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Today’s Reflections
There may be others than myself, but I was sure the Cubs were going to have to slaughter the ball to keep the game close while the A’s batters were aiming bombs out onto Waveland and Sheffield off of Jameson Taillon. This is a perfect example why I don’t gamble. As it turns out, Taillon was more than just good or solid — he offered up just one mistake while the Cubs’ offense was a giant mistake all night long.
Hence, part 47 of Trade MumblingsTM .
There is some good action going on in the minors, Boyd (who protects his kids’ reputation) and Cabrera are due back in the rotation. Maybe my concerns of how are the Cubs going to remove Taillon from the rotation have subsided and will stay that way.
We can laugh at Kyle Tucker, and we can try out another pitcher in the bullpen. We can hope PCA is on his way back (toward) his first half 2025 performance. And continue to wonder will that final piece will fall into place for Alex Bregman.
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The worrying continues:
- Brandon Click (Cubbies Crib): Glass half-full or half-empty? 1 reason to believe in the Cubs, 1 reason not to. “The Chicago Cubs have been baseball’s ultimate Jekyll-and-Hyde performer in 2026, stringing wins and losses together in a historic fashion.”
- Field Level Media (Deadspin): Cubs continue search for offense against Athletics. “The Chicago Cubs continue to be stuck in an offensive slump that has seen the club score three or fewer runs in 10 of its past 16 games.”
- Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports.com): Are the Cubs Still Built to Win the NL Central This Season? “Much of the blame has been on the hitters and pitchers, who, besides the top players, have been inconsistent this season. Now, the Cubs’ division race has become far more complicated.”
- Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Sun-Times): Chicago Cubs manage just 4 hits — all singles — in 2-1 loss to Athletics: ‘This has been a wake-up call’. “Going six innings between hits isn’t a recipe for offensive success. Two costly outs on the bases don’t help either. Failing to record an extra-base hit while being limited to just four total won’t result in many wins. The Chicago Cubs hit the trifecta in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Athletics, squandering right-hander Jameson Taillon’s quality start in the process.“
- Flim Room (MLB.com): Craig Counsell discusses Cubs’ 2-1 loss | 06/02/2026.
Trade mumblings:
- Matt Sullivan (Sporting News): Cubs named as ‘logical fit’ in trade for 4.45 ERA former All-Star. “He’s not going to cost nearly as much, since he’s a free agent after this season, and has been struggling a little bit in his age 34 season.”
- Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}). The Cubs, 2 months ahead of trade deadline, are already getting their ‘wake-up call’, “In the big picture, even the Cubs are beyond the point of saying it’s still early and assuming that everything will be fine.”
Things that are looking up for the Cubs:
- Max Ralph (MLB.com): No. 8 prospect Hartshorn homers again, keeps crushing in Minor League debut. “The Cubs may have found a gem in the middle of the 2025 Draft.”
- Vinnie Duber (Chicago Sun-Times): Cubs’ rotation getting healthier with imminent Edward Cabrera, Matthew Boyd returns, but is it deep enough? “The Cubs will get two of their better starting pitchers back soon. But what happens the next time there’s an injury in the rotation? Do they have enough depth?”
- Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib): Cubs fans relishing in Dodgers manager’s comment on Kyle Tucker as slump continues. “You know what you love to see? Kyle Tucker, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ $60 million-a-year addition providing as much value so far this year as… Carson Kelly.“
- Elias Schuster (Chicago Cubs): Cubs Go With Tyler Freguson Ahead of A’s Series – Send Down Jordan Wicks. “The Chicago Cubs promptly end the Jordan Wicks experiment after two disastrous starts and call up recently acquired veteran Tyler Ferguson.”
Boyd, PCA, Bregman — good and bad:
- Chris Cwik (Yahoo! Sports): Cubs starter Matthew Boyd reveals how he tore his meniscus playing with his kids: ‘My kids didn’t take me out’. “Turns out, there wasn’t anything nefarious going on. During an appearance on the “Foul Territory” podcast, Boyd revealed exactly how his injury occurred and made sure to exonerate his son in the process.“
- Max Ralph (MLB.com): Is PCA back? Why red-hot May could be sign of more good things to come. “But there are plenty of other signs, both statistically and under the hood, that indicate the exuberant 24-year-old is heating up.”
- Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune {$}): Chicago Cubs need Alex Bregman to be more of a run producer. But slow starts are part of the slugger’s game. “Bregman has been searching for more power. His solo home run in Sunday’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals ended a stretch of 83 plate appearances without one. All of Bregman’s home runs have occurred with nobody on base.”
- Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): A conversation with Alex Bregman on bat speed, mechanics and his power search. “Over his last 19 games, he’s hitting .300 with a 122 wRC+. If he did that the rest of the year, it’d probably be fine. Still, there’s one aspect of his game that’s largely been lacking: Bregman hasn’t hit for much power.”
Food For Thought:
Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s artists Magic Sam and Buddy Guy, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and was an influence on many musicians, including Michael Bloomfield, Peter Green and Eric Clapton.
Rush was left-handed and played as such; however, his guitars were strung with the low E string at the bottom, upside-down from typical guitarists. He often played with the little finger of his pick hand curled under the low E for positioning. It is widely believed that this contributed to his distinctive sound. He had a wide-ranging, powerful tenor voice.
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