Happ is tearing the cover off the ball right now. Hopefully that continues. PCA needs a few days off as Alcantara can get some work in CF. If we can find a way to get to 3 games out by next Monday, we have a chance to catch them. Logistically, we are 5 games back in the loss column. We have Shota and Cade going the next two games so we have a solid chance of sweeping the Braves as Philly and the Brewers still have three games left. Let’s hope Pittsburgh can take 2 of three this weekend against Milwaukee. This week we need to make a move.
Chicago Cubs 2025
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He did not make it easy especially with White at the plate with two runners on. Imanaga has not made things easy either. But a win is a win.
Still on pace.
What was rough about last night? He struck out their hottest hitter, gave up a liner to Ozuna, gets Harris, Kim hits a little dinker up the middle, then gets a fly out. I swear people expect closers to be 0.00 ERA guys the entire year (not saying you in particular are doing that, just this general attitude I see from baseball fans)
point taken, and he has been massive for the Cubs all year.
but he has allowed a lot of traffic recently, In the last month his era is 5.23 and his whip is 1.94. That is shaky. However still striking guys out at a great clip so the stuff seems to be there. Lets hope it is just the randomness of a long season and he stabilizes.
Totally agree that lately he's allowing lots of traffic and frankly giving up too many runs. I honestly wish he'd lean on his fastball even more than he is currently.
I just think baseball fans in general think every single closer should be Mariano Rivera (CAREER WHIP of 1.00
) and it's just not going to happen... hahabdutts
- Houston, Texas
DRS’s post sums up my feelings very well.
this is very true, and honestly for a closer, as long as saves are converted which he is doing at a tremendous clip over the year, I don't really care how it gets done as long as it gets done. Dominance is nice but getting the save is way more important.Totally agree that lately he's allowing lots of traffic and frankly giving up too many runs. I honestly wish he'd lean on his fastball even more than he is currently.
I just think baseball fans in general think every single closer should be Mariano Rivera (CAREER WHIP of 1.00
It's that Carlos Marmol archetype.
No more Ben Brown, please
KBLEE
- Montgomery, IL
I keep seeing a bunch of hate for Brown online. You do realize that it was Pomeranz that gave up the 3 run HR, right? Brown only gave up one hit that Hoerner almost caught.
Not blaming him for the meatball that Pomeranz threw but Brown has given up runs in 21 of 24 appearances. That's not MLB-quality
I'm trying to find something positive to say about the Cubs. I think I have a definite one but it won't be until next year. Cade Horton is going to finally give the Cubs an ace. And if Steele comes back and is anything close to his former self, the Cubs could legitimately have 3 studs in Horton, Steele and Imanaga. I realize we have no idea when Steele returns and if he will still be a stud.
Some stats to back up just how good Horton has been:
www.si.com
Some stats to back up just how good Horton has been:
Stat Shows Cubs Rookie Cade Horton Among MLB's Elite Joining Skenes And Skubal
The Chicago Cubs were not able to grab the sweep over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, losing the series finale by a score of 5-1 after the bats just coul
www.si.com
General question not related to Cubs per se. What is the benefit of starting a RP to go one inning and then bringing in a bulk reliever? What led to this question is that I play fantasy baseball and have a guy named Ian Seymour (TB) on my team. He has started his last two games, but looks like he will be used as a bulk reliever this go round following Jax. Just curious as to what their thinking is to make this change. Maybe it’s as simple as the second pitcher not having to pitch to top of order so if he goes 5 innings, he’s not facing top of the order twice. Thoughts?
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Ah, the dreaded "bullpen game". Here is what baseball reference as to say on it: https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Bullpen_game
Here's another article on it with pros and cons: https://sportmanagementhub.com/answ...n-baseball-exploring-the-strategy-and-impact/
I think your last sentence sums it up. The first inning is also the only point in the game where you know exactly what betters you will face in a given inning. You can kind of hand select who is best equipped to get the top of the order out, then bring on your multi-inning guy to see how long he can go w/o having to face their best guys twice.
From a fantasy baseball perspective, at least in a league that has start limits for SPs, having the ability to "spot start" a bulk reliever is a cool little cheat code.
Cubbies taking advantage of wind blowing out. Saw on Twitter that this is only 16th game this year out of 68 when wind has been blowing out.
A Cub win and Brewers put another RP — Nick Mears — on injured list today. Not over til it’s over.
they probably have a guy in single A throwing 104 that they'll bring up or something. I swear they only get better the more injuries they have lol
Milwaukee was wildly good for about a month and a half. They're starting to come back down to earth. The Cubs have made up 5 games in the last three weeks. They're just running out of time. We're pretty much locking ourselves into the 4 seed. So, we'll get the home games. It would be nice to have the time off, but it's more important to go into the playoffs healthy. Watch the pitch counts, don't stress any arms and let's see if we can get Amaya back(though McGuire has done an extremely admirable job of stepping in a couple of days a week). They've abused Palencia given the over usage because every game for about two months has been close. Hopefully, the back end of the pen can hold up. They've been amazing all year.
We'll see. This is what Counsell got paid for.
They have a really good farm development system. That is what we are getting to with our farm system. They win because they have young talent.
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