At a certain point, the Chicago Cubs were going to see their postseason dreams end despite them finally playing good baseball during the latter parts of the year.
They just dug themselves too big of a hole during the middle months of their schedule, getting too far behind in the NL Central race and Wild Card standings.
On Monday, the Cubs will begin a series against the Philadelphia Phillies who are looking to lock up their own division with a singular win as they chase the top overall seed in the playoffs.
There isn't a whole lot to play for in Chicago right now, and normally, that would signal the organization calling up some young prospects to get them their first experience of Major League Baseball, or at least get them more reps since the minor league seasons have come to a close.
Per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the Cubs won't be taking that approach.
"There's no plans for that right now," manager Craig Counsell said.
Chicago already decided not promote their star youngsters during the September call-up period because they were still fighting for a spot in the playoffs, but without that being a possibility anymore, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for them not to do that now.
Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara, and even Moises Ballesteros all seemed like candidates who could have finished the year in the bigs.
But, Counsell still wants this group focused on closing out the season strong.
"Nothing changes. You just go out and you play the game. You respect the game. You respect your teammates. That's it," he said.
The skipper made some interesting comments about the state of this Cubs organization compared to the Milwaukee Brewers where he just came from, stating there is a "daunting" task to close the gap between these two clubs.
Perhaps continuing to focus on one game at a time helps change the mentality that has clearly caused Chicago to come up short when it comes to making the playoffs.
Still, this feels like a missed opportunity from an organizational standpoint.
Regardless, barring a rash of injuries to the Cubs' outfield, it's not likely that their star prospects will be called up.
