9/15 Gm 1 Cubs (Hammel) @ Pirates (Cole), 12:35 pm CST, CSN

[Sammys Boombox]

I was much more calm today during a game than I have been in awhile. I think it's all these Royals fans around me freaking out. We almost swept the Cardinals in St Louis without Arrieta pitching. Things change so quickly in baseball. Rizzo could go 0-40 and then hit 3 bombs in the Wild Card game. Same could be said of Schwarber, Bryant or just about anyone else. If the Cubs make a run Hendricks could have a feel for his change up for 3 straight starts and he could roll. I'm done worrying about what COULD happen.

[jersey cubs fan]

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[Ski]

Yeah, the Royals had an iffy rotation in the playoffs last season (and James Shields sucked) and looked how far they got.

[Guest]

I was much more calm today during a game than I have been in awhile. I think it's all these Royals fans around me freaking out. We almost swept the Cardinals in St Louis without Arrieta pitching. Things change so quickly in baseball. Rizzo could go 0-40 and then hit 3 bombs in the Wild Card game. Same could be said of Schwarber, Bryant or just about anyone else. If the Cubs make a run Hendricks could have a feel for his change up for 3 straight starts and he could roll. I'm done worrying about what COULD happen.

 

I pretty much accepted that the unlikely things I was hoping for were not happening after this weekend so I just am kinda cruising for the next 2-3 weeks.

[Guest]

3 Games

3 early deficits

3 comebacks

3 losses

Let's stop doing the 4th one. The 2nd too, I guess, unless it's followed up with the 3rd. But not the 4th, but that goes without saying.

 

saturday wasn't an early deficit

 

/nitpicking

[jersey cubs fan]

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[Ski]

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I mean, there has to be a reasonable explanation behind his second half struggles. How does one forget how to pitch after the all-star break? Do hitters magically adjust? Is it a mental thing? Does he struggle with his command or lose the grip on his breaking pitches? I mean, if he keeps going about his business, which produced great success over the first half, then there's no reason for him to suck.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Ski

[Ding Dong Johnson]

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[jersey cubs fan]

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[Ski]

Sorry, I accidentally hit reply with just the quote. I edited in my actual response.

[Guest]

does he need to skip a start or what

 

wtf happens to him in the second half

[jersey cubs fan]

I mean, if he keeps going about his business, which produced great success over the first half, then there's no reason for him to suck.

 

Despite the fact that anybody can throw a shutout in today's game, the actual physical act of pitching is difficult and takes a toll on an arm. Only the superstars pitch great all year.

[BigSlick]

Can we stop coming back and tying games and then losing them late

 

Thanks

[Ski]

I mean, if he keeps going about his business, which produced great success over the first half, then there's no reason for him to suck.

 

Despite the fact that anybody can throw a shutout in today's game, the actual physical act of pitching is difficult and takes a toll on an arm. Only the superstars pitch great all year.

Sounds like Hammel needs to talk to Arrieta about conditioning.

[ARCubsFan]

Hammel needs to run hills in the offseason like Dempster did when he converted to a starter. Dempster's part of the organization, put them together.

[Guest]

So people are so afraid of playing one game in Pittsburgh that they would rather play three there?

 

That's what confuses me. I think the Pirates are probably a better team than St. Louis, so I'd rather try to knock them out at once with Arrieta and deal with St. Louis in a longer series. Especially since the St. Louis SP are pretty interchangeable. Facing St. Louis in the Wild Card does maximize the odds of *getting to* the NLDS though, so maybe people just want to get there and let the cards fall as they may.

 

Yeah, I think I'd rather try to beat Cole with Arrieta in the WC game then have to either sweep Games 2, 3 and 4 or beat Cole at least once with someone not named Arrieta (I know it would likely be Lester and he's fine, but he's not Arrieta).

[Andy]

I freely concede, and I'm sure others feel the same way, that some of that philosophy is that I expect some STL [expletive] to aid them in the playoffs and I feel like there's a better chance of avoiding such [expletive] in a 1-game series than a 5-gamer.

 

It's not at all logical. The logical POV is definitely the Cole/Arrieta one (and I'd gladly take that scenario too).