Joseph Chestnut returns as the Hot Dog King. This contest is a sham. Do away with the water. Do away with removing the bun from the hot dog. Why can’t we ask these people to refrain from liquids for ten minutes? I want to see them eat the dogs as I, the viewer, would at home. Make them apply condiment. Serve potato salad. This format is too divorced from BBQ reality.

Brian Campbell (no idea) wins his second PGA title at the John Deere Classic. Zac Brown Band played on the 18th green following the one-hole playoff. Not a bad weekend in the Quad Cities. Would love to get there before 2067.

Astros sweep the Dodgers in LA so everyone’s pissed.

Mexico takes down the USA in the Gold Cup Final. I’m going out on a limb to say you didn’t watch…

Speaking of. Don’t watch the NBA Summer League. Continue to take a basketball hiatus.

HOWEVER, in this period of BBQ’s, beach, and weddings, get a jump on the NFL. Perfect, perfect time to start greasing your wheels on all 32 squads. You want to preview the NFL previews you’ll read in August. That’s how you know Ball. More to come from this outlet in particular.

A character study from HP, and 800 words on the NL Central leaders:

Despite what you may see in the celebratory photo of HP from the 2016 World Series, I’m not immune to the faint happy-go-lucky pessimism innate with all lifelong fans of the Cubbies. The years that followed, and exemplified by the 2021 teardown of the team’s core, were a telling reminder to all Cubs fans our culture has long been defined by disappointment, friendly confines, and Old Style lager. I’d harp on the 2023 September collapse or investment around Wrigley in lieu of the product on the field, but the truth is that no team had earnest title ambitions since 2016’s magical ride. And so despite some pieces in place after the 2024 campaign, I felt dignified in my lack of enthusiasm heading into the offseason. 

It’s now July 3rd and I’m watching the Cubs from my couch for the 71st time this season, looking for a sweep over their former World Series opponent, fighting the tingling sensation to burn that first paragraph. The truth of the matter is that I told anyone willing to listen to sell the Cubbies this year. As much as I respected the guts of splurging on Kyle Tucker in a contract year, I just didn’t see this offense a bat away from “good”. To say nothing of the fact that we could all see the now impending bidding war coming, Cam Smith also terrorized us a week ago. I’m fine; it will all be fine. The Tucker addition has undoubtedly provided a massive lift to a lineup in need of an anchor, but it’s “others” that have pushed this team over the edge into a clear NL and World Series contender.

We have to start with Pete. Hand up (willing to be brave here), I was not aware that we had Ken Griffey Jr. Jr. on the roster. PCA was always the hope coming out of the 2021 “rebuild”, but truly nobody in their right mind could have seen production like this coming, especially during his age 23 season. In the ultimate stroke of irony, he’s our new Javy Baez and perhaps even more electric. He’s a no doubt regression candidate in the second hald (I do not think he’ll finish top 3 in WAR - would love to be wrong), but his raw tools have seen enough sampling to demonstrate that his floor is one of the best outfielders in the game. 

I’m arguably even more excited about Seiya’s breakout than anything else this season. The true prodigal son of the un-cursed Cubs. He’s upped his pulled fly-ball rate to 25% and consistently returns baseballs at 110+ mph. He’s eclipsed his season watermark in homers with 23 before the all star beak - go figure. Dude has every right to be an all-star this season. Speaking of worthy all-stars, we should probably have a conversation about Michael Busch, who’s objectively having a better offensive season than Freddie Freeman so far this season. At risk of scorn from KMARK we’ll move on.

How about the battery though? Cubs catchers have put up an OPS only surpassed by Cal Raleigh this season. We’ve talked about him quite a bit on this here program - good company! Carson Kelly isn’t Barry Bonds anymore but Reese McGuire has come out of literally nowhere to post an .800 OPS in his platoon, serving as an admirable replacement for the injured Miguel Amaya. Matt Boyd and Colin Rea were sneaky bets in the offseason that have paid off in massive ways, especially with a 7-week Shota IL stint now behind us (buh-bye Ben Brown). Cade Horton got the call in that time and went a career-high 7 scoreless tonight and looks like an NLDS starter.

The largely unheralded bullpen might just earn MVP honors in the locker room as they take inventory over the break. Their 3.21 ERA is second-best in the bigs despite a near-bottom K-rate. Names like Flexen, Thielbar, Braisier, Palencia, and Pomeranz weren’t even on the Opening Day roster. These dudes were straight up found and it’s clear that Counsell is willing to trust his guys in a real variety of situations. I have no doubt they’ll look to bolster this unit from regression before the end of the month, with intriguing names such as Kyle Finnegan, Pete Fairbanks, and David Bednar likely to be available. A less-likely reunion with Aroldis Chapman would be exhilarating and potentially traumatic. Whether or not they’ll have the pieces to grab a key back-end guy and a top line starter such as Alcantara and Gallen remains to be seen. I have my doubts. Tyler Anderson feels exactly our speed. 

I think I’ll remain confident in this group despite the risks – regression, pitching, Rickett’s wallet, and a shaky farm system. They play with a collective confidence and play smart with the leather and on the bases. As the song goes, “they got the power, they got the speed… to be the best in the National League.” Talk to me again in September and we’ll see how flat the circle is this time around.