5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

[Blzer]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Half of my wish came true last night. Now we need to wait to see if the marathon Cubs/Yankees game pays any dividends tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday.

What was my wish? LOL ... As a Rockies fan who faces the Cubs next, in the bottom of the 9th inning of last night's Cubs/Yankees game my wish was "I don't want this game to end, I want the game to go into extra innings, perhaps a deep extra inning game like 16 innings or so". As the bottom of the 9th inning transpired from no outs to one and then two outs, I kept thinking "How can this game end up tied after 9, what needs to happen for a comeback to occur but not a complete comeback". When the Cubs had someone on 3rd with one out, the scenario was clearly "Need a sac fly to score the base runner, but then that's it. Then Chapman needs to end the comeback". Well that didn't happen and before you know it bases are loaded with two outs and a tie game looked like it wasn't going to happen. Either Chapman ends the game or the Cubs get a hit and walk off as winners. Wait, Chapman then nails Rizzo on the first pitch (that must have hurt, but amazingly Rizzo stayed in the game) and the game was now tied and we go to extras.

Your wish went exactly against my wish.

For my fantasy baseball week, after Lester came out I was two strikeouts ahead of my opponent (73 vs. 71). Problem is, this guy still had Wade Davis. I said to myself: "The only way he appears in the game is if the Cubs tie it up."

I was thinking in my head there was no way that they would only tie with Bryant at the dish and the winning run on 2nd base with two outs. But alas, the perfect combination of an intentional walk and HBP followed by a groundout made it so.

Davis enters the game, and what does he do? Strike out the side. Gardner doesn't get the bat off his shoulder, Ellsbury waits until two strikes to decide to do so, and I nearly decided to throw the remote through my television screen. To add insult to injury, he gets another strikeout just to get that extra point. Boom, 74-73 him.

[My993C2]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

It's still early, but I feel that the Cubs have made the same mistake many champions have made - they assumed they'd get the same years out of their pitchers and for the most part held pat.

In hindsight, I think they should have at least tried to re-sign Chapman AND traded for Davis. At this same point last year they were 9 games better at 25-6...I think their offense will be fine, but the pitching, especially in relief, has been a step down from last year.

Even though they are not firing on all cylinders, I fully expect the Cubs to rise to the top of the NL Central as the season transpires because the competition in the division likely is not at the same level the Cubs could and should be playing at. So I fully expect the Cubs to be playing ball in October. But watch out for the Nationals (if they stay healthy). That team appears to be the best team in the NL right now. I am also optimistic that the Rockies can be a threat to the Dodgers in the NL West and Arizona is also much better than the pundits said they would be. But as I said, watch out for the Nationals.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

It's still early, but I feel that the Cubs have made the same mistake many champions have made - they assumed they'd get the same years out of their pitchers and for the most part held pat.

In hindsight, I think they should have at least tried to re-sign Chapman AND traded for Davis. At this same point last year they were 9 games better at 25-6...I think their offense will be fine, but the pitching, especially in relief, has been a step down from last year.

Even in hindsight, I wouldn't agree with re-signing Chapman at that price and am fine with essentially swapping him and Jorge Soler out for Wade Davis. I do think Theo/Jed should've done something about the 8th inning, however, after neither Strop nor Rondon could do anything useful in the postseason last year. Maybe a less splashy signing than Chapman, but something moreso than adding Koji Uehara and swapping in Brian Duensing for Travis Wood.

I also didn't see the point of signing Brett Anderson and his notorious "glass chin" to use a boxing term. And, wouldn't you know it, Anderson has almost single-handedly put the Cubs' entire pitching staff in an awful pickle very early in the season. Getting 5 outs over 2 starts, leaving injured, and playing some extra innings games sprinkled in can create a lasting abuse beyond May.

I think your larger point about the Cubs just assuming the pitching will hold up is valid. That Lester, Arrieta, and Hendricks would just continue to be fringe Cy Young candidate guys and that Lackey would be decent. They really didn't make any notable backup plans. Eddie Butler? lol. Moreover, warning signs were there for some of the bullpen guys, if not the starters, specifically Grimm, Rondon, and Strop. Grimm has been consistently inconsistent and plain bad, but Strop and Rondon both got hurt last year and just haven't been the same since then.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

It's still early, but I feel that the Cubs have made the same mistake many champions have made - they assumed they'd get the same years out of their pitchers and for the most part held pat.

In hindsight, I think they should have at least tried to re-sign Chapman AND traded for Davis. At this same point last year they were 9 games better at 25-6...I think their offense will be fine, but the pitching, especially in relief, has been a step down from last year.

The 25-6 was never going to happen again. that was an absurd hot start last year and still required alot of luck. Cubs Bullpen is 1st in the NL and outside of the 2 blowup days for the bullpen has been good, Grimm and say strop are the only ones who have probably been bad. They have the record for allowing runs in the 1st inning over the 1st 30 games in 81 years. I don't think that will last the whole season and I agree still SP is the major question mark. Hitting everyone is slumping... really the only players outperforming their career averages are Montero,Jay and Heyward considering his last year. Thankfully they are in the NL Central and will have plenty of time to figure it out.

[Jr.]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

In hindsight, I think they should have at least tried to re-sign Chapman AND traded for Davis. At this same point last year they were 9 games better at 25-6...I think their offense will be fine, but the pitching, especially in relief, has been a step down from last year.

Don't forget about the stretch they had in late May to the All-Star Break where they essentially played like they are now after that hot start. I don't think you can tell too much from a 30 game stretch.

I don't get all of the hate toward Rondon. He's been lights out until his last two outings.

[Sportsforever]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Don't forget about the stretch they had in late May the All-Star Break where they essentially played like they are now after that hot start. I don't think you can tell too much from a 30 game stretch.

I know...and like I said, they might absolutely be fine. The team just "feels" different, especially on the pitching front.

This is what jumps out me so far:

1) They miss Fowler/a true leadoff man. The Schwarber thing isn't working and I think it's holding the offense back.

2) The starters haven't been as good, especially Lackey/Anderson. Arietta is good, but it's looking more and more like 2015 was just a career year and not a new level of performance.

3) The bullpen has been inconsistent. Yes, it's easy to point to where they rank...but it's been an uneven performance. I most certainly don't think that the game is over in the 7th/8th when they have a lead like I did last year.

All in all they have been pretty up and down for the first 30 games. Maybe they are getting the rough stretch out of the way early...or maybe this goes on all year and they win 85 games. Regardless of how it turns out, I don't think they did enough to address their pitching needs and so far that has been the case.

I had Washington tabbed to win it all this year before the season started...it's just so hard to repeat, even if you do everything right. The good news is that it's a LONG season and they have plenty of time to get it worked out.

[Jr.]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

I know...and like I said, they might absolutely be fine. The team just "feels" different, especially on the pitching front.

This is what jumps out me so far:

1) They miss Fowler/a true leadoff man. The Schwarber thing isn't working and I think it's holding the offense back.

2) The starters haven't been as good, especially Lackey/Anderson. Arietta is good, but it's looking more and more like 2015 was just a career year and not a new level of performance.

3) The bullpen has been inconsistent. Yes, it's easy to point to where they rank...but it's been an uneven performance. I most certainly don't think that the game is over in the 7th/8th when they have a lead like I did last year.

All in all they have been pretty up and down for the first 30 games. Maybe they are getting the rough stretch out of the way early...or maybe this goes on all year and they win 85 games. Regardless of how it turns out, I don't think they did enough to address their pitching needs and so far that has been the case.

I had Washington tabbed to win it all this year before the season started...it's just so hard to repeat, even if you do everything right. The good news is that it's a LONG season and they have plenty of time to get it worked out.

I completely agree with you. I'm trying this "fake it til you make it" thing with my optimism for the Cubs. My true feeling is that they're not really a contender for the WS.

[SPTO]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Big night in the Six tonight! I hope Edwin gets a full standing ovation though I think he might get more than just the "that guy" booing as there were reports the Jays were willing to equal or top what Cleveland gave him. Still, it'll mostly be a positive experience for him IMO. I know he's off to a bit of a slow start so I hope this stop in Toronto doesn't re-ignite his season LOL though I wouldn't mind him taking Polly out for a stroll as long as it's a meaningless HR.


As for the current conversation about the Cubs I tend to agree with the notion that they expected similar or better years from their main guys. Unlike most WS winning teams I don't think that's necessarily a bad thought as the core is young enough that they SHOULD be producing at nearly the same rate. The issue to me is not really the offense though from afar it does seem to be a little hit and miss at times but is still explosive. The issue IMO, is the pitching especially from the starters as it's giving the bullpen a TON of work. No team can rely on their pen to carry that kind of burden over a 162 game season. I think in some respects this might've been predicted. Arrieta showed chinks in his armor last season and while Lester is still pretty good, his performance has suffered in his career without Grampa Rossy catching for him. They're the two pillars of the rotation. John Lackey isn't a spring chicken anymore and Kyle Hendricks 2016 has the whiff of a career year that might not be duplicated.

In a lot of ways the Cubbies' main faults are being papered over by a generally very good offense. It's similar IMO to the 2015 Blue Jays in a lot of respects.

[PhilliesFan13]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Braves release Ryan Howard from his minor league deal.

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[Blzer]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Braves release Ryan Howard from his minor league deal.

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And to think I called him up in my Show franchise, tsk tsk.

Back to Subway commercials, I guess!

[Sportsforever]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Braves release Ryan Howard from his minor league deal.

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I've been following him since he debuted in Gwinnett...guy is done. He's been really struggling against AAA pitching. Nice career...I'll always wonder what he would have done if the Phillies didn't block him with Those for 3-4 years. Give him 4-5 years of pre-prime production and he's probably sitting around 450 homers or so.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Yankees hang 3 in the first off Rookie Davis.

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[BunnyHardaway]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Zimmerman grounds out in the 2nd. It's a shame his .472 BABIP has to suffer like this.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

Thank God Ryan Howard didn't make it to the majors. I would have barfed if I saw that ****in' guy in a Braves jersey.

[19]

Re: 5/1 - 5/14 Game Discussion Thread

I've been following him since he debuted in Gwinnett...guy is done. He's been really struggling against AAA pitching. Nice career...I'll always wonder what he would have done if the Phillies didn't block him with Those for 3-4 years. Give him 4-5 years of pre-prime production and he's probably sitting around 450 homers or so.

Was never the same after the Achilles injury. Hell of a career though.