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Thursday’s Hot Clicks: The Cubs Almost Got Bartman’d Again

You would think Cubs fans would have learned to stay out of the way. 

Dan Gartland

Thursday’s Hot Clicks: The Cubs Almost Got Bartman’d Again
Thursday’s Hot Clicks: The Cubs Almost Got Bartman’d Again /

Oh god, not again

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David Banks/Getty Images

Steve Bartman is such a pariah that you would think Cubs fans would have learned to stay out of the way when a player is trying to make a catch in the stands. But no, it almost came back to bite the Cubs in last night’s game against the Pirates. 

The Cubs are locked in a tight race with the Brewers for the NL Central title, and every game is crucial. They took a two-run lead into the ninth last night and Francisco Cervelli hit a pop up down the first base line that could have been the second out of the inning—if only a fan didn’t battle Anthony Rizzo for the ball. 

“I thought I caught it,” Rizzo said after the game. “It was just one of those weird plays.”

Cervelli hit a double off the wall two pitches later, putting runners at second and third. Starling Marte drove both runners in two batters later to tie the game. 

Luckily, the Cubs were able to win it in extra innings with an Albert Almora Jr. walk-off single. 

The Cubs, by virtue of a Cardinals loss, clinched a playoff spot while the game was still ongoing. The Brewers, who beat St. Louis (thanks in large part to Adolis Garcia falling face-first between third and home), remain just a half game behind the Cubs in the division.

Jacob deGrom had simply one of the best seasons ever

Mets ace Jacob deGrom all but locked up the Cy Young Award with eight scoreless innings last night against the Braves. He finishes the season with a 1.70 ERA and 269 strikeouts. His ERA is the sixth-best in MLB history since the mound was lowered in 1969. He would have needed to give up 94 runs without recording an out in order to finish with the worst ERA in baseball. He allowed four runs in his third start of the season and then didn’t surrender that many runs in a start again for the rest of the season. 

I think this kid sums it up nicely:

Bits & Pieces

The collegiate wood bat league team in Madison, Wisc., attracted more fans per game than almost every other non-MLB baseball team in America. ... David Wright says he would want to work in the Mets’ front office, because he apparently hasn’t had enough of that awful organization. ... Tom Hardy says his newest supervillain character was inspired by Conor McGregor. ... Lonzo Ball got a full sleeve tattoo.

Here’s a thing you might care about if you’re an internet user of a certain age

Brooks Melchior, whose Sports by Brooks blog and Twitter account were highly popular during the last decade but went dark in 2013, tweeted yesterday for the first time in five years. 

This is the best video I saw yesterday

Woof.

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Who knew Aussie rules football was played by octopi?

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Want to produce a walk-out song for a UFC fighter?

This will work out great

Do you want to know why Herm Edwards’s tenure at Arizona State is going to end up being a massive failure? Because he sees every other team having fun with post-turnover celebrations and decides he needs to be a hard ass. You know there’s nothing college-aged kids respond to better than strict discipline.

This is what being in a relationship in 2018 looks like

Eight up, eight K’s

Rockies starter German Marquez tied an MLB record by striking out the first eight batters he faced last night against the Phillies. Only the Astros’ Jim Deshaies (in 1986) and Jacob deGrom (in 2014) have equalled that mark. 

Look at the acrobatics!

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Wanna see a shed go really fast?

Yes, that’s a seal slapping man with an octopus

Trailer — Creed II

German comedian makes Conan crack up

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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