Chicago Cubs 2025

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#1,901      
EyeoftheIllini
Trueblue777 said:
if you haven’t noticed it’s a good thing the Cubs didn’t trade for Suarez as Shaw is by far outperforming him since the All Star break. Better defensively too.
Shaw BA 300 HR 9 RBI 18 OPS 1.080
Suarez BA175 HR 7 RBI 16 OPS .651
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I think most had moved off the idea of Suarez as the trade deadline grew closer because Shaw was showing signs of life. The big miss by Hoyer was going with Soroka as the only SP pick up. Maybe if he hadn’t got hurt he might have worked out, but there were signs that he might not be totally healthy.

I would have put Soroka behind 6 SPs who got moved at the deadline. Here they are in order with their starts with new club.

Merrill Kelly
4 starts (0-1) — 22.0 IP, 18 K. 4.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP

Shane Bieber
1 start (1-0) — 6 IP, 9 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

Zack Littell
3 starts (1-0) — 17.2 IP, 14 K. 3.06 ERA, 1.08 WHIP

Charlie Morton
4 starts (2-2) — 22.1 IP, 29 K. 3.63 ERA, 1.08 WHIP

Adrian Houser
3 starts (0-2) — 15.2 IP, 13 K. 5.17 ERA, 1.60 WHIP

Dustin May
3 starts (1-2) — 15.2 IP, 17 K, 2.87 ERA, 1.47 WHIP

Bieber probably should be number one, but he had been hurt all season (1 start) and was still rehabbing — though throwing well in the minors. So he couldn’t have filled a void until Taillon got back. He’s also the only guy who wasn’t a true rental, though he had only a player option, so he might have ended up being one.

Houser is the only one with poor stats, but he did throw 5 shutout innings his last time out. And it is possible that not having to change cities and deal with all that entails would have helped his early game performances. FYI, I put him below Morton because Charlie’s stats have been much better since making a pitching change. Plus I’d trust him more in a playoff game than Houser if it came to that.

Thankfully Taillon is back and looked good. And can’t underestimate the job Colin Rea has done. Not totally sure he can keep it up though, and as the early season showed he could have slotted into the pen well. Hopefully pitching holds up and bats can wake up more, and the Cubbies can make a run.
 
#1,902      
EyeoftheIllini
DRS said:
What is with all the cub negativity on this board!!

Massive three games there, Cincy just took a loss, with a win today 4-1 in this 5 gamer and we are moaning about slow lineup changes?!? Come on now. A potential corner can be turned today for real.

Honestly, we've gone a while now with everybody regressing to their means and we are due a breakout in a major way. Odds are it will happen. If we weather this August with a positive record and hit a grove in the spring it really doesn't matter if we win the division or not.
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My “favorite” negative posts on here are the ones that said something like I’ve had it and not going to watch any more. Hey, that’s their choice, but do they really need to announce that on this board? When I give up on a Cubs team in playoff contention, it will be the first time. But then again, I hate when fans boo their home town players too.
 
#1,903      
DRS
EyeoftheIllini said:
My “favorite” negative posts on here are the ones that said something like I’ve had it and not going to watch any more. Hey, that’s their choice, but do they really need to announce that on this board? When I give up on a Cubs team in playoff contention, it will be the first time. But then again, I hate when fans boo their home town players too.
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giving up on a team with like a pace of 93 wins?!? its absurd
 
#1,905      
jsmoke2215
Biggest game of the year... and Seiya Suzuki ends the first inning rally with a truly abysmal double play. Horrible swing, didn't hustle, nice job Seiya!
 
#1,906      
jsmoke2215
You will never win a world series with Imanaga as your ace and Seiya Suzuki hitting 3rd.

These guys are not good enough for major league baseball.
 
#1,907      
Jimbo
Too many easy outs in our lineup today. Tucker, PCA, Swanson……
 
#1,910      
DRS
EllderIlliniFan said:
Why do you sit Shaw who is 3 for 8 in the series with a Homerun and 3 runs scored and Caissie who is 3 for 8 with a homerun and 4 rbis and 3 runs scored?
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Shaw has been almost the best hitter in the game since the break and just hit a huge one yesterday, bizarre
 
#1,912      
Jimbo
I say continue to sit Tucker for Cassie, and play Castro over Suzuki.
 
#1,913      
EllderIlliniFan
Suzuki 2 for 17 in series, Last HR Aug 6. Tucker 0 ro 8 Last HR Jul 19, Happ 4 for 14 last HR Aug 6, PCA 2 for 16 Last HR Jul 23 Shaw 3 for 11 last HR Aug 20 Caissie 4 for 12 Last HR Aug 19. Sit Shaw and Caissie after they were key to 3 wins.????????????????
 
#1,914      
IanKEvans2
EyeoftheIllini said:
I think most had moved off the idea of Suarez as the trade deadline grew closer because Shaw was showing signs of life. The big miss by Hoyer was going with Soroka as the only SP pick up. Maybe if he hadn’t got hurt he might have worked out, but there were signs that he might not be totally healthy.

I would have put Soroka behind 6 SPs who got moved at the deadline. Here they are in order with their starts with new club.

Merrill Kelly
4 starts (0-1) — 22.0 IP, 18 K. 4.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP

Shane Bieber
1 start (1-0) — 6 IP, 9 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

Zack Littell
3 starts (1-0) — 17.2 IP, 14 K. 3.06 ERA, 1.08 WHIP

Charlie Morton
4 starts (2-2) — 22.1 IP, 29 K. 3.63 ERA, 1.08 WHIP

Adrian Houser
3 starts (0-2) — 15.2 IP, 13 K. 5.17 ERA, 1.60 WHIP

Dustin May
3 starts (1-2) — 15.2 IP, 17 K, 2.87 ERA, 1.47 WHIP

Bieber probably should be number one, but he had been hurt all season (1 start) and was still rehabbing — though throwing well in the minors. So he couldn’t have filled a void until Taillon got back. He’s also the only guy who wasn’t a true rental, though he had only a player option, so he might have ended up being one.

Houser is the only one with poor stats, but he did throw 5 shutout innings his last time out. And it is possible that not having to change cities and deal with all that entails would have helped his early game performances. FYI, I put him below Morton because Charlie’s stats have been much better since making a pitching change. Plus I’d trust him more in a playoff game than Houser if it came to that.

Thankfully Taillon is back and looked good. And can’t underestimate the job Colin Rea has done. Not totally sure he can keep it up though, and as the early season showed he could have slotted into the pen well. Hopefully pitching holds up and bats can wake up more, and the Cubbies can make a run.
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I concur with your post and its sentiment, especially around Bieber (I have a soft spot for Cleveland). I will add that he hasn't made his debut with Toronto yet. Those might be stats from his rehab start in AAA.
 
#1,915      
champaignchris
EyeoftheIllini said:
Maybe if he hadn’t got hurt he might have worked out, but there were signs that he might not be totally healthy.
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The issue isn’t so much that Soroka is the one that got hurt. The issue is that the move made it seem like they were assuming that none of their starting pitchers would get hurt for the remainder of the season when Taillon and Assad were currently on the IL, Imanega had just come off the IL and Brown, Horton, and Boyd were all pushing towards career highs a season after spending most of their seasons on the IL.

Soroka only made one start. Horton has already been pulled early despite being on a fairly strict 75-ish pitch limit. And there’s still 34 games to go.
 
#1,916      
EyeoftheIllini
IanKEvans2 said:
I concur with your post and its sentiment, especially around Bieber (I have a soft spot for Cleveland). I will add that he hasn't made his debut with Toronto yet. Those might be stats from his rehab start in AAA.
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You’re right. That was actually his second start LAST year before he got hurt. He’s slated to go tomorrow against Marlins. His last rehab start he threw 6 or 7 shutout innings at AAA.

Being in Ohio, I see a fair amount of Clev and Cincy games on TV and have always liked Bieber. Rooting for him to do well. Wish I was rooting for him to do well in a Cubs uniform. As we’ve seen with Boyd, can do a lot worse than grabbing pitchers from Cleveland. Unfortunately Elijah Morgan hasn’t worked out (he was damn tough last year), but how much of that was because of injury. Just saw he pitched a perfect inning (13 pitches, 10 strikes, 3 ground outs) at South Bend yesterday in his first rehab appearance. He might yet be able to help Cubs down the stretch.
 
#1,917      
EyeoftheIllini
champaignchris said:
The issue isn’t so much that Soroka is the one that got hurt. The issue is that the move made it seem like they were assuming that none of their starting pitchers would get hurt for the remainder of the season when Taillon and Assad were currently on the IL, Imanega had just come off the IL and Brown, Horton, and Boyd were all pushing towards career highs a season after spending most of their seasons on the IL.

Soroka only made one start. Horton has already been pulled early despite being on a fairly strict 75-ish pitch limit. And there’s still 34 games to go.
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Totally agree. I was beating the drum for adding two SPs at deadline. But if they felt cost was too high for two, Soroka should not have been the only one they got. Heck, could make a strong case they would have been better off picking up a third reliever instead.
 
#1,918      
Dr D
Jimbo said:
I say continue to sit Tucker for Cassie, and play Castro over Suzuki.
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Once again, Counsel sits the players who are doing well. Oh well, young bucks need to rest, don't want to wear them out. Win three in a row playing Cassie and Shaw, and they are a major reason for all three wins. Why don't they put Tucker on the disabled list so he can heal?

Does anyone know of any other manager who would, day after day, put his two worst hitters in the 2 and 3 positions in the batting order? I have been watching MLB since 1967 and cannot think of a single one.

Time to make some changes before they fall out of the payoffs.
 
#1,919      
EyeoftheIllini
IlliniFanTX said:
Putting Brasier in the game here feels like a forfeit. I've not been too much of a Counsell critic but my goodness. Brasier has been AWFUL lately and you put him in a one-run game in the 8th?
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Blame Hoyer. I’m not a big Counsel fan, but he can only play who he has and pen has been worked hard of late. As much as a win would have been great, over using someone for that win could lead to multiple losses down the line. If we had been up one rather than down one, I don’t think we would have seen Brasier.
 
#1,920      
Jimbo
Dr D said:
Once again, Counsel sits the players who are doing well. Oh well, young bucks need to rest, don't want to wear them out. Win three in a row playing Cassie and Shaw, and they are a major reason for all three wins. Why don't they put Tucker on the disabled list so he can heal?

Does anyone know of any other manager who would, day after day, put his two worst hitters in the 2 and 3 positions in the batting order? I have been watching MLB since 1967 and cannot think of a single one.

Time to make some changes before they fall out of the payoffs.
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Normally i don’t like second guessing baseball managers because let’s face it, baseball is a game of failure (good hitters make outs 70% of the time), so most moves won’t work out. They’re just playing for nudge the percentages in their favor. But i just don’t understand keeping Tucker and Suzuki in the 2,3 spot. That combination has been killing us. It’s like 2 automatic outs in the heart of the order, 4 times a game. And then a struggling PCA coming up 4th or 5th. Toigh to score runs that way. But i’m an engineer, not a baseball manager, so i’m sure he’s knows a little more than i do.
 
#1,921      
GoodePodzMelendez
Hoerner should lead off, Busch second, PCA third, Kelly 4th, Shaw then Caissie, Happ, Swanson and Castro. Put Tucker o the DL and give Suzuki some time off. It’s a balanced lineup who will put the ball in play.
 
#1,922      
Illiniaaron
Dr D said:
Once again, Counsel sits the players who are doing well. Oh well, young bucks need to rest, don't want to wear them out. Win three in a row playing Cassie and Shaw, and they are a major reason for all three wins. Why don't they put Tucker on the disabled list so he can heal?

Does anyone know of any other manager who would, day after day, put his two worst hitters in the 2 and 3 positions in the batting order? I have been watching MLB since 1967 and cannot think of a single one.

Time to make some changes before they fall out of the payoffs.
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They’re not going to miss the playoffs. The Reds are really the only team that could knock them out of the wildcard. The Cubs can keep playing roughly .500 ball like they’ve been doing since June 1 and it would take a big run for the Reds to take them out.
 
#1,923      
KBLEE
Illiniaaron said:
They’re not going to miss the playoffs. The Reds are really the only team that could knock them out of the wildcard. The Cubs can keep playing roughly .500 ball like they’ve been doing since June 1 and it would take a big run for the Reds to take them out.
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And, if they somehow end up tied with the Reds (don't think it will happen), the Cubs own the tie-breaker.
 
#1,924      
IlliniFanTX
EyeoftheIllini said:
Blame Hoyer. I’m not a big Counsel fan, but he can only play who he has and pen has been worked hard of late. As much as a win would have been great, over using someone for that win could lead to multiple losses down the line. If we had been up one rather than down one, I don’t think we would have seen Brasier.
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Yeah, reflecting on it, you are correct. Everyone else was pretty used up at that point. It was basically down to him and Pomeranz and you go with the righty to start there.
 
#1,925      
IlliniFanTX
KBLEE said:
And, if they somehow end up tied with the Reds (don't think it will happen), the Cubs own the tie-breaker.
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As bad as the Mets have been, I wouldn't be surprised if the Reds just overtake them and that ends up pretty easily being the six (Brewers, Phillies, Dodgers, Padres, Cubs, Reds).
 
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