Chicago Cubs 2026

#501      
IanKEvans2
KBLEE said:
View attachment 50170

New collection at Obvious Shirts.
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Obvious Shirts is one of my favorites. One of their designs is the avatar I have on this site. I'm sure it's long since been out of production.

Mo Baller-related, I wonder if they'll try to get him some playing time at catcher as the season progresses. This would also make many fantasy baseball managers very happy for catcher-eligibility.
 
#502      
Emerson Bigguns
KBLEE said:
View attachment 50170

New collection at Obvious Shirts.
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Nailed it!
 
#506      
Illiniaaron
Martin with a horrible relief appearance walking all three batters he faced in the eighth. Brown with a great job to get out of it with the Padres scoring just once.
 
#509      
Grandpa
If so many pitchers weren't injured we probably would have gone 6-0 or maybe a disappointing 5-1.

Go Cubs Go!!!
 
#511      
Illiniaaron
I thought the Padres were very careless with the high and tight pitches during that series, intentional or not. I wonder if the Cubs might respond when they visit Wrigley.
 
#513      
Second place is 1st loser
Illiniaaron said:
I thought the Padres were very careless with the high and tight pitches during that series, intentional or not. I wonder if the Cubs might respond when they visit Wrigley.
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High and tight pitches are part of the game and is a pitcher's best friend. If you seen a hitter digging in, back him up and plant a little fear in his heart. There's nothing wrong with purpose pitches.

Now, a ball behind thrown six inches behind and below the head is a pitch with the intent to severely hurt. The normal reaction of a hitter on a high, tight fastball is to get the head out of the way(move the head back), then tuck the head in(move the head down). That's the bean ball and that's careless. There was none of that going on.

If three guys in the series got hit between the shoulder blades, fine, that's obviously highly questionable. There was none of the going on either.

Making a hitter uncomfortable and making them dust themselves off is part of the game within the game. You can't just let a hitter dig in and have access to the whole plate without a little fear. The high inside fastball marries perfectly with the low and away breaking ball.

Nothing to see here.

Note: The hitters walk up to the plate with full body armor right now. If the ball is inside, these guys don't move because they're wearing elbow guards. Obviously, I'm not advocating for injury, but intimidation is part of the game. There's nothing wrong with being "effectively wild". Having the thought in your head that one COULD get away....part of the game. The great hitters dig in and don't worry about it.
 
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#516      
Illiniaaron
Second place is 1st loser said:
High and tight pitches are part of the game and is a pitcher's best friend. If you seen a hitter digging in, back him up and plant a little fear in his heart. There's nothing wrong with purpose pitches.

Now, a ball behind thrown six inches behind and below the head is a pitch with the intent to severely hurt. The normal reaction of a hitter on a high, tight fastball is to get the head out of the way(move the head back), then tuck the head in(move the head down). That's the bean ball and that's careless. There was none of that going on.

If three guys in the series got hit between the shoulder blades, fine, that's obviously highly questionable. There was none of the going on either.

Making a hitter uncomfortable and making them dust themselves off is part of the game within the game. You can't just let a hitter dig in and have access to the whole plate without a little fear. The high inside fastball marries perfectly with the low and away breaking ball.

Nothing to see here.

Note: The hitters walk up to the plate with full body armor right now. If the ball is inside, these guys don't move because they're wearing elbow guards. Obviously, I'm not advocating for injury, but intimidation is part of the game. There's nothing wrong with being "effectively wild". Having the thought in your head that one COULD get away....part of the game. The great hitters dig in and don't worry about it.
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Cubs batters got dusted at least seven times during the series. Seya twice in the same at bat, Bregman twice in the same at bat, Shaw on back to back pitches before he homered. The second pitch was behind his head. These were not just inside. They were all up around the head. Horner got hit in the head. This was not in the normal course of pitching. Something to see here. Tatis or Machado need to catch one in the ribs in their first at bat in Chicago.
 
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#517      
Warren Carter Fanclub
Second place is 1st loser said:
Now, a ball behind thrown six inches behind and below the head is a pitch with the intent to severely hurt. The normal reaction of a hitter on a high, tight fastball is to get the head out of the way(move the head back), then tuck the head in(move the head down). That's the bean ball and that's careless. There was none of that going on.
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I'm confused. Are you saying that there were no pitches thrown at or behind the head? That's EXACTLY what there was...just in the game yesterday.
Hoerner got beaned in the helmet and a ball was thrown a couple inches behind Shaw's head after one knocked him down the pitch before.
I don't know what the intent was. According to Sutcliffe however, Adam, who was pitching against Shaw, is known to have good control.
It's a good thing the game was close because it could have gotten ugly.
 
#518      
Second place is 1st loser
Warren Carter Fanclub said:
I'm confused. Are you saying that there were no pitches thrown at or behind the head? That's EXACTLY what there was...just in the game yesterday.
Hoerner got beaned in the helmet and a ball was thrown a couple inches behind Shaw's head after one knocked him down the pitch before.
I don't know what the intent was. According to Sutcliffe however, Adam, who was pitching against Shaw, is known to have good control.
It's a good thing the game was close because it could have gotten ugly.
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In a close game nobody is trying to hit anyone. That's common sense. Anyone who thinks that in a one run game, a pitcher has the intent of purposely putting someone on base is arguing to argue. That pitcher world be outright released and any manager who sent that message would be fired.

There is no history of bad blood between these teams. Cubs vs Brewers? Yeah, the potential is there for some hard feelings. Padres vs Dodgers...same.

If the Cubs were up 11-0 and stealing bases in the 8th inning of any of the games, I think it's possible that a message might be sent showing that it wasn't appreciated.

There is a 0% chance that either of those occurrences had any sort of intent to put anyone on base.... especially a guy like Hoerner who can easily swipe a bag.

You say it's a good thing that it was close because it could have gotten ugly. The fact that it was close is what would have kept the Padres from doing anything stupid to begin with.

There is absolutely there nothing to suggest that anything was even remotely bubbling up to the level of having shots fired.

I love Sutcliffe, but he gets caught up being a fan(meaning he gets emotional) when he's stepping in for JD. He would fit this board perfectly.
 
#519      
Illiniaaron
Second place is 1st loser said:
In a close game nobody is trying to hit anyone. That's common sense. Anyone who thinks that in a one run game, a pitcher has the intent of purposely putting someone on base is arguing to argue. That pitcher world be outright released and any manager who sent that message would be fired.

There is no history of bad blood between these teams. Cubs vs Brewers? Yeah, the potential is there for some hard feelings. Padres vs Dodgers...same.

If the Cubs were up 11-0 and stealing bases in the 8th inning of any of the games, I think it's possible that a message might be sent showing that it wasn't appreciated.

There is a 0% chance that either of those occurrences had any sort of intent to put anyone on base.... especially a guy like Hoerner who can easily swipe a bag.

You say it's a good thing that it was close because it could have gotten ugly. The fact that it was close is what would have kept the Padres from doing anything stupid to begin with.

There is absolutely there nothing to suggest that anything was even remotely bubbling up to the level of having shots fired.

I love Sutcliffe, but he gets caught up being a fan(meaning he gets emotional) when he's stepping in for JD. He would fit this board perfectly.
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It doesn’t matter if it’s intentional or not. I listed all the times in the last two games of pitches near the Cubs’ heads. It’s careless and dangerous. Did you watch both games? In your first post you said you thought they were throwing inside on purpose. Now you’re saying it wasn’t on purpose?
 
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#520      
Second place is 1st loser
Illiniaaron said:
It doesn’t matter if it’s intentional or not. I listed all the times in the last two games of pitches near the Cubs’ heads. It’s careless and dangerous. Did you watch both games? In your first post you said you thought they were throwing inside on purpose. Now you’re saying it wasn’t on purpose?
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Yes, pitchers pitch inside on purpose and I'm certain that's the case. Now, if they hit a guy, they hit a guy. It's obviously not what they want to do in a one run game, but a fastball up and in sets up a slider low and away. That will remain true for as long as baseball is a game.

Did they mean to throw inside? Yes
Did they mean to hit guys and give a free pass? No.

Is that clearer?

Another point here. One of the pitchers threw in the low 90's and threw knuckleballs. These aren't "message senders".
 
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#521      
Illiniaaron
Second place is 1st loser said:
Yes, pitchers pitch inside on purpose and I'm certain that's the case. Now, if they hit a guy, they hit a guy. It's obviously not what they want to do in a one run game, but a fastball up and in sets up a slider low and away. That will remain true for as long as baseball is a game.

Did they mean to throw inside? Yes
Did they mean to hit guys and give a free pass? No.

Is that clearer?

Another point here. One of the pitchers threw in the low 90's and threw knuckleballs. These aren't "message senders".
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Why is this such a difficult concept? You can move guys off the plate without chin music. So…low 90s isn’t a message. Does it have to be 95? 98? Suzuki and Bregman sure didn’t look happy on their !!! getting up.
 
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