5/9 Braves (Hudson) at Cubs (Maholm) CSN 1:20 p.m.

[bukie]

Plus, the bullpen is no longer the worst in baseball, so it's kind of nice.

[CubColtPacer]

Where does our starting staff rank in baseball right now? There's quite a bit of damn good pitching throughout baseball and my guess is we're actually middle of the pack.

 

Entering the day, the Cubs were 7th in the NL in starters ERA and 11th in relievers ERA. 13th best in offense. There is a huge chasm between 6th and 7th (the Marlins are 6th at a 3.07 ERA and the Cubs are at 3.72) while the bullpen can catch 3 teams very easily.

[SouthSideRyan]

Ehh, maybe it's a little early for that. I thought the Cubs were only like 4 games out.

 

4.5 from wild card. 3.5 if you assume the Mets are terrible.

[davell]

For whatever may be going wrong; Soto, Soriano's lack of power, Marmol, Wood, Barney, not thinking anyone else is getting bitched about, so I'll cut it off there anyway.....We also have lots of stuff going right this year that matters much more in the grand scheme of things. Shark, Castro, Garza(for either direction we take) LaHair, the rest of the pen looking passable at least, Dempster and Maholm looking like solid trade bait, the coaching staff looking like they have an actual clue and a front office that's actually executing what they want to do. I'm fine with our curent situation, basically, because it's getting better and it's looking much better now than it did for me right before Opening Day.

[pitchcs]

Nice win, huge 2 week stretch coming up though (@Mil, @STL, PHIL, CWS).

 

Wait, why is that stretch "huge?"

 

 

You're thinking too much into the word.

 

But if I need to defend it I'd say the team probably has more confidence than they've had all season and are hitting the road for 5 games vs. supposed top of the division teams. Then come back for an always ridiculous Sox series. If they lay an egg I'd assume the season is pretty much done. That = huge, I guess.

[woodchip2153]

so the doomsayers that were projecting 100 losses are now focusing their energy on Soto, I see.

Soto is a big concern, no? He just looks stupid at the plate this season seeing one pitch and grounding out. I mean he won't stay at a .152 average but he's also not going to hit above .220 from what I've seen so far this year.

 

just yesterday Soto was a couple of feet from a 2 hr game. Soto will be fine. Will he be the Soto of two years ago? probably not. Is he a big concern? no. A month a season does not make, Soto will be an average offensive catcher, and he'll continue to be a better than average defensive catcher.

[BeerHere]

For whatever may be going wrong; Soto, Soriano's lack of power, Marmol, Wood, Barney, not thinking anyone else is getting bitched about, so I'll cut it off there anyway.....We also have lots of stuff going right this year that matters much more in the grand scheme of things. Shark, Castro, Garza(for either direction we take) LaHair, the rest of the pen looking passable at least, Dempster and Maholm looking like solid trade bait, the coaching staff looking like they have an actual clue and a front office that's actually executing what they want to do. I'm fine with our curent situation, basically, because it's getting better and it's looking much better now than it did for me right before Opening Day.

Agreed and I too am pleased with the upward trend. I am very happy with the coaching staff, the focus on fundamentals, defensive placement etc.

[sneakypower]

Where does our starting staff rank in baseball right now? There's quite a bit of damn good pitching throughout baseball and my guess is we're actually middle of the pack.

that's what jersey tells me

 

man you're a douchebag

no, you literally did tell me that

[BeerHere]

Also, I can't remember if it was Pat or Len that made the comment but one of them said that the front office now gives each player a packet after each game. It contains the next matchups for the next game, an evaluation of pitch locations and each AB. THAT makes me very happy and I have no proof that something similar didn't occur during the Hendry days but I would tend to think not.

 

Love the new front office.

[Rizzo Smash]

so the doomsayers that were projecting 100 losses are now focusing their energy on Soto, I see.

Soto is a big concern, no?

 

No.

I mean I guess he's not a big concern because he won't be here when we're contending again and if Rizzo or Jackson came up and showed they couldn't hit it would be a much bigger concern since they're out future but right now, Soto needs to start hitting. I'm willing to give him some time but as of right now he just looks lost at the plate. I was encouraged by his 11 or so pitch at-bat yesterday though that led to a strikeout. Soto hasn't been good at all at working the count so far this season. He's usually one or two pitches and done.

 

But as mentioned above, I'm very happy with this team so far outside of Barney, Marmol, Wood, Soto, and Soriano's lack of power but even on a World Series team you're going to have some gripes. This team seems well-coached and on the up and this was supposed to be a lost year.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm sorry, but do you just not know how to use stats sites or do you just refuse to? Soto's getting better.

[SouthSideRyan]

He's usually one or two pitches and done.

 

Soto Pitches/PA
3.66

[CubColtPacer]

The Cubs didn't even get through the lineup 3 times. I wonder how often that happens. Especially when the team has 5 hits on the day.

[SouthSideRyan]

The Cubs didn't even get through the lineup 3 times. I wonder how often that happens. Especially when the team has 5 hits on the day.

 

I assume it's happened a few times, but that has to be incredibly rare.

[Cubs Fan Dan]

In regards to the Cubs offense and need an upgrade i think you hold up a little longer, it may upgrade itself if Soto heats up and Soriano starts hitting for power. I do believe the Cubs need to look for a better long term solution at 2B. I think Stewart starts to get some improved luck that could help as well. This pitching staff has been awesome.

[Connor McConnor]

Also, I can't remember if it was Pat or Len that made the comment but one of them said that the front office now gives each player a packet after each game. It contains the next matchups for the next game, an evaluation of pitch locations and each AB. THAT makes me very happy and I have no proof that something similar didn't occur during the Hendry days but I would tend to think not.

 

Love the new front office.

 

 

You must be assuming that each player actually reads them. We are talking about 162 games here. You think they spend their time reading stats between games? Some maybe once in awhile....but daily packets of stats don't mean much.

 

These stats are always available to these guys in todays world.

 

They have to perform on the field.

[bukie]

The Cubs didn't even get through the lineup 3 times. I wonder how often that happens. Especially when the team has 5 hits on the day.

 

I assume it's happened a few times, but that has to be incredibly rare.

It's happened 48 times since 1918, but none since 2007: BR

[haubrich91]

What a fun game. Great home stand. Good baseball just puts you into a good mood.