For 20 years and counting, my friends and I voyage to the golf resorts of Northern Michigan to compete in a Ryder Cup-esque tournament. It’s a whirlwind weekend of lush green vistas, frequent beer cart purchases, and (sadly, for me) mediocre golf. Listen, I’m not making it viral for my ball-striking capabilities, but one thing I can do on most days: putt like an absolute dream. And while my short game prowess won’t get me an exemption at Medinah, it serves my team well in our annual golf tournament. From a Cubs standpoint, the key ingredient to their recipe for success in 2025 has been a slugging lineup that keeps them in most games, and their opponents out of them. That has very glaringly not been the case over the last couple of weeks, though, forcing the bullpen to attempt to hit out of the rough far too many times to get back up to par. 

Chicago’s collective bullpen ERA is 3.86. Rare rocky outings from this season’s standouts (such as Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar) have come in situations where the club has left them with virtually no margin for error. The Cubs have scored just 30 runs in their first 10 games in August. When Cubs closer Daniel Palencia took the ball in his club’s series finale versus the Orioles a week ago, he failed to hold on to a one-run lead, making way for Justin Turner‘s ninth-inning heroics. Not unlike Joe Pesci in Home Alone, pitchers like Palencia are traversing a rope that’s been doused in kerosene and lit on fire. 

The last time the squad’s bullpen looked pedestrian, it came at a time when the Cubbies were making a name for themselves as one of the elite offenses in Major League Baseball, arriving in much more low-leverage situations. Turning our attention to Chicago’s recent offensive power outage, one must factor in the unnerving, almost mystical dominance of the Milwaukee Brewers, a squad whose play has been so close to flawless, it renders the efforts of other competitors futile. 

For this team and this bullpen to have a legitimate shot at playing past the first few days of October, things have to get better. Location and velocity from relievers like Thielbar, Pomeranz, and newcomer Taylor Rogers must improve. Getting back to their trademark formula in Saturday night’s game, the North Siders chased Andre Pallante in the second inning and cruised from there. Once the game got turned over to the bullpen, it wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t have to be. The pen finally enjoyed the opportunity to pitch in a situation where they could breathe, a bit.

Though each loss in the last fortnight comes with a deflating sense of letdown, there is still time to make a steady return to prominence. Whatever made this squad so special in the first place is still there, within them. Now, we will find out if they can make it matter.Â