I love the honest truth that this was a no-hitter against what turned out to be one of that year's best teams and probably the second-nastiest line-up. Unreal. Then a bunch of hulks and The Kid hit some homers.
Chicago Cubs 2026
PCA hit a 2 run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Busch walked with the bases loaded in the 10th. 7-6 good guys. 18 wins in the last 21 games.
When the Reds went up 6-4, I figured it was over and switched over to the basketball game. “Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all, the streak had to end at some point,” I said to myself.
So, I missed the PCA home run. Lesson learned.
So, I missed the PCA home run. Lesson learned.
Greatest 9 inning game ever pitched according to Bill James' Game Score Formula.
The pitching injuries are crazy... I'd swear we are snake bit, if it weren't for 3 walk-off wins in a row. Boyd didn't even get hurt playing baseball... he was playing with his kids.
Hoping Wiggins gets healthy soon and is also ready for the Show... (a lot to ask...) We can't afford to put Brown back in the rotation at this point. He is needed in his current role. Thielbar and Harvey should be back any day now...
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
This is wild, man
I had just moved out to Denver from Chicago and was still without a job. That was in the good old days when WGN broadcast all the games and, thankfully, my cable had been turned on. Watched the whole game.
Cubs have been hit hard, but all of the majors have been. There are approximately 175 pitchers on the IL and probably another 75 or so who are listed as day to day. I’m sure some of those in the latter group will end up on IL. If an organization can figure out how to keep their pitchers relatively healthy whether it be with conditioning, usage, how they throw, etc., it will have a huge advantage.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
The American League has a whole two teams over .500 this morning.
I believe we are tied for most players on IL... even crazier, all but Tyler "Who is that guy?" Austin, are pitchers.
The Rays are 5-10 against the NL Central and 19-2 against everyone else.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
This is an interesting point. Back in the 70s and 80s, guys weren't on pitch counts and there were four man rotations and there weren't really closers, at least in the same way there are closers now. So it wasn't out of the question that a guy would pitch 130 pitches in a game then go out there in four days and do it again. I realize that there is more crazy movement and pitches these days. I also know that maximum velocity and maximum spin rate are king. I wonder if there is or has been a study comparing the velocity and spin rates of the 70s and 80s to today and then correlate that back to injuries.
Is pitching 180 innings with more torque on the elbow and shoulder worse than pitching 300 innings with less torque? In thinking about it, would seem like less innings and five man rotations would result in less injuries but the eye test suggests otherwise. Maybe this year is an outlier, not sure. But it's an interesting discussion for sure.
Who will be the hero today?
I also think we tend to romanticize the few who were able to pitch huge innings totals back in the 70s-80s while forgetting those whose arms fell off before they got to age 30.
Mark Fidrych threw 250 innings at age 21, winning rookie of the year, and his career was effectively over at age 25.
Fernando Valenzuela was a HoF level pitcher while pitching 230+ innings a year from age 20-26, and was then a barely replacement level pitcher who could!’t stay healthy for the rest of his career.
The things Sandy Koufax had to do to keep pitching were nightmarish and he retired at age 30.
Bruce Sutter threw almost 100 innings a year out of the pen from age 23 to 31 and then his career was effectively over.
And these are just some of the big names. There’s an enormous number of guys who had one great 100 inning season out of the pen and then immediately got hurt and was never heard from again.
It's kind of wild. I'm sure it is something that will have to be considered in the next CBA. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more 6 man rotations in the future. If I had a say, I'd be advocating for another roster spot for pitchers. Other than the added expense, I think it would be a win for both the players and management. The schedule is relentless sometimes.
I don't think any Front Office is going to try to get guys not to throw so hard or attempt to generate less torque. It wouldn't work anyway. The vast majority of guys who make it to the majors are way too competitive to take anything for granted.
Seemingly, the only way to help the issue is less usage.
It would make a lot of records untouchable, but many of them already are. Might have to re-calibrate what a HOF pitchers stats look like, but there are plenty of stats to show effectiveness in comparison to contemporaries.
Regarding Boyd, Carter Hawkins today:
Hawkins shared that Boyd underwent surgery on Thursday morning. He also announced that the Boyd did not require a full repair and had more of a "trimming."
“It’s more than a month for sure, and then we’ll kind of figure it out from there … So we’re optimistic about a quicker timeline," Hawkins said.
Hawkins shared that Boyd underwent surgery on Thursday morning. He also announced that the Boyd did not require a full repair and had more of a "trimming."
“It’s more than a month for sure, and then we’ll kind of figure it out from there … So we’re optimistic about a quicker timeline," Hawkins said.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
The Reds may develop PTSD from this series.
Bingo! I had a college pitcher friend who said pitchers today are throwing a lot harder than when he did in the mid 70s to late 70s. The human body is not meant to throw that hard for long periods of time. Those guys who know how to pitch instead of trying to strike everybody out will have longer careers just like Greg Maddux did.
Holy crap... and it's not even stacked against them - they played every team and went 1-2 in each series.
Rather than romanticizing, you pulled out some of the noteworthy careers that ended early. But I don’t think anyone is saying that there weren’t injuries back in those eras. And many of those career-ending injuries aren’t career ending now.
I haven’t kept up with studies, but saw results a year or two ago and injuries are going up. Don’t think anyone really disputes that. I seem to remember April and May are typically the highest months too, in large part because pitchers aren’t giving their arms rest during off season. Just about as soon as the season ends, they’re at pitching “labs” trying to add more velocity or spin.
I really don’t think moving to a six man rotation as someone suggested would make a bit of difference. It’s not just SPs who are getting hurt as Cubs Fans can attest too. It’s all about the torque and very little about the usage. Not sure how they’ll fix it if it is even fixable. And with the advances to medicine, not sure there is the incentive for the players to want to fix it. Get hurt, have surgery, rehab and back at it.
I don’t think a six-man rotation or less usage will make a bit of difference. It’s not usage, it’s torque. If it was usage, you’d see rate of injuries go up as season went on and I’m pretty certain that isn’t the case.
I don’t know what the fix is or if there is even one. I actually think most front offices would love to move away from max effort. But as you point out, the individual pitchers themselves likely wouldn’t do it.
It gets outs and is rewarded. How do you back away? The max speed and torque guy is getting called up, the other guy is in double A
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
I threw pretty hard as a youngster and was told by many veteran players and coaches in the early 60's to hold off throwing curve balls until I was older to avoid injuring my arm before it was fully developed........one was a scout for the Cardinals after watching my pitching in an American Legion tourney game.........I started being a musician in a rock band shortly after that.....there was something different with young ladies cheering for you at the stage compared to the cheers from playing baseball.....
there really really was....lol....
We have so many paralles it is scary. Short stop for me with speed and great arm. Cant throw a ball to my grandchildren over 10 yards now. Glad I switched to musician. Your 100% right about the young ladies! I've never regretted the switch.