05/05 CUBS (Lilly) @ Pittsburgh (Morton) 6:05 CDT, CSN+

[Sammy Sofa]

0-8 from Theriot and Fukudome tonight. Haven't said that too much lately.

 

Brewers pound the Pirates in Pittsburgh, Cubs pound Brewers, Cubs do very little in two games against the Pirates. Gotta love baseball.

 

And then the Pirates took a series from the Brewers in Milwuakee. We're all kinds of screwed up.

[Ballgame64]

Using Marmol now?

 

doesn't even deserve comment

I'm sure Lou is thinking Marmol hasn't pitched since Saturday so he needs to get him in a game.

[Sammy Sofa]

Using Marmol now?

 

doesn't even deserve comment

When is the last time he pitched?

 

1st of May.

 

Yeah, getting him work tonight actually makes sense.

[SouthSideRyan]

Using Marmol now?

 

doesn't even deserve comment

 

It's not that bad of a move. Marmol hasn't pitched in a while, and you want to keep it within 2. If the Cubs score 3 in the top half, you worry about the bottom half then. No reason to keep your best bullets in the chamber

[SouthSideRyan]

2 years after tearing up the league these same hitters can't touch the likes of Morton?

 

Age can't account for that.

 

Have you ever considered that 2008 was a massive fluke year?

 

hahahaha

[Old Style]

Here come back to back to back homers.

 

 

 

Then we can criticize Lou for using Marmol in the 8th instead of the 9th.

[Sammy Sofa]

Here come back to back to back homers.

 

 

 

Then we can criticize Lou for using Marmol in the 8th instead of the 9th.

 

He could just come back out and pitch the 9th if they go ahead.

 

And they still have Marshall.

[UMFan83]

It's really sad how good this team can look at times and how piss poor it can look at others.

 

It's the Pirates, for god sakes, not the 1927 Yankees.

 

Well, even a good team is going to look piss poor over the course of a 162 game season, and lose to bad teams.

 

Not that this is necessarily a good Cubs team.

 

the problem is that by far the cubs easiest part of the schedule is right now and almost over. We are going to be having way too many "impossible" stretches in the coming months. If we can't beat the pirates nats and astros how are we going to fare against the cards and phils?

 

A somewhat .500 team after playing this schedule makes me feel like we are dealing with an

85-90 loss team when all is said and done

[Sammy Sofa]

the problem is that by far the cubs easiest part of the schedule is right now and almost over. We are going to be having way too many "impossible" stretches in the coming months. If we can't beat the pirates nats and astros how are we going to fare against the cards and phils?

 

We'll see. Their performance to this point does not dictate the rest of year since it's still only the first of May. If Aramis ever wakes up and Lou gets wise and starts playing Soto more and higher in the lineup you could see this offense be much more consistent. Nothing is set in stone at this point.

[Sammy Sofa]

Ugh, Aramis just cannot do anything with pitches he usually crushes. Very frustrating.

[Old Style]

So predictable

[Sammy Sofa]

So predictable

 

Then why bother?

[MWV]

Ramirez records the final out for the second straight evening.

[Soul]

Hopefully Ricketts is beginning to realize that coasting with the status quo isn't going to cut it.

 

Maybe a nice, big, ugly losing season is better for this franchise in the long run.

[erik316wttn]

Hopefully Ricketts is beginning to realize that coasting with the status quo isn't going to cut it.

 

Maybe a nice, big, ugly losing season is better for this franchise in the long run.

 

Let's hope.

 

If we're going to suck this year, we may as well go all-out and lose 95 games and prompt a massive housecleaning.

[SouthSideRyan]

It's really sad how good this team can look at times and how piss poor it can look at others.

 

It's the Pirates, for god sakes, not the 1927 Yankees.

 

Well, even a good team is going to look piss poor over the course of a 162 game season, and lose to bad teams.

 

Not that this is necessarily a good Cubs team.

 

the problem is that by far the cubs easiest part of the schedule is right now and almost over. We are going to be having way too many "impossible" stretches in the coming months. If we can't beat the pirates nats and astros how are we going to fare against the cards and phils?

 

A somewhat .500 team after playing this schedule makes me feel like we are dealing with an

85-90 loss team when all is said and done

 

How many impossible stretches can there really be in this schedule? The NL sucks this year. What teams do you consider good? The Phillies, Cardinals, Giants, and Dodgers would probably be my top 4. I'm not sure any other team in the NL is even better than us. We're going to play like 40 games against really good teams.

[Old Style]

So predictable

 

Then why bother?

Because I am a Cubs fan. Have been for well over 30 years. I want them to win as much as anyone else. It kills me to see them fail time and time again, yet I can't walk away. I blame my dad for inflicting me with the sickness.

[Ballgame64]

Hopefully Ricketts is beginning to realize that coasting with the status quo isn't going to cut it.

 

Maybe a nice, big, ugly losing season is better for this franchise in the long run.

While I'd rather have them play better and make the playoffs, I totally understand this sentiment. If they get swept tomorrow, I would fire Piniella and replace him with Trammel for now. Something needs to be done to wake up this team.

[erik316wttn]

So predictable

 

Then why bother?

Because I am a Cubs fan. Have been for well over 30 years. I want them to win as much as anyone else. It kills me to see them fail time and time again, yet I can't walk away. I blame my dad for inflicting me with the sickness.

 

Are you my long-lost brother, because we're the same.

[Irrelevant Dude]

If we're going to suck this year, we may as well go all-out and lose 95 games and prompt a massive housecleaning.

It shouldn't take 95 losses for that to happen. A team with a $140 million payroll shouldn't struggle to play .500 baseball for 2 consecutive seasons. Anything short of a playoff berth should prompt a massive housecleaning. With that said, I would still rather see the Cubs play good baseball and sneak in by the Wild Card.

[Derwood]

I think an ugly losing season will result in a slashed payroll, personally. I'm already starting to hear "The Rickett family is cheaper than the McCaskeys" rumblings

[UMFan83]

the problem is that by far the cubs easiest part of the schedule is right now and almost over. We are going to be having way too many "impossible" stretches in the coming months. If we can't beat the pirates nats and astros how are we going to fare against the cards and phils?

 

We'll see. Their performance to this point does not dictate the rest of year since it's still only the first of May. If Aramis ever wakes up and Lou gets wise and starts playing Soto more and higher in the lineup you could see this offense be much more consistent. Nothing is set in stone at this point.

 

you are right nothing is set in stone. That's why they play the games. But it's looking increasingly unlikely that we are going anywhere. Even if we get better hitting, can we assume that the pitching will hold up. Will gorz and silva have under 3 eras all year? Hell the pen hasn't even had the chance to suck for us lately. And despite all this we could get our crap together. But don't expect to fatten up on crappy teams to get back in a playoff race. Well have to play .550-.600 ball against a schedule that is packed with contenders. So unless we suddenly play like a top 1-2 team in the NL it's gonna be tough. Were not going to be able to win 85 games and take a weak division this year.

[Sammy Sofa]

the problem is that by far the cubs easiest part of the schedule is right now and almost over. We are going to be having way too many "impossible" stretches in the coming months. If we can't beat the pirates nats and astros how are we going to fare against the cards and phils?

 

We'll see. Their performance to this point does not dictate the rest of year since it's still only the first of May. If Aramis ever wakes up and Lou gets wise and starts playing Soto more and higher in the lineup you could see this offense be much more consistent. Nothing is set in stone at this point.

 

you are right nothing is set in stone. That's why they play the games. But it's looking increasingly unlikely that we are going anywhere. Even if we get better hitting, can we assume that the pitching will hold up. Will gorz and silva have under 3 eras all year? Hell the pen hasn't even had the chance to suck for us lately. And despite all this we could get our crap together. But don't expect to fatten up on crappy teams to get back in a playoff race. Well have to play .550-.600 ball against a schedule that is packed with contenders. So unless we suddenly play like a top 1-2 team in the NL it's gonna be tough. Were not going to be able to win 85 games and take a weak division this year.

 

I think you're pretty drastically overrating their schedule. It's obviously not a cakewalk, but the NL by and large is not very good, so even the "contenders" are still very beatable. And "increasingly unlikely" still doesn't erase that it's only May 5th. Sure, Gorzelanny or Silva could fall out of the rotation, but you have Zambrano available to move right back in. Yeah, the bullpen could be horrible, or it could be perfectly serviceable.

[Sammy Sofa]

I think an ugly losing season will result in a slashed payroll, personally. I'm already starting to hear "The Rickett family is cheaper than the McCaskeys" rumblings

 

Where? From who?

[chasinf5s]

I think an ugly losing season will result in a slashed payroll, personally. I'm already starting to hear "The Rickett family is cheaper than the McCaskeys" rumblings

 

They have been owners for 6 months. Even the McCaskeys took the Bears to 2 Super Bowls. I see nothing wrong with them cutting payroll, it has not done any good having a 150 million payroll.