Kuhl in long relief would be a nice boost for sure, but no news probably means he'll just be shut down. I guess maybe if we hear something in a week or two, he'd have a chance to do a rehab assignment, but otherwise the minor league season will be over. Guess for long relief, he could still just do some bullpens etc here, but it does seem like a long shot.
I think the signs with this team are more positive than negative, even though I remain pretty skeptical that a WC spot will play out, just because there are so many teams involved. But, in some measure thanks to the winning streak, we're still playing like the best team in baseball over the last several weeks, and while I think Hurdle (and Huntington - have to assume the rest day wasn't solely Hurdle's call) deserves as much blame as possible, you can't win every game. The foundation of the starting pitching is very good right now, and could stand to be even better if Archer steps it up a little more. Combined with a shutdown pen capable of 4 innings if/when necessary, and a good enough offense, and you have a recipe to keep winning.
It would be extremely impressive if we continued winning series throughout the month, and depending on how our luck plays out, also not insane to think the division race might become just as plausible as the WC race. It should be said that even if we do see a crazy gap closed with the Cubs before our series, and can pull within two games or something, they still have 9 vs the Mets, Reds, and Tigers right after that. But if they flub somewhat, and/or we keep pace, the remainder of their season isn't very easy at all, with just some series vs the Reds and White Sox.
Too much to still try and project, and all we can do is win our series' and hopefully pick up some more along the way (such as the Twins games). Tomorrow won't be easy, but Musgrove has probably looked better than the other impressive pitchers of late, so we need another one from him.