CHICAGO — “Cubbie Occurrence” is a phrase coined by Lou Piniella, the baseball character and former Chicago Cubs manager whose fiery temper and quotable riffs once made him an entertaining spokesman for Chicago’s charter National League franchise.
Matthew Boyd is now familiar with the term.
“I’ve heard of it,” the Cubs pitcher said before Friday’s 10-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on the South Side.
You know it when you see it is the loose standard for a “Cubbie Occurrence.” It’s Kerry Wood slipping while getting out of a hot tub, or Sammy Sosa sneezing so hard he experiences back spasms. Piniella’s off-the-cuff comment became a shorthand for all the weird stuff around a club that was founded in 1876 and went more than a century between World Series titles.
Boyd’s freak injury, which led to last week’s surgical procedure on his left knee, appears to match the description.
It was around lunchtime when Boyd squatted down to interact with his children in his home, hoping to hang out with them for a bit before he went to work at Wrigley Field.
“I didn’t get to play with my kids,” Boyd said. “I was just kneeling down, and my knee popped twice. Literally, as unglamorous as that sounds, that’s just kind of what happened. There was no precursor, nothing that indicated (something was wrong). Who knows if there might have been something going on in there before?”
Standing in Rate Field’s visiting clubhouse Friday afternoon, Boyd gave his first explanation to reporters since the Cubs placed him on the injured list May 6, part of a whirlwind 24 hours.
An MRI on Boyd’s left knee revealed a meniscus problem. By that night, the decision was made to get surgery to fix the partial tear. The next morning, he underwent the procedure.
Boyd, 35, earned an All-Star selection with the Cubs last year as well as this season’s Opening Day assignment. The Major League Baseball Players Association recently announced him as the first recipient of its Most Valuable Philanthropist award, which will be presented monthly throughout this season.
Boyd’s family includes four children, and his reputation around the game is such that Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt once described him as “one of the best human beings you’re ever going to be around.”
“My kids had nothing to do with it,” Boyd said. “… Would it have happened two days later on the mound? Who knows? I don’t know.”
Right now, Boyd is feeling good enough that his Saturday plans include throwing off a mound. He’s been doing agility drills, exercises in the weight room and throwing sessions on flat ground. Barring any setbacks, the initial six-week timeline would put him back in Chicago’s rotation before the end of June.
Craig Counsell acknowledged “it’s been a really good first week” in Boyd’s recovery program, but otherwise, the Cubs’ manager indicated it’s too early to make projections.
“He’s doing everything a little bit more effortlessly and pain free than was expected,” Counsell said. “He’ll see the doctor at the end of the weekend here, and we’ll see what’s next. But I think he’s going to progress at a pretty good pace. So far, we’ve gotten all good news from him.”
Given all the bad news the Cubs have received about their pitching staff — Cade Horton’s season-ending surgery on his right elbow, Justin Steele’s flexor strain in his left elbow, injuries involving nearly all of the late-inning relievers on the preseason depth chart — it’s amazing that this team is in first place with a 29-16 record.
Edward Cabrera, the potential top-of-the-rotation pitcher the Cubs acquired from the Miami Marlins this past offseason, couldn’t finish the fifth inning Friday night against the White Sox, continuing his replacement-level start to the season (close to zero WAR, 4.06 ERA, 1.31 WHIP). The Cubs, though, have a deep lineup and an excellent defense, and they outclassed the White Sox in front of a sellout crowd of 38,723.
Shota Imanaga (2.32 ERA through nine starts) is again performing at an All-Star level. Ben Brown, who has allowed one hit through eight scoreless innings since leaving the bullpen, is showing why people in the organization insisted he could become a frontline starter. And in a strange way, perhaps Boyd will wind up in better shape for the stretch run after hurting himself while reaching down to play with his kids.
“It’s something I’ve probably done thousands of times,” Boyd said. “I wish it would have happened in the offseason, but I feel great now.”