.

The question on everybody’s mind this morning is “Can Ben Joyce hit 110 MPH with his fastball?”

Extra Innings

Imanaga might be Chicago’s best free-agent acquisition of all-time not named Jon Lester.

You Might Think I’m Crazy

What if I told you Caleb Williams is already a top-six NFL quarterback and will lead the Bears to the Super Bowl in his rookie season? Is that something you might be interested in? I did not say that, but a few NFL analysts did.

They Said It

  • “It’s really important for me to stay healthy for the whole season and throw my innings and make my starts. He told me it’s time to switch pitchers. I just trusted his judgment.” – Imanaga
  • “Everybody got super excited. I would say, compared to Japan, all the players here get more excited about a no-hitter. And it doesn’t matter if the guys didn’t play, guys didn’t get a hit, everybody congratulated me and everybody was cheering me on. And so I’m just thankful and I have a lot of respect for all my teammates who got excited for me and excited for the win.” – Imanaga
  • “It’s a beautiful game we play. If you let one day roll into two, it ends up rolling into 10. The next thing you know, it’s been a terrible couple of weeks. The best way to go about it is as blue-collar as it gets. Just show up and do your work. Take the confidence with you. Learn from some of the mistakes. Continue to move forward. That’s the best way to be in this game. That’s why it’s such a good life lesson teacher. Because bad things are going to happen. That’s inevitable. It’s more about how you respond.” – Swanson

Thursday Walk-Up Song

If the Cubs make the playoffs, it is going to be because of Pearson, Hodge, and Tyson Miller. Why? Because I have been on Hoyer’s ass all season about his piecemeal bullpen.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterSeptember 5, 2024
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