I hope that you and yours find a way to celebrate Memorial Day however your schedule and the weather permit.
I recently finished a re-watch of ‘Band of Brothers,’ and I’ve gotta believe that must be one of the finest pieces of media about WWII ever made. There are things about that time and that place that I just can’t imagine living through, and my appreciation for that generation lives on even 80 years later.
Why does the current 8-game losing streak feel almost infinitely longer than either of the 10-game winning streaks? Don’t answer that. I know the answer. I suppose another answer that is more practical than feelings-based is that the Cubs haven’t just lost 8 in a row, they’ve lost 12 of 14 going all the way back to March 9. So this period of REALLY BAD STUFF has lasted well over two weeks. So that’s why it feels longer. Also: with two more losses, the Cubs will become only the 25th team in baseball history to pair a 10-game winning streak with a 10-game losing streak in a single season. So, you know. Cool. The five runs the Cubs scored yesterday – which was WELL BELOW their AVERAGE output coming into this stretch – was the third most they’ve scored in these 14 games. It was not enough to win because Shota Imanaga got blown up, but it says a lot that it was one of their best offensive days in weeks and it was nevertheless disappointing. The Cubs had just 7 hits over 9 innings, just 2 of which were for extra bases. They were 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Some hard contact for outs in there, I guess? How far do you want to stretch to try to feel better?"We gotta do a better job still. It starts with me obviously, too many empty plate appearances. Gotta be better and execute better."Alex Bregman on the Cubs' losing skid. pic.twitter.com/EcBnwfOwoC
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 24, 2026 Michael Busch had a good day at the plate, though, because he’s the only Cub who has been consistently hitting lately. And it was certainly cool to see Pedro Ramirez get his first big league hit:Pedro Ramírez gets the Cubs on the board with his first Major League hit! ? pic.twitter.com/Za7LUNT805
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 24, 2026 One other positive offensive thing was seeing Pete Crow-Armstrong take three walks. Know how many times he’s done that so far this season? That was the first. Know how many times he did it before this season? That would be never. Thanks to the walks, PCA’s walk rate is up to 9.3%, which ALMOST LEAGUE AVERAGE (9.4%). Pretty crazy for a guy we (understandably) think of as never walking. Heck, his .316 OBP is now almost league average, too (.318). Maybe it’s not so crazy to bat him leadoff. Although it doesn’t always look this way day-to-day, I’m convinced what we’re seeing is very real improvement from PCA. His discipline this year is improved. His success against lefties is finally there. His xwOBA is actually HIGHER this year than last year.Pete Crow-Armstrong this seasonFirst 25 games: 5 walksLast 28 games: 15 walks@WatchMarquee
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) May 24, 2026 With Edward Cabrera going on the Injured List, the Cubs have now lost their would-have-been FRONT FOUR starting pitchers to the Injured List (Cade Horton, Justin Steele (who could’ve been back by now if not for the new flexor strain, so I’m counting him), Cabrera, and Matthew Boyd). We knew coming into the year that this was a very specific concern for this group of pitchers with a vast injury history, but still. Not many organizations could survive losing their literal front four starting pitchers. All we can do is hope that Cabrera’s blister issues stay very minor, that Boyd returns in a few weeks at full-go, and Steele comes back sometime after the All-Star break. Oh, and that, in the interim, every healthy arm pitches out of his mind. Speaking of which, another clunker for Shota Imanaga is obviously a concern. This time, 5 of the 7 runs he allowed came via the home run, which I guess you could actually argue soften things slightly in this very specific way: we already know he’s going to give up home runs. That part is neither new nor surprising, and sometimes three homers will come in a cluster of a single game. It’s a PROBLEM – don’t mistake me about that – but it’s not a NEW problem. So, what I mean is, that if the velocity and stuff stays fine, I can convince myself that Imanaga is no more or less likely to be successful in future starts than he was before yesterday. … of course, that said, there were reasons to have a little concern even before yesterday, because the command was becoming a little bit of a problem. And let me tell you, this is not what you want your pitch location chart to look like for Shota Imanaga: (via Baseball Savant) “In the beginning, [the splitter] felt good,” Imanaga said, per the Sun-Times, “but in the later innings, it felt like the splitters that were trying to go down below the zone were left up in the zone. The best ones are when it starts in the bottom of the zone and drops to the hitters’ knees. That’s something I need to work on.” It’ll be interesting to see what the Cubs do with Jordan Wicks, who had been stretching back out at Iowa. Wicks could take a start on Edward Cabrera’s scheduled day, or the Cubs could use the off-day last week to buy a couple extra days and let Wicks eat innings another day. Of course, they’d still need another starting pitcher by the end of this week (and Javier Assad can’t come back up until June 1 unless he replaces someone who goes on the Injured List). My guess is that Wicks does indeed get a start this week, and although the leash might be short, it’ll be his first chance in a very long time to reintroduce himself. He has not made a start in the big leagues since 2024. (Of course, it’s possible he’s a “bulk” guy behind an opener, which would not be a “start” on the stat sheet, but would be a “start” for all trust-related purposes.) That is all to say: not unlike with Ben Brown, I very much hope that Jordan Wicks takes advantage of this opportunity. You’d love to come out of these next few weeks (or however long) knowing that you have another capable starting pitcher option available in Wicks. His upside is probably not quite as high as Brown’s, but this is a guy who has absolutely shown he can be a midrotation big league starter when things are clicking. MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about it keeps happening a few good days pca ramirez imanaga wicks and other cubs bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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