NLDS Game 2: Cubs @ Nationals

In Game Threads by dmick89155 Comments

Time: 4:30 PM CT
TV: TBS
Series Preview
Gameday

LINEUPS

Cubs logo
(92-70, 1-0)

Albert Almora Jr. CF
Kris Bryant, 3B
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Willson Contreras, C
Addison Russell, SS
Ben Zobrist, RF
Javier Baez, 2B
Ian Happ, LF
Jon Lester, P


(97-65, 0-1)

Trea Turner, SS
Bryce Harper, RF
Anthony Rendon, 3B
Daniel Murphy, 2B
Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
Jayson Werth, LF
Matt Wieters, C
Michael Taylor, CF
Gio Gonzalez, P

Will the Cubs win? No, but it could go either way.

538 Forecast: 53% chance of winning

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Comments

  1. North Side Pat

    Per the Twitters all W flags are being confiscated at the stadium entrances today. (dying laughing)

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  2. mcalis2

    Really interesting AB by Baez. He swung at garbage, looking like his 2014 version but also took some good pitches.

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  3. cerulean

    If I forget to unmute the commercials, maybe Lester Happ will go yard like Contreras did.

    EDIT: my suggestion is much less ludicrous now

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  4. Smokestack Lightning

    Hm. Maybe Zobrist shouldn’t be playing right now.

    Can get the same shitty groundballs from Heyward, but with 10x the defense.

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  5. North Side Pat

    Lester looking good through 4 – hope he can go 7. Don’t want anyone but Good CJ and Davis to come out of the pen.

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  6. cerulean

    “Last year the Cubs had the safety net of Aroldis Chapman with Davis setting him up.”

    You must be a big fan, announcer.

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  7. North Side Pat

    The more I think about it the more pissed off I’m getting. He’s got a bullpen with multiple lefties in it. Yet he left Edwards out there to face their best lefty.

    EDIT: This bullpen sucks.

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  8. Rizzo the Rat

    I can’t help thinking how differently this game would have played out if Wilson hadn’t lost his ability to throw strikes.

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  9. cerulean

    I often have problems with Joe’s bullpen usage—but I don’t have a problem with it tonight. This is just a shit happens moment.

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  10. cerulean

    Rizzo the Rat:
    I can’t help thinking how differently this game would have played out if Wilson hadn’t lost his ability to throw strikes.

    Indeed. I would have been less pleased had Joe put Wilson in over Montgomery.

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  11. Rizzo the Rat

    cerulean,

    At the very least, I’d’ve brought in Davis to face Zimmerman. Montgomery in high-leverage against a righty is a recipe for disaster.

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  12. Rizzo the Rat

    CJ against Harper might be defensible. But I don’t see how Monty could be the best option against Zim.

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  13. Author
    dmick89

    cerulean:
    dmick89,

    Who on the Cubs is better specifically against lefties?

    Why have three lefties in the bullpen if not for this exact situation? If you’ve only got one lefty in your bullpen, it’s for exactly that spot.

    Despite Edwards splits, he hasn’t faced that many lefties and is still probably worse against lefties than righties. I have a better idea of his true skill level against lefties by looking at how he’s done against righties.

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  14. uncle dave

    Joe Maddon has what all the other successful Chicago coaches before him had: so much talent at his disposal that not even he could fuck it up. (Hi, Mike and Phil!)

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  15. cerulean

    dmick89: Despite Edwards splits, he hasn’t faced that many lefties and is still probably worse against lefties than righties. I have a better idea of his true skill level against lefties by looking at how he’s done against righties.

    187 lefties vs 232 righties. 50 IP vs 57 IP. He has been better against lefties with a few more hits than against righties where he is more of a three true outcomes pitcher—more K, BB, twice as many HR.

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  16. Author
    dmick89

    cerulean,

    Yes and it takes forever to to establish a player’s true platoon skills. You have to regress the shit out platoon splits for pitchers just like you do hitters. About all we can say for sure is that Edwards splits aren’t as severe as most pitchers, but he simply hasn’t been around long enough to know.

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  17. cerulean

    Edwards is really close to a reverse splits Kenley Jansen by wOBA. He just gives up more walks and homeruns but fewer hits.

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  18. Author
    dmick89

    I don’t remember the numbers, but I remember after reading The Book that most relievers won’t ever get to face as many lefties as you’d need to know their platoon splits. I also remember reading that you’re better off looking only at how he does against righties to estimate how he’ll do against lefties. For relievers, platoon splits are mostly shit.

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  19. Author
    dmick89

    Anyway, there’s nothing I can do about it. I knew Joe would leave Lester out there for the 6th even though he should have been lifted. I knew he was going to stick with Edwards and I also knew he was going to stick with Montgomery over walking his ass to the mound one more time to bring in a righty to face Zimmerman.

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  20. uncle dave

    I wouldn’t have minded seeing Davis out there in the 8th even if it meant rolling the dice with someone else in the 9th. Harper’s one of the very best. You need to counter with your best.

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  21. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89:
    Anyway, there’s nothing I can do about it. I knew Joe would leave Lester out there for the 6th even though he should have been lifted. I knew he was going to stick with Edwards and I also knew he was going to stick with Montgomery over walking his ass to the mound one more time to bring in a righty to face Zimmerman.

    I just don’t get what he thought he saw there to justify it as strongly as he did in the postgame. Only call to make? Wha? Harper is good against LHP, but not anywhere near what he is against RHP. He also has a strong GB lean against LHP, Ks twice as much, and walks half as much. Call me insane, but I’m thinking I want Harper against LHP in a close game late—particularly a close postseason game. And then having him face Montgomery you get a LHP who gets close to 60% GBs to LHBs. To me that’s the only call to make other than Davis. And if that means taking Montgomery out against Rendon next, so be it. 2 outs and a man on? Go Wade Davis for sure then, get that last fucking out, and roll him right back out there for three more in the 9th. The hell is he being saved for?

    But nah. Bryce Fucking Harper with the platoon advantage against an inconsistent RHP with shit control in the 8th inning of a close playoff game is the call the smart managers make. Always challenge a great hitter’s strengths, kids. And if you can do it with a pitcher who most of the time doesn’t know where the fuck the ball is going after he lets it go, even better.

    Joe’s such a fucking clown sometimes.

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  22. Perkins

    I was at a wedding last night and missed the game, but I’m confused why the Cubs are carrying three left-handed relievers if Maddon isn’t going to use one of them to face the league’s best left-handed hitter in the eighth inning of a postseason game with a slim lead. I get that Edwards is overall the second best reliever on the team, but that’s a situation screaming for Montgomery or Duensing.

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  23. Perkins

    dmick89,

    I think the plan is Scherzer tomorrow and probably Roark on Tuesday. I also read that they’re not sure how deep Scherzer can go, so if he has any trouble, I feel pretty good about the Cubs’ chances. I suppose they could try to bring back Strasburg on short rest for Tuesday, but I don’t know if he’s ever done that.

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  24. Author
    dmick89

    Perkins,

    Or even Justin Wilson. Yeah, it makes no sense whatsoever to have three lefties if they don’t use one in that situation. They’d be better off with another bat on the bench.

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  25. Perkins

    dmick89,

    Yeah, I’d have less confidence in Wilson since he also can’t find the strike zone consistently, but he’d probably still have been a better option than Edwards.

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  26. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89:
    Smokestack Lightning,

    I hadn’t even looked at what Harper does against lefties. Career .783 OPS and .340 wOBA (112 wRC+). He’s a little better than average against lefties. He’s .949, .401 and 154 against righties.

    It boggles the mind. And I don’t get what goes through Joe’s. This information is readily and freely available to all. You want the odds of an out there as heavily in your favor as you can get it, and Joe instead deliberately steered into the hurricane. At least with the Chapman shenanigans of last year, he was erring on the side of (over)using his best pitcher. This time, I’m not seeing any excuse. And it cost the Cubs a golden opportunity to put the boot to the throat of a team that’s probably a little better than them. Maybe it doesn’t end up mattering again, just like the Chapman BS didn’t end up mattering last year, but one of these runs, Joe is going to manage the Cubs to the exit door.

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