Cubs News: Edward Cabrera shelled in loss, Trump sides with MLB owners on salary cap

It's rare where I take a little time for myself, but that's exactly what I did early Friday afternoon. I headed to the local movie theatre and checked out Pressure, a WWII film focused on Captain James T Stagg, the chief meteorologist for the Allied invasion of D-Day in 1944. If you're a history junkie, highly recommend - it was well-written, the acting was great and it was really enjoyable.

Which is more than I can say about the Chicago Cubs' performance on Friday. I walked out of the theatre, feeling more relaxed, only to pull up the MLB scorebug on my phone. The damage wasn't even done yet, but it was clear how this was playing out. In the end, the San Francisco Giants hung 18 runs - including seven home runs - in an embarrassing blowout loss at Wrigley Field.

Edward Cabrera made his return to the mound and showcased improved velocity, pushing his fastball up to 99 MPH, but the breeaking stuff and location left much to be desired. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing eight earned runs on eight hits, raising his ERA to 4.99 on the year.

As the Giants hit homer after homer, the Cubs' offense looked as lost as ever, mustering just two extra-base hits in the loss. I don't even know what to say at this point. The offense isn't performing and the staff is out there throwing batting practice, having allowed an MLB-worst 95 home runs. This just isn't a team that looks like it will be playing come October.

Jordan Wicks does little to inspire renewed confidence in Triple-A start

I needn't remind anyone how poorly Jordan Wicks pitched in a pair of fill-in spot starts with the Cubs last month. Now back with Triple-A Iowa, the hope might be that he gets back to work and delivers a string of strong results, perhaps pushing back on the narrative his future with the organization may be nearing an end.

Instead, he did the opposite, getting hit hard Friday, allowing six earned runs over 4 2/3 innings of work. Former Cubs 'legend' Gage Workman took him deep in the contest, but the message, at least for now, remains the same: Wicks isn't a viable rotation piece for a Cubs team desperate for improved results in the starting rotation.

President Trump weighs in on heated the MLB CBA discussions

There's a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the looming expiration of the current CBA between the MLBPA and Major League Baseball. Owners are pushing for a hard salary cap and players are adamantly opposed to such an idea. President Trump weighed in on the debate this week when speaking with reporters.

“If you don’t have a salary cap you don’t have a sport, because they can’t help themselves,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “They should have done it a long time ago," adding it was “shocking, frankly, that they didn’t put a cap on many years ago.”

It'll be interesting to see if Trump will inject himself into the negotiations as we draw closer to the offseason. Pointing this out because there's already so many factors at play as fans wait with bated breath to see if we'll get baseball in 2027 - and this could be another huge factor affecting the equation.

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