A few times each year, a series happens and I wonder why I do all of this. On some level, I mean recapping these games. But on other levels, it is even just being a fan. Baseball lends itself to so many disappointments. In 42 years of watching this team, I’ve followed so many stupid 6-3 losses and two out of three series to teams that the Cubs probably should have won at least two of three from. I can’t even imagine how many of these a similarly situated Braves or Yankees or Dodgers fan has experienced.
At least in a good number of years, the Cubs were bad enough that there weren’t so many individual games or series that just got away from them.
I have a general philosophy of preferring to play more of the good teams on the schedule early. The Cubs had a frontloaded schedule in 2025 that most of us feared they would struggle with. They didn’t. Even most of those good teams work out some kinks in the first quarter or so of the season. Even when you think your roster is set, there is still enough ebb and flow from season to season that the vast majority of teams will look very different in June than they do today. Those differences aren’t often in the core of the team. But usually your rotation will shuffle. Almost always your bullpen and bench will shuffle. One or two regulars will usually emerge. You might catch a team well and steal a win or two early in the year that you might not later in the year.
The difference between even the best and worst teams isn’t so wide that the percentages become irrelevant. If a major league team played a minor league team, they probably wouldn’t have to sweat all of the percentages. Particularly over a longer series, your talent would just carry through. But as the caliber of teams increase, being able to squeeze a percent or two here or there can be the difference between a win or a loss.
Additionally, the vast majority of teams show up at the start of the year thinking that if they catch a few breaks and keep guys healthy, that they can knock on the door to the playoffs. Stay in contention long enough and you might realistically believe that your front office will add some players and maybe you find yourself in the postseason. There’s extra money to be made. Extra exposure to be gained. The fun of celebrating a big win or clinching something.
It takes a while for a team to realize that the music has stopped and there aren’t enough chairs that are reachable in short order. At the end of the day, I imagine the Nationals are who we all thought they are. But today isn’t that day. They’ve got a young group running the team. Why not them? Surely, the Braves or the Mets or the Phillies or some other team will obliterate them in a series here in the near future and maybe they start licking their wounds. But the Cubs weren’t up to the task of dulling their early season sparkle this weekend.
A lost opportunity. There will surely be a handful of those before things are all said and done. But there will also probably be some larceny where the Cubs overcome a better team or a rough matchup. There will be games won because of fortunate bounces or a call that could go either way. It’s all part of the journey.
If you’ve followed me a long time, you’ve heard me say a couple of things. The road to the top isn’t a straight line upwards. There are no guarantees. This Cubs team is likely to emerge as one of the elite teams in the league. They didn’t do so this weekend. They’re going to have to do better. That’s going to include pitching better and hitting better. I believe they are up to the task in both regards. Let’s recap this and then turn the page.
Three Stars:
- Alex Bregman: 2-4, 2 HR
- Ian Happ: 1-3, BB, HR
- Nico Hoerner: 1-4
Game 3, March 29: Nationals 6, Cubs 3 (1-2)
Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.
THREE HEROES:
- Superhero: Ian Happ (.138). 1-3, BB, HR, RBI, R
- Hero: Alex Bregman (.113). 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
- Sidekick: Hunter Harvey (.033). IP, 4 BF, H
THREE GOATS:
- Billy Goat: Shōta Imanaga (-.143). 5 IP, 22 BF, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 ER, 7 K, WP (L 0-1)
- Goat: Pete Crow-Armstrong (-.112). 0-4
- Kid: Moisés Ballesteros (-.101). 0-4
WPA Play of the Game: It was a scoreless game with two outs and two on in the first inning. Joey Wiemer slugged a three-run homer. (.254)
*Cubs Play of the Game: It was 3-1 Nationals when Ian Happ led off the fourth against Jake Irvin. He homered and cut the deficit to one. (.120)
Cubs Player of the Game:
Up Next: The Angels (2-2) lost a 9-7 game on Sunday in Houston, then headed for Chicago. The Cubs will host the Angels for their first night game of the season on Monday. They’ll send Edward Cabrera to the mound. He was 8-7 with a 3.53 last year for the Marlins before being traded to the Cubs. He’ll make his season debut. The Cubs will face Ryan Johnson who was 1-1 with a 7.36 in 14 appearances and 14.2 innings last year in his rookie season. This will be his first major league start. The 23-year-old was a compensatory second round choice of the Angels in 2024 (74th overall).
