I’ve joked since Spring Training about the amount of right-handed relievers the Cubs brought to Mesa. The organization was definitely taking the throw-stuff-at-the-wall approach. And though I kidded them for it, I really couldn’t blame them, not with the state of the bullpen and the seeming lack of funds to address it.

It made sense: Collect a bunch of maybes, and hope a few somethings emerge, then ditch the ones who don’t.

Here’s the rub: The Cubs haven’t cut anybody.

Sure, they released a couple of guys once Spring Training was cut short, but they still held on to a lot of extra arms, and for every one they did let go they seemingly added another to replace them. Rule 5 pick Michael Rucker was returned to the org by the Orioles after he failed to make their Opening Day roster. The Cubs own Rule 5 pick, Trevor Megill, failed to make the roster (and keep in mind this was 30-man, not 26). The Cubs didn’t return him though, instead making a cash deal with the Padres so they could hold onto him.

This is Duane Underwood Jr.’s 9th season in the Cubs organization. He is out of options. Make a decision.

Dillon Maples has been around for 10 years. He was a Tim Wilken pick, the year before the Epstein regime took over. Javy Baez was the Cubs first round pick that year. Maples was the Cubs second highest profile selection. Maples still has the tantalizing stuff and another option year remaining. Still, make a decision. If he wasn’t good enough to hold on to a spot in a struggling 11-man bullpen after 10 seasons, what are the odds you unlock his ability to throw strikes now?

Meanwhile Dakota Mekkes destroyed right-handed batters at the AAA level the past 1.5 seasons after being one of the most dominant relievers in the Minors at every previous level. Lefties became an issue for the first time last year, and his control has never been a strength, so a finished product he is not. After leaving him exposed to the Rule 5 draft last winter and watching him go unchosen, the Cubs brought in those dozen or so arms to compete for a MLB job. Mekkes never really seemed to be in that competition.

The Cubs made Michael Rucker repeat AA in 2019, and even when he was pitching well in relief, with added velocity, they didn’t make room for him in Iowa. Then, they didn’t protect him from the Rule 5 draft after the season.

Apparently, the Cubs think highly enough of these two to give them spots in the 60-man player pool but little enough of them, despite already having numerous options ahead of them on the 40-man roster, they also keep bringing in the likes of Cody Allen and Kelvim Herrera to be additional non-roster competition.

Do you remember Luke Adam from this spring? He’s still around. Again, they think enough to stick with him in South Bend, but not enough where they feel they can pass on performing autopsies on the corpses of Allen and Herrera. If the Cubs were to form a psuedo-Iowa bullpen right now, I’m not sure Rucker would fit. For the second straight year. And not because of anything he is or isn’t doing.

What’s the point? All of these guys are going to be Rule 5 eligible or Minor League free agents again once this very short season ends. If they aren’t answers now, will they ever?

I’m not saying the Cubs need to get rid of every single one of their depth pieces, but at some point they need to realize they are reaching the point of diminishing returns. They will never have room for more than one or two of these guys on the 40-man roster. To add someone like Allen or Herrera, or someone like Adam, Mekkes or Rucker, someone like Underwood or Maples has got to go.

START MAKING DECISIONS

Why? Because you need to make room for prospects. We are getting beyond the throw-stuff-at-a-wall part of the season. You are now cutting into the limited window of development for the limited number of prospects you can focus on in 2020.

It is unconscionable that Ryan Jensen isn’t in South Bend at this point. It frankly boggles my mind. Every team should have their top 5 prospects from full season ball in their camps by now. If they don’t also add at least one of Michael McAvene, Kohl Franklin or Riley Thompson before the end of the year I am going to lose it.

And don’t even get me started on Manny Rodriguez and Zack Short. You know, two of the players on the 40-man roster, two of the guys that presumably figure to factor into the 2021 roster. I can’t think of a single good reason why you might want them training in South Bend this year. Really.

Its all just another part of the Cubs mixed messaging, an art they’ve perfected through plenty of practice over the last nine years: We love you, really. We think you’ve got a bright MLB future.

Prospect: Should I pack for South Bend and begin quarantining?

Cubs: Uh,… We’re going to bring in players A, B, C first. Oh, who am I kidding? We’re also going to sign players D and E to Minor League deals and give them a shot before you too.

But we still love you, promise.

I don’t get it. Either you have some faith in the guys you’ve been developing for years or you don’t. Perhaps judging by the struggles of Underwood, Maples and Norwood this year they shouldn’t. But if that is the case then it is all the more reason to begin developing the next wave.

As Covid-19 raged across the world and sports and other forms of entertainment were put on hold, many were left to wonder what “normal” may look like if they returned. We clung to hope as plans were unveiled and negotiated. Unfortunately, many of those hopes soured as it became clear that the MiLB season would be a casualty, and turned even more bitter as we watched billionaires publicly engage in a pissing contest with millionaires over how to divvy money.

In the end, MLB settled on a solution. A 60-game schedule, to be completed in 66 days, followed by a postseason involving 16 of the league’s 30 teams. Traditionalists balked yet mostly came to some sort of acceptance; it is what it is. This season wouldn’t be like others. Rather than the marathon of the everyday grind and the war of attrition that separates the truly good teams from the bad, this would be a sprint. A sprint in which over half the participants are allowed to continue after crossing the finish line. It is what it is.

To make that happen, MLB had to radically alter a schedule that had been worked on for decades to try to provide competitive balance. In this sprint of a 60-game season, fairness and balance went out the window in favor of limiting air travel as much as possible. Teams were assigned a 40/20 schedule: 40 games against the opponents within their division, and 20 games of interleague play vs. the geographic division in the other league.

In an attempt to further reduce travel, the idea of playing an equal number of games home and away against division opponents was also scrapped. The Cubs, for instance, play each of their NL Central opponents 10 times. However, it’s not a 5/5 split. We play St. Louis and Milwaukee 3 games away, and 7 at Wrigley. Cincy and Pittsburgh is flipped, with 3 home games and 7 on the road.

I mention this now because it will certainly come into play later. In years past, teams insisted that makeup games be played in the location they were postponed from, mainly for gate receipts and the accompanying revenue streams. That’s probably out the window in 2020 as well.

We’ve all wondered what would happen with the inevitable positive tests of players and coaches throughout the season. MLB supposedly took this into consideration when they allowed for an expanded MLB roster and the creation of a 60-man “player pool” from which to draw replacement players in the event of an outbreak. So far, for whatever reason, this backup plan hasn’t been of much use. Games are being postponed.

The Cubs have been a model of success, through some luck but mostly due to an adherence to protocol, veteran leadership, and personal responsibility. I believe we are the only team without a positive case among players and staff since intake testing began, although coaches Tommy Hottovy and Mike Napoli battled illness before the beginning of Summer Camp. Rumor has it that the Cubs, and Yankees, have been so successful that MLB inquired into their team models to help adjust league requirements following the initial outbreak within the Marlins organization. In a marathon season already compressed to a two-month sprint involving 60 games in 66 days, every advantage could loom large. Things were going swimmingly on the North Side, with the exception of a single rain-out in Cincy.

Then we travelled to the Lou.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

The DirtyBirds were battling the second major Covid outbreak in MLB, following the Marlins. They had several players and staff test positive, forcing the cancellation of a 4-game series with the Brewers and a 4-game interleague set against the Tigers. After a couple days of relative calmness, they were cleared to resume baseball activities and play the Cubs for a 3-game set in St. Louis before another positive test on Friday forced the postponement of the weekend series. The Cubs headed back to Chicago for an extended period of relaxation and rust collection, and the DirtyBirds are now facing playing 55 games in 49 days. With no further delays, mind you.

Good luck with that.

There has been much discussion of punishment for teams that suffer outbreaks and force hardship upon those who are left to scramble through no fault of their own. Suggested penalties range from fines and loss of service time for players found to be reckless to team forfeiture of games. Some more advanced ideas include the reduction of draft position and IFA money, with the thought being that offending teams may actually benefit from reckless behavior by way of a more advantageous (lower) position in the final standings.

I just can’t see it.

In order to assess punishment, I think there would have to be clear intent. There have been reports of players from certain teams indulging in casino gambling and taverns that employ the clothing-averse, but launching an investigation, proving intent, and assessing appropriate punishment is a task I don’t think MLB wants to take on. The punishment would have to fit the crime. Is a trip to an “adult” club worthy of stripping (pun intended) a 2nd-round pick? A fine for an unauthorized voyage to a carry-out restaurant? We can see how this could be a nightmare, even before the inevitable appeals.

If games continue to be postponed, to the point they can’t be made up (are we already there?), I can see the forfeiture of games. Teams that are having their schedules radically altered, including the addition of double-headers and the increased risk of injury, cannot be penalized for circumstances beyond their control.

The Cubs are now off until next Tuesday when they return to Cleveland to battle the Indians. Players were informed that Saturday was basically optional, show and work if you want, but not required. They will play an intrasquad game on Sunday in an attempt to not resemble the Tin Man following a hard rain.

Theoretically, the 3 games cancelled vs. the DirtyBirds will need to made up. As of Tuesday’s game in Cleveland, with the rainout in Cincy and the postponement of the 3-game series in St. Louis, the Cubs will be scheduled for 47 games in 48 days. We are not scheduled to return to St. Louis during this “regular” season. The DirtyBirds visit Wrigley for 3 games from August 17-19, then again for a 4-game set from September 4-7. If these postponed games are to be made up, it would likely be double-headers while they are in Chicago.

I’m sure the DirtyBirds organization and TBFIB are going to throw a fit over that scenario, with all 10 games in the season series being played at the Friendly Confines, but I don’t see any other way. Honestly, I don’t see all 10 games being played, but we’ll get to that in a minute. This might be one instance when the DirtyBirds and Bill DeWitt don’t get their way. It isn’t our fault.

Here is when we insert the obligatory “the Cards will somehow finagle this into an extra compensatory draft pick for their suffering” joke.

ABACUS VS. CALCULUS

As we see, games are getting postponed, makeups are piling up, and an already-compressed and somewhat meaningless regular season is further compromised. The Marlins and DirtyBirds have had outbreaks, so far. Who knows what team is next?

I can’t see teams being expected to play more games than there are days left in the season. It is especially unfair to those who have had no outbreaks but just the misfortune of timing against an opponent. Simply, I don’t see teams playing the same number of games at the end of the season. Then what?

There has been talk of figuring final standings and postseason positioning not on traditional standings, but by winning percentage. Like nearly everything else in 2020, this situation is fluid and subject to change. I don’t like it, but I don’t know what else to do.

Hardcore baseball fans have always known to follow the “loss” column down the stretch. No matter the official number of games back, your team always had a chance as long as you weren’t too far back in the loss column. The theory has always held that as long as you had a chance to win a game, you still had a chance. Sort of like “a chip and a chair” in poker.

It will really, really stink if a team that showed a lack of self-discipline wins a division race playing less games than a superior team. We may see that. This is just another potential reality in a fully surreal situation.

CASTLES MADE OF SAND

Of course, this may all be for naught. We could have another outbreak or two and the whole thing gets cancelled. I’m even more concerned about what happens when one contaminated team infects another. I think that will really raise alarms.

As far as the reluctance to call up players to replace those who test positive, I wonder if they just don’t want to introduce more bodies into a known contagious atmosphere. That makes a little sense to me.

There’s no other way to say this: this is an experiment during an uncertain time. The games are being played for our amusement, and a way to take our money and distribute it to those involved. It’s always been that way, but now it’s just more blatant. At least in the past there was a sense that it was legitimate, that they were playing for something. Now it’s just pure gluttony and semi-clad semi-transparency, which like the possible cause of some of these outbreaks, may end up being the death of the season.

It is what it is.