Welcome to your late night, indie coffee shop and bar where we\u2019re serving up all the drinks you need early in the baseball season. Whether it\u2019s a glass of wine to chill after work or a cup of coffee to keep you rolling when the Cubs start late on the West Coast (more on that later this week), we\u2019ve got you covered here at BCB After Dark. Be sure you tip your servers and bus your own tables so we turn everything back to Josh in order after the weekend.<\/p>\n
The Cubs are off to a pretty good start this season with a 9-6 record, but they got some bad news earlier this week when Justin Steele hit the injured list with left elbow tendonitis. We\u2019ll talk more about the potential implications and seriousness of that injury after some tunes.<\/p>\n
I spent some time earlier this week hiking in The Great Smoky Mountains and wow barely begins to cover it. It was also sort of perfect to hear John Prine as we drove from hike to hike in one of the most scenic parts of Appalachia, including his last recorded song:<\/p>\n
I Remember Everything<\/em> is a beautiful little melody where the simplicity is part of why the song hits so deeply:<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been down this road before I remember everything The song just fits the awesome scenery in the Smokies where dense forests give way to flowers, meadows and the occasional spectacular waterfall.<\/p>\n John Prine is at his best when he\u2019s telling the tales our souls whisper to us that are just out of reach. The fact that his final recording as one of America\u2019s greatest troubadours is a reflection and meditation on the simplest moments in a brilliant traveling career is just perfection:<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been down this road before I remember everything I don\u2019t know if I remember everything, but I know I will always remember listening to this beautiful melody as the dew shone on a million blades of grass and budding leaves that I imagine Prine himself admired at some point in time.<\/p>\n Back here in Cubslandia I can\u2019t help but remember that the pitcher who has served as the bedrock for the rest of the Cubs rotation the past two seasons is Justin Steele, who hit the injured list earlier this week. There were some notes of cautious optimism from the Cubs earlier this week given that this is the same injury Steele has dealt with previously and as recently as last fall:<\/p>\n \u201cI was talking to [pitching coach] Tommy [Hottovy] and [manager Craig] Counsell throughout the start, and I was like, \u2018My arm\u2019s starting to tighten up on me a little bit,\u2019 \u201d Steele said before Wednesday\u2019s series finale against the Rangers. \u201cI was at the fourth, fifth inning, was just doing stuff in between innings to keep it warm, moving [it] around and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n The discomfort lingered into Tuesday, and Steele arrived at Wrigley with the intention of doing extra day-after-pitching recovery work. The pain still was there, and the decision was made to place him on the IL.<\/p>\n Steele said the pain was similar to the elbow tendinitis that landed him on the IL in September 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say it\u2019s similar to the previous situations that we encountered with it,\u201d said Steele, who also went on the IL in June 2023 with a left forearm injury.<\/p>\n That history made the decision to shut him down easier \u2014 and gives the Cubs optimism that he won\u2019t be out too long.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The thing is, this is definitely a glass half-full, glass half-empty type of situation. It is good to know this is similar to an injury he\u2019s dealt with without awful ramifications in the recent past. It\u2019s also troubling that one of the Cubs best pitcher, and arguably their staff ace, has been dealing with recurrent tendonitis in his elbow in his throwing arm. It\u2019s especially concerning given that he had Tommy John surgery in 2017.<\/p>\n Beyond the questions about the injury to Steele, this is just a really tough part of the season to lose one of your best pitchers. The Cubs are currently en route to Los Angeles (don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll be talking about the schedule in tomorrow\u2019s BCB After Dark) where they\u2019ll face a Dodgers team who already took two games from the Cubs in Tokyo, before heading to San Diego to face off against the Padres again.<\/p>\n This is the type of situation that tests a staff\u2019s pitching depth and while the Cubs have depth they can turn to, it\u2019s unlikely they have a spare Justin Steele sitting around. There aren\u2019t many pitchers in MLB who can turn in a performance like this:<\/p>\n Looking at the current roster most would project Steele\u2019s next start to go to Colin Rea and listen, I don\u2019t really love the idea of Rea facing the Dodgers at home, but that appears to be where this team is right now.<\/p>\n So I ask you, Cubs fans: can the Cubs keep winning with Justin Steele on the IL?<\/p>\n (8 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n (52 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n (23 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n (2 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n (1 vote)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 86 votes total Vote Now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the Cubs\u2019 best pitchers has hit the IL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":47655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nI remember every tree
\nEvery single blade of grass
\nHolds a special place for me
\nAnd I remember every town
\nAnd every hotel room
\nAnd every song I ever sang
\nOn a guitar out of tune<\/p>\n
\nThings I can\u2019t forget
\nThe way you turned and smiled on me
\nOn the night that we first met
\nAnd I remember every night
\nYour ocean eyes of blue
\nHow I miss you in the morning light
\nLike roses miss the dew<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\nAlone as I can be
\nCareful not to let my past
\nGo sneaking up on me
\nGot no future in my happiness
\nThough regrets are very few
\nSometimes a little tenderness
\nWas the best that I could do<\/p>\n
\nThings I can\u2019t forget
\nSwimming pools of butterflies
\nThat slipped right through the net
\nAnd I remember every night
\nYour ocean eyes of blue
\nHow I miss you in the morning light
\nLike roses miss the dew<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n\n
Poll<\/h3>\n
Will the Cubs keep winning without Justin Steele?<\/h4>\n
\n
9%<\/h6>\n
Yes \u2014 the team has depth and they can withstand back-to-back series against the Dodgers and Padres even with Steele on the IL<\/h6>\n
60%<\/h6>\n
Maybe \u2014 they\u2019ll probably be over .500 but hanging at .600 or better is a tough ask without one of the best pitchers on the staff<\/h6>\n
26%<\/h6>\n
No \u2014 but they can win enough games to maintain their lead in the Central on a tough road trip<\/h6>\n
2%<\/h6>\n
No \u2014 ThE CuBS seAsOn iS D0omeD<\/h6>\n
1%<\/h6>\n
Other \u2014 Leave your thoughts in the comments<\/h6>\n