Maybe that would’ve been the ceiling for the 2021 Cubs with Darvish, hovering a few games over. in the visiting dugout: “It’s not fucking about you!”Īfter winning the offseason, the Padres are imploding, swept out of Busch Stadium after a lost weekend and now trailing the Cardinals by 3 1/2 games for the second wild card. Darvish, who had found such a comfort zone in Chicago, struggled to stay healthy and find a rhythm throughout July (0-4, 7.36 ERA) and August (one quality start in three attempts).ĭarvish pitched seven scoreless innings and received the no-decision in Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, which will be remembered for Manny Machado screaming at Fernando Tatis Jr. (Those days marked losses 11 and 12 in the Cubs’ 12-game losing streak.) The Padres fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild on Aug. (That was the day after Willson Contreras criticized his Cubs teammates for their lack of concentration.) Darvish went back on the injured list with lower back tightness on Aug. The Padres placed Darvish on the injured list with left hip inflammation on July 11. In terms of getting off to a fast start, gaining traction and preserving the bullpen, Darvish posted a 3.05 ERA and covered 108 innings before the All-Star break while the Padres won 14 of his 18 starts. That 15-7 loss - which increased the division deficit to six games in the middle of what spiraled into an 11-game losing streak - became the tipping point for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who instructed his staff to shift all focus and resources toward selling at the July 30 trade deadline. Maybe Darvish could’ve stopped the bleeding on June 30, when Jake Arrieta couldn’t put the Brewers away after getting a seven-run lead in the first inning. In essence, two different Cubs teams lost 15 of the 19 games against the Brewers this season, punctuated by a sixth series loss over the weekend at American Family Field. Christian Yelich stays in Milwaukee while Kris Bryant goes to San Francisco for two prospects, a midseason deal that felt inevitable after the decision to trade Darvish last winter. Yet it’s still staggering that the Cubs signed Darvish after advancing to the 2017 NLCS - and the Brewers are the team heading to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season with a dominant starting rotation and a former MVP on a $215 million contract. The dismantling of the 2016 World Series team has been such a drawn-out process that Cubs fans are probably numb by now. But it’s the entry point for this lost Cubs season - and still such a lively topic in The Athletic’s comments section nearly nine months later - that it’s worth revisiting now. The Darvish trade will be re-evaluated for years, based on how the Cubs reinvest in their major-league team and develop those faraway prospects from the Padres.
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