Jeff Passan's oddly timed Cubs jab makes his tired routine even harder to defend

The first two games of the four-game set the Chicago Cubs are playing against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field has had a playoff atmosphere. Thing don't look great for the Cubs, in terms of catching the Brewers for first place in the National League Central, but with five more games against their rival over the next week, anything can happen.

Anyone who has followed for the Cubs over the past month knows the vibe that has existed at Wrigley Field. Emotions have been electric, and Cubs fans haven't missed a beat. Which makes it even more bizarre that ESPN's Jeff Passan took today to take a shot at Cubs fans.

Passan said nothing of what Wrigley Field sounded like on Monday when the Cubs routed the Brewers with a 17-3 victory. Or, how Wrigley Field routinely erupts with each Pete Crow-Armstrong home run. Instead, he chose Christian Yelich's home run on Tuesday to tell Cubs fans what can't happen.

It's extremely odd behavior. The Yelich home run undoubtedly was one of the biggest moments of the Cubs' loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday, but the troll attempt from Passan felt like the MLB insider grabbing low-hanging fruit.

Jeff Passan's bizarre Cubs troll couldn't have come at a more awkward time

Which brings us to larger point about Passan and his schtick. It's become a tiresome act. Passan's social media game was once top-tier entertainment, but now it reads as if he's doing anything but talking about how much of a hypocrite he now looks like when talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Before we knew about the odd financial behavior of Dodgers owner Mark Walter, which is now being investigated by Federal authorities, Passan was more excited than a kid in a candy store when talking about what the Dodgers were doing. Passan routinely would fall back on the claim that any team could do what the Dodgers have been doing, and it's starting to look like that's not the case. Considering the potential financial crimes that may have been happening.

Passan has since released a podcast, talking about the implications for the Dodgers surrounding the investigation into Walter, but there was no mea culpa. There was no hand up from Passan, saying his bad. And that's become the problem with the idea of "insiders" in professional spots. They are answering to people other than the fans they are reporting the information to. And, when Passan now has the perception of being a shill for the Dodgers, anything else he does just feels tone deaf.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow