The Cubs needed to go at least 6-1 in these seven games against the Brewers to have a realistic shot at coming back in the division. That was always pretty unlikely to actually happen, but it’s been fun to dream. Well, now they’ve lost the “one” in that equation …
Because coming back in the division has felt like an extreme long-shot for a while now, the loss, itself, is slightly less of a concern to me than how the Cubs lost last night. Specifically, concerns with Daniel Palencia, Ryan Zeferjahn, and Caleb Thielbar were once again made manifest in a game, and this time it came in September. There is not much more runway for these guys to get into a form that leaves you REMOTELY confident about how they’d perform when the stakes are the highest. Maybe set aside Thielbar for a moment, since we’ve had longer to accept that his uneven 2026 season likely means he cannot be trusted as a true late-inning option at this point in the same way he was last year. With Palencia, we’ve been waiting for months for this guy to be who he was last year, and the hope obviously was that he’d return from the flexor strain refreshed, ramped up, and ready to go. Instead, he has returned with even less command than usual, totally absent chase and whiffs, and a fastball that is missing two or three miles per hour."I need to execute better on my pitches … This is not me. Like I said, I want the ball tomorrow. I want to be ready."Daniel Palencia on his outing tonight. pic.twitter.com/GnzZvq1QFT
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 2, 2026 It can click quickly for a guy who’s done it before, but we’re going on five months of it not really happening for Palencia, between the multiple injuries and the periods of ineffectiveness. I think we’re all a little sensitive about saying it out loud because no one wants to take the experience away from him, but it’s just true: he has not been the same since the World Baseball Classic, where he was pitching at full intensity, maximum effort in early to mid-March. Craig Counsell pointed more to the defense in the 6th inning than the pitching, not a criticism, but as a reminder that the Cubs need stellar defense to win (which I feel like was making more of a point about the pitching than he intended):"These were very difficult plays, but we have to play great defense. And we played good defense tonight, but against the best team in baseball, you gotta play great defense. We got our glove on a bunch of balls, didn't make plays, and that's the difference."Craig Counsell on… pic.twitter.com/DO2otQdurf
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 2, 2026 As for Zeferjahn, it was just another uninspiring appearance (1 whiff on 17 pitches) as he continues to try to get right. As with Palencia, there was a hope a month ago that this was going to be a dominant late-inning pairing. That’s why the Cubs gave up as much as they did in trade to acquire a reliever. There are future years of control on both Palencia and Zeferjahn yes, but this month matters. A lot. I am not particularly interested in focusing on the future at the moment; instead, I’m focused on how you win multiple playoff series WITHOUT guys like Palencia and Zeferjahn humming at the back of the bullpen. I don’t see how you do it with the rest of this pitching staff. You need to be able to shave off those innings at the back so that you can be extra agressive in pulling the starting pitchers. A positive update on Dansby Swanson:Cubs skipper Craig Counsell with an update on SS Dansby Swanson: “He’s taking ground balls and he started swinging yesterday. We’re making progress. With an oblique, the swinging is the thing that we have to go slowly with and repeat days. Yesterday was a good day and we can’t… pic.twitter.com/ZLiRR7qkkq
— Sammy P (@spshoot) September 1, 2026 This young man will be needing some more significant attention soon:Angel Cepeda has been torching the baseball lately. Two multi-HR games over his last six contests, he’s ran a 244 wRC+ in that stretch..870 OPS & 124 wRC+ since July 1st.#Cubs pic.twitter.com/BvuPJ6kZgP
— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) September 2, 2026 Matt Szczur is awesome:Gm. PCA for MVP pic.twitter.com/pIBWwNmcjF
— Matt Szczur (@superSZCZ4) September 1, 2026 MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about serious bullpen concerns needing elite defense swanson cepeda 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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