OSS: Cubs pen tries to give one away, Padres defense gives it right back.
Three up:
- Anthony Rizzo hit a grand slam in the third inning to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead, which was obviously the biggest hit of the day. I was surprised to hear on the broadcast that it was his first homer in over a month. The lack of HR power hadn’t hurt his numbers though, as he had a .431 wOBA in July going into this game. With that home run the Cubs now have four players with 20+ home runs, and Contreras is currently sitting on 19.
- Javier Baez also homered, increasing his team lead to 23 HRs.
- The Cubs retaking the lead had more to do with the Padres defense blowing it, but it still took some heads up baserunning to take advantage.
Three down:
- Lester didn’t look too sharp in what I saw of his outing, but given that it was a billion degree heat index and the wind was blowing out, I guess he limited the damage a little bit. Still twelve hits in six innings is not great.
- Pedro Strop gave up the tying run with a homer in the eighth. Strop has been great with the Cubs but hasn’t looked the same since coming back from his injury this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him miss more time unfortunately.
- Russell and Bote combined to go 0-8 with 6 Ks, and those two non-strikeouts were the Padres fielding errors that led to the winning run.
Next up: Q takes on Joey Lucchesi at 1:20 PM CT.
Comments
Brewers lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Joey Lucchesi sounds like a character from The Sopranos.
dmick89Quote Reply
Garcia in left field isn’t working out great so far.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
andcountingQuote Reply
KB is officially back when his plate appearances start 0-2 but still last 10 minutes.
andcountingQuote Reply
Rizzo running to first also takes 10 minutes.
andcountingQuote Reply
Garcia can hit for real tho.
andcountingQuote Reply
Tatis can hit too.
andcountingQuote Reply
I wish Jose Quintana didn’t suck.
dmick89Quote Reply
Javy!!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Javy.
andcountingQuote Reply
No one can pitch today.
BVSQuote Reply
Something tells me the loser of this game will still score 10.
andcountingQuote Reply
I have a feeling Kimbrel’s control is going to drive me crazy even if he pitches effectively for the Cubs.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Please throw strikes.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Bote!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Probably should bring in Maldonado for framing in the 9th.
PerkinsQuote Reply
#JavyTag
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Phew!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
It looks like Javy can read where the trajectory of the incoming throw will come closest to intersecting with the runner’s path and manages to catch the ball at that exact point to make his tag as quick as possible, which he envisions before the actual tag so he needn’t look.
andcountingQuote Reply
Cardinals lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Yikes.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Holy shit
berseliusQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
LF Schwarber
SS Baez
3B Bryant
1B Rizzo
2B Garcia
RF Heyward
CF Almora
C Maldonado
P Cyle
berseliusQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Jesus. This is one of those times when controlling my response feels particularly impossible. I feel like social media trains us into believing the only acceptable reaction is outrage and disgust. And traditional patriarchy has pretty much taught us to always question the validity of the accusations. I don’t feel any of those things, and when I see them expressed (often together…”if this turns out to be true, he’s a piece of shit”), it seems foreign, like some culture I feel totally removed from has taken over.
It’s really sad, what has happened between these two people and what awaits them. I’m ashamed to admit the bulk of my instinctive reaction is curiosity at how people will handle seeing someone they respect and admire on an intellectual and cultural level being guilty of doing the same things as someone they’ve regarded as a disposable piece of human trash whose previous contribution to their lives was almost solely athletic.
andcountingQuote Reply
I hadn’t thought of that, but I’m not sure it will be the same as the way party supporters tend to be less harsh toward those who have committed the horrible acts when their ideologies align with your own.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Yeah, I don’t expect it to be like that, although I would hope it might temper the way some people react to stuff like this in general. There’s such an understandable battle against the bro defenders who go with misogyny first and ask questions never, that people lose sight of the humanity of the situation. We can have outrage toward a behavior and still hold onto the possibility of supporting people through stages of confession, recovery, restitution, and growth. I’d hope to see something like that offered to anyone willing to accept it and not just my favorite athletes and writers. If for no other reason than that I suspect most domestic abuse/assault/battery/etc. never gets reported. I’m certain it’s more prevalent than we know and I would guess many people never come forward or get help because of the fear of what will happen to their partners if they do.
andcountingQuote Reply
I still have no idea what the point of the “opener” is.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
andcounting,
Reminds me of the outrage recently at that judge who decided to try that juvenile as a juvenile. Yeah, it was a ridiculously stupid reason (he’s from a good family) and he should be called out for that of course, but the guy who committed the alleged crime (rape, I think) is a juvenile and should be tried as a juvenile. Stupid horrible reasoning by the judge, but ultimately the right decision.
I can understand the rage though because, as you say, so much of the violence goes unreported so when it is reported, it’s important that the person who committed the violence be held accountable.
dmick89Quote Reply
Too bad Cyle is pitching against Zombie Cy Young.
andcountingQuote Reply
Stupid wind.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
If the wind is ever blowing out, Garcia needs to be in the lineup.
andcountingQuote Reply
Wonderful. Brach in. Walk one.
BVSQuote Reply
Pretty good outing for Cyle, the bats need to pick him up here.
berseliusQuote Reply
Good God, Caratini is slow.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I keep forgetting Descalso exists.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I didn’t realize that Caratini was that slow.
dmick89Quote Reply
He is a catcher, so some handicap there I guess. I think Willson would have barely beaten that throw.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I think even Rizzo would have beaten it.
Seems like I heard Deshais or a national broadcast say Rizzo was faster than 62 other major leaguers. Assume Caratini is in that group.
BVSQuote Reply
BVS,
Statcast has Victor at 429 out of 482: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sprint_speed_leaderboard
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo isn’t far ahead of him on that board, sadly.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
CJ————> back.
andcountingQuote Reply
I say this with no exaggeration, keeping Descalso in the game to pitch would have been a better move than allowing Edwards to come in with runners on.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Only one run charged to CJ, so I guess it still supports the baffling BN narrative that CJ has been good for months.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
He’s been his best the last month or so, so I guess I agree. (dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
Apparently I need to go back to Spain for the Cubs offense to be good again. Accepting donations.
berseliusQuote Reply
andcounting,
(dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
The Yates splitter is nasty.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I’d rather you be in the Cubs bullpen than. Edwards. Not joking. At least Joe would know to only use you when you’ve got no shot of winning. No offense. (dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
Congrats to sometime commenter/writer Shawndgoldman on winning a big early career science award
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-scientists-engineers-honored-with-presidential-early-career-awards
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
(dying laughing). If only CJ had the same response I would have had when the call game down to the bullpen: you do realize I literally do not know how to throw strikes, right?
andcountingQuote Reply
berselius,
Does this mean he’s getting drafted? #spaceforce
andcountingQuote Reply
berselius,
Wow. Congrats Shawn.
dmick89Quote Reply
andcounting,
If that’s all he ever said, it would be an improvement over this shit.
dmick89Quote Reply
andcounting,
#spacecorps
berseliusQuote Reply
It’s kinda mind-boggling how bad the Tigers’ offense will be after Castellanos gets traded.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
It’s crazy to think that the Tigers are probably going to end up getting about 0-2 WAR total out of Cabrera after he signed that huge deal a few years ago. He’s probably a hall of famer, but man he really sucks at this point.
dmick89Quote Reply
Teams are really dumb when it comes to long-term deals with aging first basemen (Howard, Pujols, Davis).
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Votto’s contract is already starting to look like an albatross, but I’m not writing him off just yet.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Brandon Woodruff ——————-> IL
Oblique. Could miss a few weeks. Could miss the bulk of the rest of the season.
Considering he’s been worth about as much fWAR as the rest of their starting staff combined, I’m thinking this might be kind of a big loss for the Beers.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
As soon as Brach came in yesterday I figured Maddon was thinking 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.
WaLiQuote Reply
berselius,
Big deal. So he went to some exoplanets and found some models who were exceptionally physical. I’m sure any of us with the resources to go to those exoplanets could’ve also found the physical models. Probably even faster than shawn did.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
I made a physical model in like 2nd grade. WHERE’S MY RECOGNITION TRUMP
WaLiQuote Reply
My biggest frustration with Brach, other than him being not very good at sports, is not being able to figure out more to do with the obvious Breaking Bad/Braching Brad puns. Seems like there should be more there, but it requires a better mind than mine.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
I think you just need Braching Bad.
Joe may be a good manager, but with the bullpen options Theo has given him, he’s Braching Bad.
BVSQuote Reply
Yeah, that’s all that’s really there, I guess. Feels like there’s a potential gold mine, though. And that’s a difficult feeling to shake. The sooner he’s DFA’d, the better.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Toss Jarrod Dyson’s name into the Cubs trade target mix.
Not nearly as impact-ish as Nicholas Alexander Castellanos III, but I’m up for anything that gets Almora closer to 0 PAs the rest of the season.
Get ’em both, Theo.
Or don’t get ’em both. I can’t tell Theo what to do.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
I’m not in total disagreement, but wasn’t he the only Cubs pitcher not to surrender a run yesterday?
Maddon’s options in the bullpen are pretty bad, but I’m particularly aghast at the CJ use yesterday. I don’t see how anyone can fail to see his psychological shortcomings. I don’t know who could have possibly foreseen a positive outcome of bringing him into a high-leverage situation with runners on base.
Putting Brach in? Dumb, but what other choice do you have? Keeping Brach on the team? Dumb, but again, what better options are there in the system? Using CJ in that situation? Descalso literally had a better shot at getting out of that inning.
andcountingQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
I didn’t realize how bad of a hitter Almora is. It looks like he’s always been horrible too so no real chance of him turning it around even though he’s still somewhat young (25).
When Contreras comes back I wonder if we will see more Caratini behind the plate and Contreras in right.
An OF of Schwarber/Heyward/Contreras and IF of Bryant/Baez/Garcia/Rizzo/Caratini wouldn’t suck in terms of batting.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
Almora was on my shit list well before this year’s offensive cratering, but now he can’t even muster passable numbers against lefties. I don’t give a shit how good he is defensively. If you can’t hit a baseball, you better be able to pitch. If you can’t do either, go be a shitty hitter with a good glove on a bad team. He has no business being on a contending one unless he’s the 25th man.
Granted, Dyson isn’t that great of a hitter either, but he’s many strides better than Almora against RHP, can take a walk, and doesn’t give anything away on defense. And he gives Joe more quality options, especially if Theo lands Castellanos as well. If both, you can trot out the late-inning OF defense of death: Almora, Dyson, and Heyward. Almora might be somewhat of an asset at that point, especially when rosters expand here in a few more weeks.
Also, there’s room for hope with Dyson, as Chase Field with the humidor has become a pitcher’s park. His numbers away from home are pretty good against RHP.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
The DFA was partly a joke about me not being able to come up with better Braching Brad puns.
But it was mostly not a joke. He’s not been good. I’d prefer not-good players not be on the Cubs.
I’d also be fine if Edwards never threw another pitch for the Cubs again too. He also has not been good. And he’s certainly been given enough time to become good.
But as you said, a team has to field a pitching staff so… maybe he can stay. Brach too. So long as they’re never anywhere near games the Cubs have designs on winning.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
CJ Edwards————> Iowa
dmick89Quote Reply
I’d be okay with the Cubs going after Dyson, but I don’t want them to give up any prospects. Almora isn’t as good, but he’s controlled longer and he’s still just 25 so I’d consider dealing Almora for Dyson if the Cubs also got something else in return (preferably something that can help this season).
dmick89Quote Reply
Castellanos would be really nice, but I don’t see that happening. The Cubs don’t have much in the farm system to get that kind of deal done.
dmick89Quote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
I don’t know why I’m so intent on everyone sharing my anger about CJ, but the rage is real. (dying laughing)
It’s weird, because I like him. I just think he’s in Rick Ankiel territory in terms of psych issues.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I’ve been fairly upset at seeing him pitch for awhile so my rage has subsided a bit. It was still among the dumbest things Joe could have done. The only time CJ should have seen game action at the MLB level is when the Cubs were getting blown out.
dmick89Quote Reply
I dunno. He’s been solid with the bat this year, but not earth-shattering. He can’t field anything hit at him at all. And he’s in his walk year. Maybe some sort of bidding war ensues as he’s one of the few available bats that can make a moderate difference, but barring that, I would think the price tag would be at least semi-reasonable.
But maybe the Cubs don’t even have something semi-reasonable to offer… (dying laughing).
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Given his rental status, is it beyond ridiculous to think the Tigers would let him go for Almora? It seems like it could save them $3 million and give them a guy with at least some potential upside. I don’t think it’s been particularly helpful for Almora to be sitting so much. If the Tigers had scouts who think his tools are better than his stats, I could imagine that deal happening. Maybe.
andcountingQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
I think Aramis Ademan for Castellanos would be fine. Ademan is now where Torres was when we traded him for Chapman but not as good. But Castellanos isn’t as good as Chapman. You can throw in Cam Bellegos to be Rashad Crawford, and Zagunis to be Billy McKinney.
BVSQuote Reply
Big if true.
andcountingQuote Reply
Robel!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Kyle!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
War Bear
berseliusQuote Reply
Rizzo is so slow, but I’ll take it.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Frustrating that Mills couldn’t lay off that 3-2 pitch.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Stupid Pirates.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Just saw the highlight of the Garcia HR – that ball was crushed
berseliusQuote Reply
Maldonado showing off (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
I see Wick back up for Edwards. I was going to suggest he Break out the Brach on the roster.
BVSQuote Reply
berselius,
I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have a catcher who can steal strikes.
PerkinsQuote Reply
BVS,
Brach’s been No-goot all season
BVSQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
BVS,
Best I can do Smokestack. Pretty lame though, and you may have to be a Midwesterner to get it (if you aren’t ).
BVSQuote Reply
Brach is warming up. Nice of Joe to let us all know we can hit the hay.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Brach will be the cinnamon redhot that the Giants offense needs.
BVSQuote Reply
andcounting,
That’s what Ryno said.
BVSQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
Mlbtr also says Cubs interested in Sogard, who would be a rental. Maaybe for Bijan Rademacher, but not much more. (Do we still have him?)
BVSQuote Reply
Brewers lose!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Huh, guess it was a night off for Hader.
berseliusQuote Reply
Hopefully Bryzzo Souvenir Co can show off their new insurance agency affiliate here.
berseliusQuote Reply
Strop sucks.
dmick89Quote Reply
Dammit
BVSQuote Reply
Man, I forgot what a dumpster fire Twitter is.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
If the internet were sports, Twitter would be the Cubs bullpen.
andcountingQuote Reply
I fell asleep on the couch in the top of the eighth, so I think this still counts as an official Cubs win.
berseliusQuote Reply
andcounting,
I still miss the old days, when I would actually defend twitter as the ‘good’ social media platform. IMO when they added threading it pretty much destroyed the character of the site. Though maybe the fire was always burning in the dumpster from the start, and it just hadn’t gotten big enough for me to smell it yet.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I started out loving it. Then I realized it wasn’t good for me, too distracting. Then I took a break from it for awhile but thought it still served a valuable purpose and would use it intermittently for specific purposes, and it seemed mostly fine but occasionally out of control. After a longer break from it, I revisited and found even the aspects I used to like about it to be toxic.
The illusion of significance, the illusion of accurate representation, and the illusion of effectiveness are what really make it terrible.
But yeah, I don’t know if it changed at some point or if the illusions it perpetuates make it impossible to see how bad it is while you’re using it.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I liked the short character count, it forced you to be pithy and stopped people from just ranting about shit, which is why I stopped using facebook years ago. If you wanted to go on a long rant you were basically screaming into the void because it would be broken up and scattered all over your followers feeds. Now you log on and it’s fucking exhausting as you’re battered by 15 different urgent tweetstorms.
berseliusQuote Reply
I’ve never used twitter that much and I can’t remember the last time I checked out my timeline. I have about 25-30 people’s accounts bookmarked in safari and when I check those out throughout the day. It’s been a few years since I sifted through my timeline and I never did much of that anyway. So as far as I use it, I like it. Most of the accounts I have bookmarked are about politics. I realize I could create a list, but then I’d be using the twitter app far more than I want to so this forces me to use twitter in a way that I can take advantage of what twitter is best at: giving voice to intelligent people who don’t have a large platform. Fuck the rest. (dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
Twitter might actually be best at exporting hate and bullying, but the way I use it allows me to mostly not see that aspect of it.
dmick89Quote Reply
Where else could you see these hot takes?
Never really used twitter before except what you guys linked. Always seemed silly to me, but I think especially now as dm says it probably the best at exporting hate and bullying.
WaLiQuote Reply
Twitter’s policies are really weird. Half of what Trump says violates their own stated policies yet they do nothing and they’re reluctant to piss conservatives off too. If they just stuck by the policies, twitter would be a much better place. It’s really not that difficult. It’s like something else mentioned in this thread: trying juveniles as juveniles. It isn’t difficult. It’s made difficult by idiots who think they can better find a happy medium of tolerance. In other words, they’re idiots.
dmick89Quote Reply
might be time to think about trading descalso you guys. i know that no one wants to see him go, but cubs could get a pretty nice return for him. impact bat and 2-3 top 5 org prospects at a minimum.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
That’s nuts. His projections had him getting about 100 hits this year. He’s got another 90 or so left. You can’t trade that kind of cant-miss potential.
andcountingQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
Throw in Chatwood and Almora and we’re talking Mike Trout territory in the possible return.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I’d want more than Trout. The Cubs would be giving up three players and only getting one in return. No way is that a fair deal.
dmick89Quote Reply
Do the Angels still have the rights to Tim Salmon?
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
Phil Rogers agrees.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Keeping in mind the Cubs can’t afford Trout, the deal is as impossible as it is unfair. It becomes a much better deal for the Cubs if they forget about Trout and go after the guy they should have had all along: Tommy. La. Stella.
andcountingQuote Reply
(dying laughing), Almora batting fifth tonight.
berseliusQuote Reply
Damn, I thought he would be out by a mile
berseliusQuote Reply
Baerant coming through tonight.
berseliusQuote Reply
(dying laughing) at that filthy Darvish pitch.
berseliusQuote Reply
I’ll take 33 pitches though three for Darvish
berseliusQuote Reply
Heyward!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Heyward!
berseliusQuote Reply
Don’t walk the leadoff man.
PerkinsQuote Reply
It’s so frustrating that even an allegedly forward-thinking manager like Maddon believes in the “don’t use your closer in a tie game on the road” superstition.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Just lose already, Jesus.
andcountingQuote Reply
Hendricks?
andcountingQuote Reply
Don’t tell me what to do.
JesusQuote Reply
(dying laughing), I was waiting for that.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I was supposed to come back to judge the quick and the dead and all that, but instead I decided to scale things back a bit and stick with coming back and merely commenting on this discredited website.
JesusQuote Reply
Jesus,
People really went way too far into the weeds on their eschatological theories. It’s all really about the characters, isn’t it?
andcountingQuote Reply
Jesus,
https://www.theonion.com/christ-returns-to-nba-1819563859
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
(dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
Lester —–>scratched due to bronchitis
Chatwood—–>starting today
PerkinsQuote Reply
Contreras —–> Cubs
Russell ——> AAA
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Assuming the Contreras injury doesn’t become some nagging long term thing, I’m kinda glad he got additional rest. Same thing with Lester being sick today. I’ll gladly exchange a few stints of deduced win probability during the regular season for slightly healthier, better rested players come October (also assuming they’re not all fishing/golfing in October).
And Addison pretty obviously needs at least a break. I disagree with the mass calls for his DFA, but I don’t think the intense scrutiny he’s under is something he’s able to rise above right now.
andcountingQuote Reply
Javy!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I hate to say it, but I think there has to be some analysis done as far as the reward vs. loss in this decision. Is Addison Russell someone, as a human, who deserves to just be thrown away? No, but do the Cubs have to do the rehabilitating? I think the answer here depends on their potential benefit. I don’t think it’s high enough to keep him around, but at the same time, they’re without Zobrist so I don’t see how they can get rid of him either. At the very least he’s passable in a pinch, but beyond this season I don’t see the Cubs as having any need whatsoever for Addison Russell and I hope the Cubs figure out a way so that he’s not on this team next season.
dmick89Quote Reply
Almora base hit alert.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Jesus, Albert.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Bryant!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Almora did something good!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
He also completed a circuit of the bases without falling down.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I assume Madden knew Chatwood would be starting today which is why he didn’t pitch last might
WaLiQuote Reply
dmick89,
I don’t really disagree. I probably feel slightly personally indebted because he was a significant contributor to the Cubs winning a World Series and the degree to which I enjoyed that season. Whatever terrible shit he did, I benefited from him and still feel invested in him. So personally, I hope for good things for him. What anybody else feels toward him is really none of my business.
andcountingQuote Reply
WaLi,
It also probably explains why Cyle pinch hit. I really hope that never happens again. (dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
Oh good. KB left the game with an injured knee.
andcountingQuote Reply
Relief pitcher hitting alert.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Brach is pinch hitting? Maybe I’m confused, but that seems weird.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Short bench after Bryzzo left the game for various reasons, I guess Joe wanted to save his position players for possible higher leverage situations. Still a little head scratching though.
berseliusQuote Reply
M ——-> Inverted
berseliusQuote Reply
Veronica Mars is still awesome.
dmick89Quote Reply
Stupid Pirates.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
More or less my thoughts as well. There’s quite a bit of emotion tied up in Russell, starting with the trade that landed him way back when and what a morale boost it was at the time. Then the postseason HRs in 2016. Along with Schwarber (and Soler), he’s kind of the poster child for what this team might have been but didn’t quite pull off.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Back to Shawn Goldman. That’s a really big honor and kudos to him.
Also explains his lack of presence here in the last few years and his strategic thinking. First, get Pluto demoted to exoplanet status, then when the public freaks out, you are there to save the day as an exoplanet scientist. Kind of like selling the Pirates on Bobby Hill and getting Aramis and Lofton in return, or the Orioles on some 5th rate SP and getting good Jake and Strop.
Come to think of it, Shawn, please take the next week off and convince the Pirates that Russell, Zagunis, Happ, and Ademan are worth parting with Felipe Vasquez and Starlin Marte.
BVSQuote Reply
don’t forget about steve clevenger!
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Happ——>MLB
??????——>Not MLB
PerkinsQuote Reply
Maybe cut Descalso?
Hope it’s not because of KB’s knee injury.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
If it’s an injury to KB, the Cubs better not be buyers at the break. They’ve got no shot without a healthy Bryant.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
That would really, really suck. He has been (somehow quietly) on fire lately.
andcountingQuote Reply
.375/.470/.750 in his last 15 games. The Cubs are 10-5 in that stretch. Without Bryant, I’m pretty sure they’d be 0-16.
andcountingQuote Reply
Last I read (not every word, but some of them anyway), KB said the knee was a minor thing, and he expects to be out there Friday.
This might be more about Happ earning his way back and the pretty stark need for anyone who might have a chance of hitting a baseball off the bench than anything else.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
I’m guessing they send a reliever down because they have about 5 that should be in AAA.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
My money is on a trade in the works freeing up roster space. Full disclosure: my money = $4.39.
andcountingQuote Reply
Cubs’ lead in the NL Central————-> ––
andcountingQuote Reply
Stupid Pirates for sucking against the Cardinals
Stupid Cubs for sucking against the Giants.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Stupid Reds, Brewers, and Pirates for not also being in first.
andcountingQuote Reply
Considering how much the Cubs suck on the road, there’s a decent chance they’re at least 2-3 games out within a week.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
I read somewhere that the Cubs have the most road losses in the NL. More than the Marlins even
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
You could check baseball reference to see if it’s true (it’s not).
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/2019-standings.shtml
The Cubs have fewer road losses than the Marlins, Reds and Rockies.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
The Cubs do have the fewest road wins, though.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I think Len said on the broadcast yesterday the Cubs had the lowest winning percentage on the road or something like that. I didn’t bother looking because I didn’t really care if it was accurate. They’ve sucked on the road and that’s really all that matters.
dmick89Quote Reply
The overall record is all that matters. Home/road splits are almost all noise.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
I know that, but it still doesn’t change the fact that they have sucked on the road. Will they be as bad going forward? Probably not, but up to this point, they’ve been complete shit. I think that’s the only point being made here.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Whether it bears out statistically I have no clue, but the shittiness of the bullpen this year has made *watching* them on the road absolutely miserable. When it’s a tie game late and the bullpen has to shut the home team down just to survive, those situations feel so hopeless. I guess what I’m saying is, it seems like when the Cubs are on the road in a situation where the home team needs to score only one run to win, there’s been about a 2% chance the Cubs will win. Obviously that doesn’t account for a huge portion of their road woes, but it feels like it, and it hasn’t been fun to follow.
andcountingQuote Reply
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Not enough walks for the Cubs. Pass.
dmick89Quote Reply
http://www.obstructedview.net/series-preview-chicago-cubs-55-47-at-milwaukee-brewers-54-50/
berseliusQuote Reply