OSS: Cubs shut down by Corey Kluber in the game they had the lowest odds in the series to win anyway.
Three up:
- Ben Zobrist was the Cubs bright spot on the day, going 3-4 and leading off two failed Cubs rallies. He doubled off Kluber to lead off the second and had a leadoff single in the seventh that knocked him out of the game. He also hit a single off Miller with a man on to continue a Cubs rally in the eighth off a pitch count-y Miller but the Cubs never managed to cash the opportunities in.
- Kyle Schwarber just missed a home run in the fourth, settling for a double. I didn’t think he was ready, but he had some great PAs. This is pretty much found money for the Cubs, so yay. Glad to be wrong on this one so far.
- Corey Kluber and probably Andrew Miller aren’t pitching tomorrow.
Three down:
- Lester seemed to get rattled by the baserunners this time around, notably losing his control in the first inning which was Cleveland’s main rally against him. Ross was less sharp with the transfer when it came to sherrifing the basepaths, which helps mitigate this stuff. Shit happens, I’m more annoyed about it reinforcing the narrative than anything else.
- The Cubs struck out 15 times tonight. Kluber is really fucking good, but part of the plan last offseason was to get more contact against these guys. At least Zobrist fulfilled his role on that one.
- I hate watching these things on the road, I got stuck with some bar rando who may have dated one of my inlaws in his youth and wouldn’t shut up about fossil fuel conspiracy theories. Whee.
Next up: Jay Carrieta faces Trevor Bauer at 6 pm CT tomorrow, an hour earlier than tonight. Go get them tomorrow Cubs, you’ve got the advantage for several games here.
Comments
dmick89,
I wasn’t worried about Scharber, so other than an opportunity to say, “I told you so,” this game was a total downer for me.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
I was pissed in the moment, mostly about that thing we agreed on that will not be named, and I’m a little doomy about Jake tomorrow, but this loss isn’t really lingering now that it is over and done with.
Kluber was very, very good. Nigh unhittable. Lester would have needed to be damn near perfect, and he wasn’t. Miller seemed more mortal than normal, but he was still tough. Never seemed like a winnable game. Not even at 2-0.
If this were regular season, it wouldn’t even register. Ye Olde Tip of the Cap to Kluber. Get ’em tomorrow.
Maybe that’s the attitude to take.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Agreed. Cal Scharber looked about as good as one could hope for all things considered.
Mr. Coghlan otoh…
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Speaking of Mr. Scharber. Just watched the double again. How the fuck did that not get out? Man.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
SKQuote Reply
Maddon continues to frustrate me: http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0582805856551180501-4
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
If you’re not going to pinch hit your bat-first outfielder for your light hitting catcher with the bases loaded and two outs, why is the bat-first outfielder on the roster?
JonKneeVQuote Reply
That guy with the fucking “Bartman for Prez” and “84+03 Chokers” was really annoying. Way to look like a total asshole on national tv, guy.
EdwinQuote Reply
Edwin,
There is still much national bullshit about goats and bartman. Idiots don’t realize those are over now. This is annoying.
SKQuote Reply
Now that’s more like it, Cubs. Don’t try to act like you were going to make this series competitive. Just get swept away and “wait ’til next year.”
If I can be serious for a minute, I’m enjoying the hell out of seeing the Cubs in the World Series. We’re getting to see something that I never thought we’d see. Millions of people lived full lives and and hoped to see what we’re seeing, yet weren’t as lucky as we are. No matter what happens in this series, I feel at peace with this team right now.
RynoQuote Reply
Why did Contreras apologize for disrespecting his team and playing the game the wrong way? What’d I miss?
EDIT: OK, I see he did a premature bat flip on an out.
Weirder still — it appears his tweet was sent during the game?
https://twitter.com/WContreras40/status/791133350685732865
SKQuote Reply
SK,
It wasn’t an out, it was a double that barely missed being a homer. People are dumb about this stuff. The score was 6-0, who cares?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I didn’t like Willson’s premature celebration, but at that point in the game, the advantage of an extra base is almost nil. Not a big deal. (It’s probably a good idea to break that habit, though. Next time it might matter.)
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Edwin,
Neither looked as bad as the guy with the “not in my teepee” sign.
dmick89Quote Reply
Did the guy with the sign have some type of inside track with the camera man? He kept flashing signals, I don’t know if those were taunts, or if he was communicating with the camera guy. It looked like he was trying to call a false start on the Cubs.
MillertimeQuote Reply
dmick89,
I missed that one, thank goodness. MLB should just force Cleveland to get a new logo, or just change the team name. Or both. I guess it would be lame for them to change their name but keep the logo. Probably wouldn’t make sense.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Millertime,
To me it looked like whenever he flashed the sign, the director would cut away to a different camera. To compensate, he tried to hold them up very quickly. Or, your idea about a fan and cameraman colluding to beat the Cubs.
SKQuote Reply
At first I actually thought it said “B4 03 Chokers” – and that he was saying the Cubs sucked up until 2003 but have been a decent team since then.
SKQuote Reply
Willson Concepción, like all latinos—and you can add Javy Sánchez to this list—is a showboater because he grew up disrespecting the game. There are only two ways to play the game properly—as an emotionless robot or a belligerent asshole who screams at people—aka The White Way.
There is no fun in baseball.
The Cubs will never win the World Series if they are having fun. The game is too hard and it takes too much work. This is exactly why the Dodgers will win in five.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Which is fascinating, because last I checked, his Cleveland baseball team hasn’t exactly been historically great at closing out a series either.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
FYI, I forgot to include a bullet about the seventh inning lack of PH because I was learning about Chinese moon bases.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
We are falling behind the Chinese and Russians in moon base building. This nation is going to hell.
dmick89Quote Reply
So the Indians name is a tribute to Sockalexis, eh? Here’s an idea—the Blue Sox—because thank god the Red Sox already exist (dying laughing).
Oh, and while they are at it, they can donate money to help the descendants of the earliest American settlers dealing with alcoholism.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I would be half-okay with this if it had a picture of a house. But only half because people don’t know their history—no great lakes tribes used tipis.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Which ones? There are several.
mylesQuote Reply
Looking up State “symbols” of Ohio. It appears to be mostly crap you find in your backyard. State bird is the Cardinal, so that won’t work. State beverage is tomato juice (like v8, or just a pureed tomato? It doesn’t specify). Stat fossil, the trilobite. State frog? You guessed it, the bullfrog. State fruit? Anyone? Bueller? The tomato. State ‘gemstone’? Ohio flint. State insect? Ladybug, and judging by the picture on this website, specifically the Asian ladybug, an introduced species from Asia, but whatever. So far no good. The state mammal is the White-tailed deer, the male of which is the BUCK, and the state nickname is the Buckeye state. So maybe…
The Cleveland… BROWNS. Nailed it.
joshQuote Reply
cerulean,
Not in my hogan.
joshQuote Reply
Ohio is pretty much a crappy state, but their state tree has to be the buckeye right? Which are pretty great trees, though I don’t know if theirs is the yellow buckeye or red flowering buckeye, Aesculus pavia, which is a beautiful tree. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AEPA
Nate the old recalcitrant one from a long time agoQuote Reply
Now I know what to blame for my streak of people sitting next to me on airplanes ordering that disgusting drink.
berseliusQuote Reply
The ones mining helium-3 that the oil industries don’t want us to know about.
berseliusQuote Reply
not in my longhouse
berseliusQuote Reply
Not in my Beef Castle
mylesQuote Reply
berselius,
When we landed on the moon we should have just stayed there and taken all the helium-3.
dmick89Quote Reply
SK,
Game was over by midnight eastern, his tweet was 12:45 a.m. Would have had a triple without the flip, but down 6-0 it wasn’t a big deal. Watching some other hard hit flies die is the wind earlier (Schwarber) he should have been running, but on TV it sure seemed like it was gone at the moment of impact.
BVSQuote Reply
As far as food goes, Cleveland is home of the “Polish Boy” sandwhich. From Wikipediea: “It consists of a link of kielbasa placed in a bun, and covered with a layer of french fries, a layer of barbecue sauce or hot sauce, and a layer of coleslaw.”
MillertimeQuote Reply
Millertime,
Sounds about as awful as Cincinnati’s chili.
dmick89Quote Reply
If there was a hell, I imagine Cincinnati chili is served three meals a day.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
With the alternate option being St. Louis style pizza.
MillertimeQuote Reply
I went through Cincinnati on my way to one of the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati, and I have to say it seemed like a nice/pretty town. But then again I never met the people or ate the food and I’ve learned it pretty much all comes down to that.
joshQuote Reply
Nate the old recalcitrant one from a long time ago,
Just don’t eat the buckeyes, which contain enough tannin to kill a horse.
joshQuote Reply
josh,
I actually think the “Cleveland Trilobites” would be an excellent team name.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
josh,
I have an uncle who lives in Cincinnati and I’ve gone several times over the years to visit and catch some Cubs games. It’s a nice city. I’ve not come across anything or anyone that turned me off. I’ve always had a good time except for that first night there when I tried their famous chili. Worst food ever. I wouldn’t even feed that to an animal.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
My vote is for Cleveland Steamers. Seems pretty obvious to me.
dmick89Quote Reply
I’ve only been to 5 or 6 major league ballparks, but GABP is easily the best one (obviously I like Wrigley Field more, but as an objective observer, let’s get real). Cincinnati is a pretty nice city, all things considered. Sleepy downtown, though.
mylesQuote Reply
dmick89,
I’m dead serious. They’ve stood by and done nothing while using racist imagery and the name of a people that were slaughtered. Being forced to be known as the Cleveland Steamers for the next century would be a small piece of justice. Because fuck them.
dmick89Quote Reply
Anyone suggest bringing back the Cleveland Spiders?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
myles,
I love GAB.
dmick89Quote Reply
If we are actually thinking about what Cleveland is famous for, it’s either the Cleveland James of the Cleveland River Fire.
mylesQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
I like that idea after a century of being the Steamers.
dmick89Quote Reply
For our anniversary I’ll get my wife some nice flint earrings. If she complains, I’ll say it’s just part of my Ohio heritage (my mom came from there).
SKQuote Reply
dmick89,
Cleveland Hot Carls.
joshQuote Reply
dmick89,
Now I kind of want to try it.
joshQuote Reply
josh,
A Cleveland Steamer?
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
(dying laughing)
WaLiQuote Reply
dmick89,
Well, I meant Cincinnati Chili, but it’s hard to tell at this point which you find more repulsive.
joshQuote Reply
If anyone knows the link to a stream with the game, that would be nice. The streaming services here aren’t carrying FOX at all.
joshQuote Reply
Jesse Rogers is hearing that Soler is starting today
(Question mark guy gif)
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Prediction: David Ross pinch hits for him in the 7th.
joshQuote Reply
josh,
Well David Ross can take a walk or get a hit.
WaLiQuote Reply
I hope this game isn’t postponed. I like the early start plus I don’t want Miller and Kluber to get any extra rest.
SKQuote Reply
SK,
Are there talks of the game getting postponed? That would suck.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
I have seen some chatter to that effect from the crooked media.
SKQuote Reply
SK,
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED!
WaLiQuote Reply
SK,
Crooked weatherman saying that rain is in the forecast! But behind closed doors, he’s saying it’s going to be sunny and 85 degrees! SAD!
JonKneeVQuote Reply
I’ll accept the results of this world series…..if the Cubs win
berseliusQuote Reply
Other rigged systems:
1. Solar
2. Dewey Decimal
3. Of a down
MillertimeQuote Reply
I keep getting ads asking me to donate money to Trump, and in return I can get my name on a wall of Trump Donors. Do they check these things, or is it possible for me to get Turd Furguson on that wall? IC Wiener also has money to contribute.
MillertimeQuote Reply
To day’s World Series base ball squadron:
Dexter Fowler, CF
Kris Bryant, 3B
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Ben Zobrist, LF
Kyle Schwarber, DH
Javy Baez, 2B
Willson Contreras, C
Jorge Soler, RF
Addison Russell, SS
Nice to see Jorge in there, but if he’s healthy enough to start, I’m not sure why he didn’t PH for Ross last night. I’m also hoping good Arrieta shows up, despite having Contreras behind the plate.
PerkinsQuote Reply
To day’s base ball squadron
Fowler
Bryant
Rizzo
Zobrist (Lf)
Schwarber
Baez
Contreras
Soler
Russell
berseliusQuote Reply
The chili. Easily.
dmick89Quote Reply
day’s ball squad:
Fowl
Bry
Rizz
Zob
Schwarb
Bae
Con
Sole
Rus
MillertimeQuote Reply
Millertime,
T d b b s
F
B
R
Z
S
B
C
S
R
berseliusQuote Reply
I can’t wait to see what lineup Joe is going to roll out today.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Anthony Rizzo the Rodentt,
Today’s, October 26th, Year of Our Lord 2016, Baseball Offensive Order and Defensive Position Starters:
Centerfield William Dexter Fowler
Third Baseman Kristopher Lee Bryant
First Baseman Anthony Vincent Rizzo
Leftfield Benjamin Thomas Zobrist
Designated Hitter Kyle Joseph Schwarber
Second Baseman Ednel Javier Baez
Catcher Willson Eduardo Contreras
Rightfield Jorge Carlos (Castillo) Soler
Shortstop Addison Warren Russell
—————
Pitching Jacob Joseph Arrieta
Wait no longer!
JonKneeVQuote Reply
If I were Joe, I’d bat Dexter Fowler first. He usually plays center field, has a pretty good on-base percentage, and is very fast so he’s not clogging up the base paths. I’d bat Kris Bryant second, even though he’s playing THIRD base, just to be sneaky like Joe.
The third spot in the lineup has to go to Rizzo, the 1B. It’s kinda a tossup to me whether you bat him third or fourth (‘cleanup’ as the kids these days say), but if he bats third, he DEFINITELY gets to bat in the first inning, and Rizzo looks like he wants to start strong out of the gate. I’d actually let Ben Zobrist bat cleanup because he played the best yesterday. Zobrist could play either corner outfield position, but I like him in left because I’m putting Jorge Soler in right (spoilers!), and Soler can’t move.
Fifth spot in the order is where things get tricky. The Cubs are a National League team, but due to a weird rule, because they’re playing in an American League stadium, they actually get to use a Designated Hitter instead of having Jacob Arrietta bat. I’d take advantage of that rule and let Kyle Schwarber bat fifth as the designated hitter instead of Jacobin.
Where was I? Second base, right field, shorthop, and catcher left for lineup spots six, seven, eight, nine. I’ll slot the lineup order to the position and then the position to the players. So batting sixth, I’d put the second baseman since it divides evenly. Seventh, the catcher, again as a surprise. Eighth, I’d put the right fielder, and ninth I’d put the shortstop since that works alphabetically.
I already told you that Soler was the right fielder, so that leaves a catcher, a shortstop, and a second baseman.
The shortstop is not a rookie.
The catcher’s favorite color is blue.
Javy Baez’s favorite color is red.
Willson Contreras is not playing 2B.
Can you solve the mystery?
umbraQuote Reply
I’m going to need to bust out one of those logic grids for this one
berseliusQuote Reply
umbra,
Jonathan Herrera is back?!?
JonKneeVQuote Reply
Non-rigged systems:
1. LCD sound
2. The Bob Seger
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Things I prefer rigged:
1. John Riggins.
2. The mainsail.
umbraQuote Reply
game thread up: http://obstructedview.net/world-series-game-2-cubs-indians-game-thread/
dmick89Quote Reply