This is my most meatball-y, dumbass, superstition about the Cubs and yes I’m talking about Joe Girardi calling games on the Marquee Sports Network. Does he actually make the Cubs play worse when he’s in the TV booth? No, but also, the Cubs play like shit when he’s on Marquee. It happened last year and it’s happening again in 2024.
Right as the Cubs are getting on a roll, winning more often than not and gaining ground in the standings, they come back to Wrigley Field and Girardi is on Marquee killing the good vibes. In 2023, the Cubs entered the All-Star break winning four of their last six games. Right after the break, the Cubs hosted the Red Sox, a below .500 team and of course lost the series. Girardi was in the TV booth then and also called the Mets series later on in August, when the Cubs also dropped two of three. From July through August, the Cubs lost a total of two series and both times Girardi was the color analyst on Marquee.
What happened after this year’s All-Star break? Cubs lost two of three to the Diamondbacks at home, barely squeezing out the series finale with a 2-1 win in 10 innings. Girardi was in the booth for those Friday and Sunday games, when the Cubs scored a total of four runs. He was back in the booth for this week’s series against the Twins and on Monday the Cubs got shutout after winning three of four against the Cardinals.
Sure, it’s irrational. I don’t care. Please get rid of Joe Girardi on Cubs games. It’s fine if Marquee keeps him in the studio for pregame and postgame shows. Whatever. But stop letting him be the color analyst. Kills the vibe every single time.
The ultimate goal is for Pete Crow-Armstrong to be the leadoff man and if the Cubs continue fall further out of playoff contention, then I wonder when Craig Counsell will give PCA the opportunity to work out of that leadoff spot.
PCA has certainly had his fair share of struggles during his rookie season, but he has shown positive signs at the plate in recent weeks. In his last 10 games, Crow-Armstrong has only struck out three times in 34 plate appearances and the left-handed hitter is doing more than just slapping the ball around.
Hitting .333 since May 27, PCA has five extra base hits in his last 10 games, showing off a combination of power and speed.
Who knows, maybe this a September conversation, but PCA should get some games at the top of the lineup down the stretch if the pressure is off from the team.
Every team deals with injuries, but I’m still going to argue that the volume of injuries to this year’s Cubs pitching staff is the main reason for the bullpen being as bad as it was. And I say was because as you’ve probably seen, the Cubs have one of the best bullpens in the entire league since the beginning of June.
I’m sure a lot of fans made fun of the Tyson Miller trade back in April, thinking it wasn’t going to make a huge difference, but holy shit has he been good. In 27 appearances with the Cubs, Miller has a 1.57 ERA and 0.77 WHIP with 24 strikeouts and only 4 walks in 28.2 innings.
And how about Jorge Lopez, who some fans probably had no idea was at Triple-A when he was called up to the team at the end of June. Lopez has given up 1 earned run in 14.2 innings. Those two guys, those types of under the radar acquisitions are exactly what successful teams pull off and I’ll give Jed Hoyer credit for that.
But still, maybe give the younger relief pitchers a look sooner rather than later. Would have been great to have Hunter Bigge or Porter Hodge up earlier than they were this season.
