4/11 Brewers (Gallardo) at Cubs (Dempster), 1:20, WGN

[bukie]

Reed doing everything he can to keep Byrd's job safe.

[BeerHere]

Why waste Mather there?

Clevenger represented the tying run. He's a catcher with no speed. A single could even it up. It was the right call.

 

Samardzija.

A starting pitcher on a cold day? He pulls a hammy and it impacts the rotation. Disagree

[Little Slide Rooter]

Reed doing everything he can to keep Byrd's job safe.

 

Hopefully someone comes along to replace the both of them soon. Hell, I'd take Tony Campana at this point.

[Guest]

Presumably you tell Samardzija more than 30 seconds before hand about the chance of him running, so he has the chance to stretch/warm up.

[bukie]

I think if anything, I'd rather have had Reed running and Mather hitting.

[BeerHere]

I think if anything, I'd rather have had Reed running and Mather hitting.

Agreed.

[jersey cubs fan]

Presumably you tell Samardzija more than 30 seconds before hand about the chance of him running, so he has the chance to stretch/warm up.

 

Having the opportunity to stretch or warmup doesn't prevent a starting pitcher from potentially getting injured while pinch running.

[Smack]

I think if anything, I'd rather have had Reed running and Mather hitting.

Agreed.

 

+1

[BeerHere]

1-6 now Brewers are a pretty good club, Nats are improved. That being said the Cubs offense has been absolutely terrible. I didn't expect much but I thought this team had a shot at .500

 

I think I was overly optimistic.

[bukie]

This sucks, mostly because the first few weeks of the season are generally throwaway weeks while teams figure out what works and what needs to be changed around. So luck, for better or worse, plays a big hand in the early results. And so far lady luck has not been kind to the Cubs.

[SouthSideRyan]

Presumably you tell Samardzija more than 30 seconds before hand about the chance of him running, so he has the chance to stretch/warm up.

 

Having the opportunity to stretch or warmup doesn't prevent a starting pitcher from potentially getting injured while pinch running.

 

Are there landmines in between 2nd and 3rd?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This sucks, mostly because the first few weeks of the season are generally throwaway weeks while teams figure out what works and what needs to be changed around. So luck, for better or worse, plays a big hand in the early results. And so far lady luck has not been kind to the Cubs.

 

It's not luck that this offense is awful.

[SouthSideRyan]

Presumably you tell Samardzija more than 30 seconds before hand about the chance of him running, so he has the chance to stretch/warm up.

 

Having the opportunity to stretch or warmup doesn't prevent a starting pitcher from potentially getting injured while pinch running.

 

Are there landmines in between 2nd and 3rd?

 

Samardzija isn't exactly Jamie Moyer out there. It was much colder on Monday night than it is right now.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Presumably you tell Samardzija more than 30 seconds before hand about the chance of him running, so he has the chance to stretch/warm up.

 

Having the opportunity to stretch or warmup doesn't prevent a starting pitcher from potentially getting injured while pinch running.

 

Are there landmines in between 2nd and 3rd?

 

If there were, few Cubs players would be in any danger.

[jersey cubs fan]

Presumably you tell Samardzija more than 30 seconds before hand about the chance of him running, so he has the chance to stretch/warm up.

 

Having the opportunity to stretch or warmup doesn't prevent a starting pitcher from potentially getting injured while pinch running.

 

Are there landmines in between 2nd and 3rd?

 

Samardzija isn't exactly Jamie Moyer out there. It was much colder on Monday night than it is right now.

 

Not sure what any of this has to do with it. He's a pitcher, he doesn't need to be running in cold weather early games in a meaningless season.

[bukie]

This sucks, mostly because the first few weeks of the season are generally throwaway weeks while teams figure out what works and what needs to be changed around. So luck, for better or worse, plays a big hand in the early results. And so far lady luck has not been kind to the Cubs.

 

It's not luck that this offense is awful.

Sadly, the offense compared to the rest of baseball has been middle-of-the-road. It's largely luck that the Cubs have held leads in 5 of 6 games (past the 6th inning in 4 of 6 games) this year, and haven't been able to hold on but once. Heck, look at the standings last year after a week, and 5 of the 8 playoff teams looked awful.

[SouthSideRyan]

It's 52 degrees out.

Samardzija is an athlete.

 

What do you suggest he do should he get on base while he's pitching?

[bukie]

It's 52 degrees out.

Samardzija is an athlete.

 

What do you suggest he do should he get on base while he's pitching?

Are you just purposely not getting the difference between running the bases while he's pitching and throwing him out there regularly when he isn't? It's needless risk at a pointless time in the season.

[Little Slide Rooter]

1-6 now Brewers are a pretty good club, Nats are improved. That being said the Cubs offense has been absolutely terrible. I didn't expect much but I thought this team had a shot at .500

 

I think I was overly optimistic.

 

The offense has been nothing short of putrid thus far, but I'm sure that Byrd and Soto will pick it up, and the offense will be at lets serviceable. Assuming the starting pitching can hold up, I think that this team still has a shot at being around .500, or at least watchable but we all know Theos long term plan and who knows how long he'll give them before he decides to back up the truck and start shipping guys out of town and perhaps that's what's best in the long run. I hate t say it, but I'd rather win 65-70 games and pick some quality prospects than win 75-80 with nothing to show for it.

[jersey cubs fan]

It's 52 degrees out.

Samardzija is an athlete.

 

What do you suggest he do should he get on base while he's pitching?

 

Are you channeling your inner Kyle or something? What is with this nonsense?

[Guest]

It's 52 degrees out.

Samardzija is an athlete.

 

What do you suggest he do should he get on base while he's pitching?

Are you just purposely not getting the difference between running the bases while he's pitching and throwing him out there regularly when he isn't? It's needless risk at a pointless time in the season.

 

There's needless risks, and there's trusting the college football player to potentially run 180 feet without killing himself if you give him time to get ready.

[jersey cubs fan]

It's 52 degrees out.

Samardzija is an athlete.

 

What do you suggest he do should he get on base while he's pitching?

Are you just purposely not getting the difference between running the bases while he's pitching and throwing him out there regularly when he isn't? It's needless risk at a pointless time in the season.

 

There's needless risks, and there's trusting the college football player to potentially run 180 feet without killing himself if you give him time to get ready.

 

He hasn't played college football in 6 years. He's a pitcher. I'm not worried about him killing himself. This is stupid.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Guess it's just time for me to put the big club on ignore until BJax/Rizzo/etc. get called up. Really nothing to see here besides the possibility of moving guys like Dempster.

[Little Slide Rooter]

It's 52 degrees out.

Samardzija is an athlete.

 

What do you suggest he do should he get on base while he's pitching?

Are you just purposely not getting the difference between running the bases while he's pitching and throwing him out there regularly when he isn't? It's needless risk at a pointless time in the season.

 

There's needless risks, and there's trusting the college football player to potentially run 180 feet without killing himself if you give him time to get ready.

 

He hasn't played college football in 6 years. He's a pitcher. I'm not worried about him killing himself. This is stupid.

 

He's been one of the few bright spots of the young season, and I'd love to see him keep it up. Put me in the needless risk camp.

[bukie]

The Cubs offense to this point:

19 runs scored, 9th in the NL

.220 BA, also 9th in the NL

.297 OBP, also 9th in the NL

.622 OPS, 11th in the NL

 

Offense all around the league is putrid right now.

 

The Cubs pitching to this point:

28 runs allowed, 15th in the NL

4.80 ERA, 15th in the NL

3.73 starters ERA, 8th in the NL

3.40 starters xFIP, 8th in the NL

0.96 starters WHIP, 2nd in the NL

7.24 relievers ERA, 16th in the NL

6.54 relievers xFIP, 16th in the NL

2.05 relievers WHIP, 16th in the NL

 

The relief pitching hasn't been good. And Maholm for an inning.

 

Is it worth fixing? At this point, it might just fix itself if Marmol and Wood can be as good as projected. Camp and Castillo don't have high expectations, and that was pretty well known coming into the year.