Cubs News: The Detroit Tigers take two of three. Concerned?

The Chicago Cubs only got beat 17 to 16 by the Detroit Tigers. Not bad, but there’s a deeper issue here. They took two out of three from the Cubs.

Well, that was a humbling experience. The Chicago Cubs only got outscored 17 to 16 by the Detroit Tigers–but they lost two of three in the series. My colleague Paul Seifert said it was terrible being ‘swept by the Tigers’. It was a good series, but two out of three from Detroit was a little disconcerting.

The Cubs won the first one, 9 to 3. Great. If they had taken one out of two? So be it. But they were outscored 18 to 7–and three runs they scored in the ninth of the series finale. Worried? It depends on who you are. David Ross? Not going to care about it. Anthony Rizzo? He cares plenty about it.

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But they’re not going to care, because it’s a 60 game sprint. And they are halfway through it. They’re not going to panic because they are 18-12 and on top of the NL Central. They lead the St. Louis Cardinals by two games, but they’re 11-9. So they need to go 7-3 to even the ‘series’ up. And I got to be honest; I think they’ll only get to 50 games. Don’t quote me on this–it’s just a hunch.

The Tigers are 13-16, 5 1/2 games out of first place. So while their 5 1/2 games out, they’re in fourth place. And the Indians, White Sox and Twins and leaps ahead. The Twins are leading the pack with the Indians and the Sox a half-game behind. So while the Tigers are knocking at their door, I don’t see it happening.

Jonathan Schoop, Austin Romine and Jeimer Candelario are outstanding players. Candelario is good until 2024. Schoop and Romine are scheduled to hit free agency next year. Miguel Cabrera is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, regardless of what he does in the next few years. I guarantee that.

So what about the Tigers? The point is, it’s a 60 game season. You can’t prove they’re for real–and you can’t prove they’re a ‘flash in the pan,’ either. It takes 162 games to get the riddle solved on a team–not 60. And with COVID-19, social injustice and more? I doubt we will get to that.