Chicago Cubs fandom
Series State: The Bullpen Tax on a Historic Homestand
A 15-game winning streak at Wrigley is the kind of thing that could make a person feel optimistic. But as the team heads on the road, it's worth remembering that every run scored by our deep, balanced lineup still comes with a bullpen trust tax.
Let's be clear: a 15-game home winning streak, the likes of which Wrigley Field hasn't seen in 91 years, is an undeniable good. After a few heart-rate-spiking walk-offs, seeing the team cruise to the finish line on Thursday was a welcome change of pace. It's the kind of run that tempts you to believe in things.
The belief is grounded in a real, observable phenomenon: a deep, balanced offense that entered the week scoring well over five runs a game. When a lineup is producing like that, you start to feel like you can weather almost anything. It's been the primary driver of this entire season memory we're building.
But we know the series math isn't that simple. For the first seven weeks of the season, the story of the bullpen has been one of "constant churn," as injuries and transactions have kept the relief corps in a state of perpetual motion. That's the tax on all this offensive fun—a lingering question mark that arrives every time the starter heads for the dugout.
Now, that traveling show packs up and heads to Texas. The friendly confines and last licks that defined the homestand are gone. The question for this weekend isn't just whether the offense can keep hitting. It's whether they can score enough to keep paying that ever-present bullpen trust tax, even on the road.
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