Chicago Cubs 2026

#1,029      
myspace
Bats aside, is this year as simple as pitching being thin from the outset and injuries exacerbating it?
 
#1,030      
Homecoming 2019
myspace said:
Bats aside, is this year as simple as pitching being thin from the outset and injuries exacerbating it?
Click to expand...
Assuming Steeles original diagnosis was he would return a few months in, I'd say the starting pitching staff was pretty deep all things considered at the start of the season. I'm not sure there is a team in baseball that could survive their top 6 starters being on the IL at the same time.
 
#1,031      
champaignchris
Homecoming 2019 said:
Assuming Steeles original diagnosis was he would return a few months in, I'd say the starting pitching staff was pretty deep all things considered at the start of the season. I'm not sure there is a team in baseball that could survive their top 6 starters being on the IL at the same time.
Click to expand...

You need to get about 900 innings from your starting pitching staff.

It was completely reasonable to assume you’d get something like the following;

Imanega - 150 IP, 4.00 ERA
Rea - 150 IP, 4.50 ERA
Cabrera - 100 IP, 4.25 ERA
Taillon - 150 IP, 4.25 ERA
Boyd - 150 IP, 3.75 ERA
Assad - 100 IP, 4.25 ERA
Horton - 120 IP, 3.50 ERA
Steele - 80 IP, 3.25 ERA

With Brown, Wiggins and Wicks able to fill-in in emergencies.

That should have been more than enough depth to cover.

Every single person on this list is either hurt, underperforming, or both.
 
#1,032      
Mr. Tibbs
champaignchris said:
You need to get about 900 innings from your starting pitching staff.

It was completely reasonable to assume you’d get something like the following;

Imanega - 150 IP, 4.00 ERA
Rea - 150 IP, 4.50 ERA
Cabrera - 100 IP, 4.25 ERA
Taillon - 150 IP, 4.25 ERA
Boyd - 150 IP, 3.75 ERA
Assad - 100 IP, 4.25 ERA
Horton - 120 IP, 3.50 ERA
Steele - 80 IP, 3.25 ERA

With Brown, Wiggins and Wicks able to fill-in in emergencies.

That should have been more than enough depth to cover.

Every single person on this list is either hurt, underperforming, or both.
Click to expand...
sadly , SS , DY
 
#1,033      
Second place is 1st loser
myspace said:
Bats aside, is this year as simple as pitching being thin from the outset and injuries exacerbating it?
Click to expand...
Before the season:

Starters:
Horton (IL)
Boyd (IL)
Imanaga
Taillon (IL)
Cabrera (IL)

Bullpen:
Maton (Bad and IL)
Thielbar (Bad and IL)
Brown (IL)
Rae
Assad
Palencia (IL)

That should have been enough to win the division. I can't throw Hoyer under the bus on this one.

HOWEVER, if the offense was reasonably consistent this year, we're not feeling AS doom and gloom. The lack of hitting with RISP for a solid month REALLY exacerbated the issue. I'd say that 15 of their losses during that massive swoon was squarely on the shoulders of the offense.

This is where my issue with Hoyer is triggered. This was a team that struggled all second half scoring last year and that was with Tucker. I'm not sure that adding Bregman should have been the only move. Relying on Shaw and Ballesteros to fill in the DH(or RF) gap was purely a gamble.

Until PCA started hitting....this was a mess.
 
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