After a season of highs and lows that defied even the unpredictable norms of a baseball season, the Cubs suddenly had time off in sunny Florida on the next-to-last day of the regular season and a chance to take a breath before the start of what they hope will be a long postseason run. They had a chance to go to the beach, sit by the pool with a good book, watch some college football or even visit the Dali Museum, where the surrealist\u2019s works are on display, including my personal favorite, \u201cHallucinogenic Toreador.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790464548_423_CTC-L-cubs-marlins015.jpg\")
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates with teammates after clinching a playoff spot with a victory against the Marlins on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Nothing has been quite as surreal as this Cubs season, one of the streakiest of all time. Cubbie Chaos has reigned from Day 1, but as Pete Crow-Armstrong said: \u201cWe\u2019re just built for the weird s\u2014.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n With that in mind, it probably makes perfect sense that the MLB powers that be decided to relocate the game to the Trop, the long-reviled domed stadium in St. Petersburg that the Tampa Bay Rays have been trying to ditch for the last decade or so. It was ravaged by Hurricane Milton two years ago<\/a> and after a renovation has been upgraded from dump to dump deluxe.<\/p>\n It\u2019s considered a neutral destination, though thousands of Red Sox fans congregate on the west coast of Florida with the team\u2019s spring training site in Fort Myers. Cubs fans also travel, so no matter what, it\u2019ll probably be louder than the usual Rays crowd.<\/p>\n The dome is also climate-controlled, so they don\u2019t have to worry about another rainout, unless the roof springs a leak like Milwaukee\u2019s cheap dome.<\/p>\n The Red Sox are much more familiar with the Trop from playing two series a year there against their American League East rivals, so advantage, Boston. They also have their seeding sealed, and the game is relatively meaningless for them.<\/p>\n Either way, it\u2019s only one game out of 162, or .006% of the season. No big deal. How much could one game mean over the course of a six-month grind?<\/p>\n As it turns out, plenty. After their doubleheader loss Friday in Boston<\/a>, the Cubs woke up Saturday in Florida with only slight movement in the wild NL wild-card race<\/a>. Before Saturday\u2019s games, they knew they could begin the playoffs Tuesday in San Diego, Atlanta or even back at home if everything fell into place. The Phillies were choking big-time, making the Cubs\u2019 recent offensive skid seem mild.<\/p>\n The odds were good the Cubs would wind up in San Diego to face the Padres, one of the hottest teams in baseball in September and the home of a Cubs playoff disaster in 1984 that need not be mentioned.<\/p>\n Manager Craig Counsell said this week that the Cubs will adapt to whatever is thrown their way and told them to \u201chave fun.\u201d They had a lot of fun after clinching Thursday but not so much fun the next day in Boston.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll find out Sunday whether they can salvage the series finale and head to whichever city on an upbeat note. The worst-case scenario would be a Red Sox sweep and five Cubs losses in six games before the start of the postseason.<\/p>\n Florida is a fine place for golf, tanning and watching weirdos, but MLB dropped the ball on this one.<\/p>\n The easiest solution to the nor\u2019easter conundrum was moving the final game to Wrigley Field, where the Sunday forecast was nice and the ballpark was open. Moving the entire series there would\u2019ve been unfair to the Phillies and Padres, but one game?<\/p>\n If the game actually means something, MLB should want as many fans as possible to be there for it.\u00a0 But a small crowd is expected for the 2:05 p.m. CT start, which will compete with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n MLB did something like that in 1990 when it moved a rained-out White Sox-Texas Rangers game from Chicago to Arlington, Texas, giving the Rangers 82 home games and the White Sox 80. Was that fair?<\/p>\n The Sox were only 4\u00bd games out of first place on the day of that Aug. 12 rainout, which happened after a 7\u00bd-hour rain delay at old Comiskey Park. Rangers players didn\u2019t want to come back to Chicago four days later on their off day because they had a charity golf tournament scheduled, and the league did not want the game to be made up after the season.<\/p>\n Since the Sox were heading to Texas for a series later that week, the league simply made the Sox give up a home game, which became part of a twinight doubleheader at the old Ballpark in Arlington. The Sox surely could\u2019ve complained mightily about having to lose a home game in the stretch run. They barely made a peep.<\/p>\n![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/CTC-Z-CUBS-REDSOX.jpg\")
Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison reacts after giving up a two-run double to the Red Sox’s Wilyer Abreu in the eighth inning of Game 2 of a doubleheader Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Boston. (Greg M. Cooper\/AP)<\/p>\n