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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 2

Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images The Cubs were swept by the Dodgers in Tokyo. An early season heavy sigh. Probably not going to be the last one before May either. If you paid attention this offseason, you are probably aware that the Cubs schedule is incredibly front loaded. At least if last season is predictive of this season. On paper, the Cubs have a harder March/April schedule than an...2025
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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 1

Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images A tough start against perhaps the game’s toughest opponents. Welcome back, baseball, my old friend. As long-suffering Cubs fans, we know that this can be a very fickle friend. That was definitely the case in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. For one of the rare times where baseball is concerned, I really appreciated my move to the east coast. This game st...2025
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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Intro to the season

Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images Just what exactly is Heroes and Goats? Here’s an overview. For those of you who have followed Heroes and Goats for one or more years, welcome back! To those of you who are new here, welcome. Hopefully, you’ll give this space a chance. There are a number of loyal followers of this section who come back year after year and engage with this material. Hopefully,...2025
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 161

Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images A magical sendoff for a Cubs legend in a 3-0 win. What a day. We all have so many memories of Kyle Hendricks. Obviously, he started some of the most significant games in modern Cubs history, a statement that can be made without even an ounce of hyperbole. He started the deciding games of both the NLCS and the World Series in 2016, dominating the Dodgers ...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 160

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images The Cubs record their 82nd win in a 1-0 shutout. That game had to make Cubs fans of a certain age remember games of the 60’s and 70’s. The Reds got a complete game with one run allowed. That’s going to win a game, what, 90 percent of the time? Probably more. Five hits, no walks. Tough break, sir. He allowed one double and it cost him. At 34 years of ag...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 157

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Cubs were overpowered in the opener in Philly and lose 6-2. The Cubs were roadkill in Philadelphia Monday night. This isn’t a giant surprise. With 53 wins, the Phillies have more wins at home than any other team. This is their final home series of the season and they’ve now clinched the National League East title. They are half a game behind the Dodgers for t...2024
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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 2
2025

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 153

Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images Cubs overcome more bullpen woes in 7-6 win. The Cubs bullpen tried to carbon copy Sunday’s game. After the Cubs and Nationals matched a run each in the first and two each in the third, the Cubs took a 5-3 lead with two in the fifth. Shawn Armstrong started the sixth and it didn’t go well. He faced four hitters and allowed three hits. The only thing that k...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 150

David Banks-Imagn Images The Cubs return home with a 9-2 pounding of the A’s. The Cubs came back home and the offense got into gear quickly. Putting together a team isn’t some literal chemistry equation or evenly a math equation. But it’s hard not to think the team needs another catalyst or two. The last half of this year has seen an explosive offense, except when the offense is missing in...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 148

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images The Cubs falter late, losing 6-5 to the Rockies. This feeling this morning, it’s different than it has been in a while. The beauty of an in-season vacation is that I was out of contact during the Cleveland series. Because of that, I’m having trouble remembering the last time that things were so frustrating that I’m looking for where the ride ends so th...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 141

Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images The Cubs come up empty in a 3-0 loss to Anthony Rizzo and the Yankees. The Cubs were so happy to see their old pal Anthony Rizzo that they rolled over and played dead to give his team a win. Not really, but it might as well have been true. It was a generally well played game and neither team was able to generate a whole lot of offense. Unfort...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 138

Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images The Cubs return home from a terrific trip with a disappointing 5-3 loss. Last night’s game was simultaneously totally predictable and a little shocking to me. After an 8-1 road trip, a letdown game was so completely foreseeable. I essentially wrote about it yesterday. It isn’t surprising and it isn’t per se the gambler’s paradox. A team isn’...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 133

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images It’s the fifth victory in six games as the Cubs win 9-5. So where were you all on May 28? That was the last time the Cubs finished a day over .500. I’m not saying that it was a long time ago, but Ben Brown was the Superhero in that one, a 6-3 win against the Brewers. We miss you, Ben. Get well! After a 17-9 start, the team slowly tailed off. I think ...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 130

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports The Cubs offense explodes in a 14-2 win. Finally! After an interminably long road, this team made it back to .500. Unfortunately, the trip back took so long that it’s unlikely this team can continue on and get into legitimate contention. Fangraphs has the Cubs projected for 82 wins and a 3.3 percent chance of making the postseason. I’m not prepared to quibble ...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 129

Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK The Cubs win the opener in Miami, 6-3. On April 26, the Cubs reached their high water mark at 17-9. That was a start so fantastic that the Cubs could go .500 the rest of the way and they’d win 85 games. 85 wins would have reached the playoffs last season and figures to be within a game or two this year at worst. As we all know, the bottom fe...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 128

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images The Cubs stay hot with a 10-2 win over the Tigers. I’m still a little walking dead after these last couple of weeks of being here there and everywhere, but a good night’s sleep in my own bed was a nice step forward. Hopefully, I’m going to be settled in for the remainder of the season. And let’s hope the Cubs give us plenty of entertaining baseball down t...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 148
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 117

Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images The Cubs win 8-2 to take the series from the Twins. I mean no disrespect to the Twins, but when I was looking into them ahead of this series, I saw a team that has feasted on bad teams with an unusual fervor. On the one hand, all you can do is beat the team in the other dugout. This isn’t college football and you aren’t lining up cupcakes to boost your...2024
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2025
"Over the course of the season, we will keep track of the Heroes and the Goats in the search for the 2025 Rizzo Award winner."

2024
"Rizzo Award Cumulative Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3) The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall."

2023
"195) Yesterday’s winners: Cody Bellinger (Game 1) and Hayden Wesneski (Game 2) - [Superhero is 91-44] Rizzo Award Cumulative Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5) The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall."

2022
"123) Rizzo Award Cumulative Standings: (Top 3/Bottom 3) The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall."

• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 2
2025

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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 1
2025

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 161
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 160
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 150
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 146

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images The Cubs lose a wild one, 10-8. It’s possible some of us are going to diverge on our impressions of this one. In my head, this team played itself out of contention before the trade deadline. The last road trip for this team did, at least for a moment, put the Cubs on the periphery of the playoff picture. But even then, they were facing a decent gap, t...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 144

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images The Cubs were quite impressive in a 10-4 win over the Dodgers. Who doesn’t love a little pleasant surprise on a Monday? To say the Cubs had a tough matchup Monday night feels like a wild understatement. They were facing arguably the best team in baseball, were starting an aging starter behind whom they’ve had an abysmal record, and their offense had complet...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 135

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports One good inning was just enough for a 7-6 win. From the department of really specific and random baseball stats: The Cubs are the first team in MLB history with an eight-game stretch that includes 98 hits, 80 runs, 43 extra base hits, 18 steals, and 14 homers. The Cubs are 7-1 over this stretch and are playing some of their best baseball of the year. This...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 129
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 128
2024

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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 2
2025

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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 1
2025

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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Intro to the season
2025

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 161
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 160
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 157
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 154

Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images Cubs pitching leads the way to a 3-1 win. With dozens of blown saves and really inconsistent offensive output leading the way, it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine this Cubs team being 10 plus games under .500 and near the bottom of the National League. Shōta Imanaga, rightly, gets a lot of the credit for that. The Cubs are 22-6 when Imanaga starts and 57-...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 153
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 152

Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images The Cubs’ bullpen woes resurface in a 5-3 loss to A’s. The transitive property doesn’t provide much value as part of analysis in baseball. That said, there isn’t a timing issue here. At least not much of one. You can quibble about where the three teams were in their respective rotations. But, the A’s came to Chicago and lost two of three to the White S...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 150
2024

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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 1
2025

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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Intro to the season
2025

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 161
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 157
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 148
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 146
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 144
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 136

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images Cubs streak hits five with 5-3 win. Mission: Impossible continues for our beloved North Siders. It isn’t literally true that they can’t afford to lose another game. They aren’t going to have to finish the season on a 31-game winning streak to reach the postseason. Though, as I think about it, if they want to go ahead and do that anyway, I promise not t...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 135
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 129
2024

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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 136

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images For the second game, the Reds rally in the ninth to beat the Cubs. Heavy sigh, part two. I’m invoking early day game after a night game formation. As in, an abridged Heroes and Goats today. I’m going to give you bullet points rather than a full narrative. The Cubs lost consecutive games for the first time since August 13 and 15 against the Blue Jays and W...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 1
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images Hope springs eternal! Welcome back for the 10th season of Heroes and Goats. I can remember back to 2014 when Al Yellon asked the Bleed Cubbie Blue faithful if any of them had ideas for new features. Me? I wouldn’t describe myself as particularly creative. But I well remember when Russ La Croix conceived Heroes and Goats. I was from the beginning a fan o...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 19
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports The nearly perfect one Nothing like a little afternoon baseball on in the background while you are finishing your work day. By the time I got off of an afternoon call, the Cubs were already battering Dodgers starter Julio Urias. I tuned in just in time for the top of the third, as Drew Smyly was recording his fifth and sixth consecutive strikeouts. Sometimes yo...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 138

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports Justin Steele dominates in a holiday 5-0 win. It was a long holiday weekend for me here in the Tampa area. I had an old friend in town and Sunday night was a very late night. There were a few drinks and only a few hours of sleep. I appreciate you all bearing with me while I gave you somewhat abridged versions of Heroes and Goats the last couple of days. The C...2023
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• 2022 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 162
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images The Cubs win going away to close out the season All’s well that ends well, right? That probably doesn’t work here. But, I’m certainly glad this season ended with a win, and an emphatic one at that. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t mean anything. Not losing 90, winning more than last year, none of it actually means anything. Nothing you can hang you...2022
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 64
Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images Class dismissed! Kyle is vintage Professor in a 4-0 win Some of you might not remember, but when your team wins back-to-back games, that’s called a winning streak. Yeah, it’s not really that long. Somehow, they won two straight against the Rays. I mean, not really just “somehow.” This team basically has one way it wins games: A domina...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 116

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports Back in the win column in Toronto with 6-2 win. I have just one hope. Let’s hope the Cubs don’t become one of “those” teams. You know, the kind of team that beats the good teams but then does less than exceptional against the lesser teams. Instead, I like to think that the core of the Mets team that was put together with an eye on getting back to the World ...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 53
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports A win! An impressive one at that! Well, here in the Heroes and Goats department of Bleed Cubbie Blue, this was hands down the performance of the year. Long time followers of this series know that at the end of the year, I bring you a list of top 10 and a bottom 10 games by WPA. I track scores +/- .400. To date, there had been no scores over .400. I certainly w...2023
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1. White Sox

2. World Series

3. Red Sox

. . .

752. Rizzo Award

• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 25

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images The Cubs sweep the Astros to close a successful homestand. Every season is an entity onto its own. You watch enough seasons and they start to feel like one long homogenous mass. But when you sort them out, or more specifically when one is going on, you can really feel that individuality. And so, as we sit in front of this currently unfolding season, th...2024
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• 2022 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 109
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Cubs rally late only to falter and lose 6-5 I quit playing fantasy baseball somewhere between 15 and 20 years ago. Somewhere around that time, I also quit playing Strat-O-Matic baseball. When I ceased those activities, I basically stopped paying attention with any detail as to the comings and goings of any particular roster or players. I’m overtly aware o...2022
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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 2
2025

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• 2025 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 1
2025

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 161
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 160
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 157
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 154
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 153
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 150
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 148
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 146

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images The Cubs got slammed in a mile high loss, 9-5. I wish this game had been less predictable. Were I someone to place bets on baseball, this would have been the rare game I’d have waded into the mix. Six straight tough games with the Dodgers and Yankees (completed at 3-3), then fly to play in a weird place? Without looking at their schedule, I wonder how many ti...2024
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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 141
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 138
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 117
2024

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• 2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 113

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images The Cubs fail to protect their lead and lose 5-4. Heavy sigh. Once again, the Cubs had things in position to win a game and let it get away. That will be the enduring memory of this season. The crushing number of blown leads late has derailed this team over and over again. The Cubs had the opportunity to get back to three under .500. The last time they r...2024
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 156

Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports A three-game sweep sets up a fight to the finish. As easy as one, two, three! Okay, well, it wasn’t easy. But, the Cubs took care of a woeful (on the road) Rockies team in business-like fashion. This season has been so many things that we don’t always see from the Cubs. I’ve talked about it several times regarding their ability to come off the mat and rebound...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 145

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports The Cubs fumble the lead late, but bounce back to win 5-4. In the moment, I suspect Jordan Wicks would tell you that winning a game and the march towards the playoffs is what matters. That’s the right thing to say and is admirable. At the end of the day, it is a team sport. You win as a team and you win at a lose. It isn’t about individual accomplishments...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 86
Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports The Cubs come up short in Milwaukee. Sometimes I give you a narrative after the game Sometimes, I’m more a series of thoughts. Today is one of those. As I did yesterday, I’m going to steer a little away from the bigger picture implications of this game and the season to date. None of that is shocking, new territory or any great insight I’m going to give you. Th...2023
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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 64
2023

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• 2023 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 1
2023

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• 2022 Cubs Heroes and Goats; Game 135
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Cubs pound Reds 9-3 in their return home to Wrigley Field. We say “baseball happened” when some lousy team beats one of the better teams. That scenario plays itself out basically every day somewhere across baseball. The reality that it is hard to sweep a series leads to these outcomes. It’s essentially a baseball meme to hold up what is essentially an exc...2022
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