Chicago Cubs closer makes history with unbearably awful stat

What can one say about the general awfulness of the Chicago Cubs bullpen that hasn’t already been said?

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On Tuesday, the Cubs once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when—once again—the bullpen failed to keep a late-inning lead. At this point, it doesn’t take a genius-level baseball IQ to see that the team’s relief corps is in full-on collapse mode.

Jacob Webb, at this point, is the poster boy for the fall of the Cubs bullpen.

In his most recent outing, the veteran righty entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with his team up 3-1 and then proceeded to give up two runs, sending the game into extra innings where Caleb Thielbar tipped in the fail by allowing the walkoff winning run in the tenth.

Webb’s historical awfulness

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With this latest appearance, Webb has set a dubious record.

Per OptaSTATS:

He’s the only MLB pitcher to allow a game-tying or go-ahead HR w/ 2 outs in 9th in 3 straight save opps (since saves became official in 1969).

Jacob Webb’s last 3 save chances:

2-run walkoff HR (2 outs in 9th)
2-run walkoff HR (2 outs in 9th)
2-run game-tying HR (2 outs in 9th)

That’s certainly a nasty bit of history for the 33-year-old who was riding into the second half of August as a surprisingly rock-solid asset amid a wave of injuries that had hobbled the pitching staff as a whole. Earning a spot as the Cubs’ de facto closer, he was sporting a 2.21 ERA as recently as August 21 with 9 saves.

But since August 22, it’s been an entirely different story.

In his six outings since then, he’s blown 3 saves and has posted an ugly 17.34 ERA. He’s allowed 3 home runs in 4.2 innings during this recent stretch.

“I’m tired of letting the team down, to be completely honest,” Webb told reporters after the game. “It’s pretty tough to watch every time I give up a homer. … It’s piss poor.”

Playoff hopes are taking a hit

Webb’s blunt self-inventory provides little solace to a team—and its fans—watching their playoff hopes starting to slip away in real time. As of this writing, the Cubs are a half-game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the top National League Wild Card spot. More alarming, though, is the fact that they are now only three and three-and-a-half games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, respectively, in the Wild Card standings.

It’s quite possible that this bullpen collapse will be the death of the Cubs’ postseason hopes.

And worst of all, there just don’t seem to be any answers—beyond hopes and prayers that Shelby Miller and Justin Steele can get strong enough to carry some of the bullpen load and that the thus far unreliable Edward Cabrera can make the quick transition from starter to relief ace.

“The answers are not there,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “These are our guys. They’re going to get the outs. You go through tough stretches in the season. It hurts when it happens right now. It hurts when it happens right at the end of the game with two outs, it hurts a little bit worse.”

“It tests ya,” Counsell added. “You have to use the test, you have to use the hurt to get you to a better place. And it can. When you get knocked down and you can get back up, that’s an even better feeling.”

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