6/15 Cubs (Hammel) @ Nationals (Strasburg) 3:05 WGN

[weis21]

the pen has been fine/good, it's just that cubs fans are so spoiled with this historically good offense/defense/starting pitching so it pales in comparison.

 

that being said, i completely expect theo et al to make a trade for a shutdown reliever. not because it's imperative, but it's the one spot on this team that hasn't been historically great. and the more he can make this team unstoppable from every aspect this year, the more they can sway the odds come playoff time.

[tawfiqmp]

I just think the bullpen is more important to Joe Maddon than anything else on the team. He used his bullpen perfectly in the 2015 NLDS and everyone stepped up and did their jobs. But right now, outside of Strop and Rondon, are there people that you truly trust in a playoff setting? Not Grimm right now, need him at 2015 Grimm levels.

[tawfiqmp]

Bullpen is a major problem and has been despite the record. It would make it easier if Justin Grimm didn't suck and pitched like he did in 2015 but realistically, you probably need to bring at least 2 good bullpen arms in.

 

I wouldn't say it's a major problem. The bullpen is average. Unfortunately we doubled down on great performances from the scrap heap from Cahill and Richard and it hasn't worked out for the most part. Warren has been unreliable and that was quite unexpected. I love Strop and he's electric but every so often just completely implodes. Not going to fault Rondon for either of the last 2 nights. He allowed exactly 2 legit base runners and as a result blew 2 saves. Today he should have gone 1-2-3 but was screwed. He's been dominant.

 

In an ideal world you have

9th - Rondon

8th - Lockdown lefty

7th - Strop

6th - Grimm/Loogy

LR - Cahill

Cahill has been good, Strop has been great, Warren has been really good, Grimm has great stuff and lousy results, Rondon has been about the best in the league, and Wood has been great. Great does not mean "never allows a run", so you get days where the pen allows runs.

Cahill has been good I agree, Strop obviously. But Adam Warren? He's given up 8 earned runs in his last 7.2 IP

[Sammy Sofa]

What the hell? I left work after they got the first out and then listened to podcasts on the way home figuring it was locked up.

 

Ah well; a back and forth loss between the two best teams in baseball. Such is life. Awesome to see Russell and Almora looking good.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Cahill has been good, Strop has been great, Warren has been really good, Grimm has great stuff and lousy results, Rondon has been about the best in the league, and Wood has been great. Great does not mean "never allows a run", so you get days where the pen allows runs.

 

I can't agree that Warren has been good, and I wouldn't argue if someone pointed to Cahill and Wood's peripherals, but in spirit I'm with you. The Cubs have one of the best relievers in the game at closer and a very good setup man. Neither Cahill, Wood, nor Warren has been as good as they were last year so the middle innings aren't quite as rock solid, but it's still quite good. By giving up 3 runs in 4+ IP today, they upped their ERA for the month to 3.66, 11th in MLB/5th in the NL.

[bukie]

 

I wouldn't say it's a major problem. The bullpen is average. Unfortunately we doubled down on great performances from the scrap heap from Cahill and Richard and it hasn't worked out for the most part. Warren has been unreliable and that was quite unexpected. I love Strop and he's electric but every so often just completely implodes. Not going to fault Rondon for either of the last 2 nights. He allowed exactly 2 legit base runners and as a result blew 2 saves. Today he should have gone 1-2-3 but was screwed. He's been dominant.

 

In an ideal world you have

9th - Rondon

8th - Lockdown lefty

7th - Strop

6th - Grimm/Loogy

LR - Cahill

Cahill has been good, Strop has been great, Warren has been really good, Grimm has great stuff and lousy results, Rondon has been about the best in the league, and Wood has been great. Great does not mean "never allows a run", so you get days where the pen allows runs.

Cahill has been good I agree, Strop obviously. But Adam Warren? He's given up 8 earned runs in his last 7.2 IP

Yes, if you ignore the amazing start to the season and pick out his worst stretch then it can be made to look less than great.

[Derwood]

Cubs vs. Nats in the playoffs would be a dog fight

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Yeah the bullpen isn't exactly bad. It's not good. But, Rondon and Strop have been good at the back-end. And the other guys are just kinda... meh. They're not Reds Bullpen Bad or anything. Grimm and Warren have not lived up to expectations, which stinks. But, we've seen the 'pen step up at times. It's the times they haven't that are more obvious. They always are. Fans, generally, always hate their bullpen. I don't think it's been much of an issue. For one, the starting pitching has been so great, and they've worked deep into games. So we haven't had to rely on the bullpen that much. And, also, we've blown out a ton of teams, so it hasn't really mattered anyway.

 

We could go through the rest of this season with these same guys and occasionally have a bullpen meltdown and it won't matter, since we have such a large cushion and are such a good team. That being said, it would be nice to have a Miller or Chapman thrown in for reinforcement. I would be fine with either. Chapman would cost less. Miller would be nice, because he would ensure a tough 'pen in the future, too. It's an easy place to upgrade, though. So I'm not too worried about it right now. I expect the pen will be upgraded, possibly through a number of avenues. There's Nathan and Matusz chilling out in the minors. There's a few decent options like Edwards already in Iowa. If one of those guys sticks, you add a Miller, maybe a smaller move for a good loogy or something... that's a damn good 'pen.

 

So I'm not going to get too worked up about it right now. If we were in a race, it would be more frustrating. As it is, I'm content to wait it out. I think it's an obvious place to upgrade, though. We're so good everywhere else that you can find an upgrade there much easier than somewhere else on the roster. So make the 'pen as good as everything else, Theo.

[bukie]

Warren's problem right now is that he's giving up too many long fly balls and walking too many. Hitters really aren't hitting him often, none of his pitches are especially bad, just having trouble locating right now, which is fixable.

[UMFan83]

If we keep blowing out teams when we win and losing 1 run games we might set a record for biggest disparity between Pythag wins and actual wins

[bcl412]

Eh, just don't do that crap in the playoffs

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Warren's problem right now is that he's giving up too many long fly balls and walking too many. Hitters really aren't hitting him often, none of his pitches are especially bad, just having trouble locating right now, which is fixable.

 

He's got a lot of problems right now. On April 26th he had his best outing of the season, 2 perfect innings with 3 K. Since then: 15.2 IP, 15 H, 8 K, 11 BB, 4 HR. In May his control deserted him and he had some bad outings punctuated by home runs. In June he's stopped missing bats too, 1 K in his last 32 batters faced.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I'd like to see someone spit gum in Werth's hair so he has to cut it

[Tim]

I'd like to see someone spit gum in Werth's hair so he has to cut it

Not just a little bit, either.

[Tim]

Also, chicken littles, take solace; the Cards lost against a much lesser team today.

[ChiCubsFan]

There's really nothing id rather see less than the Cubs give up real assets for relief pitchers.

 

Unless we're talking Volgelbach-type real assets for Miller-type relief pitchers.

[David]

Cahill has been good, Strop has been great, Warren has been really good, Grimm has great stuff and lousy results, Rondon has been about the best in the league, and Wood has been great. Great does not mean "never allows a run", so you get days where the pen allows runs.

 

I can't agree that Warren has been good, and I wouldn't argue if someone pointed to Cahill and Wood's peripherals, but in spirit I'm with you. The Cubs have one of the best relievers in the game at closer and a very good setup man. Neither Cahill, Wood, nor Warren has been as good as they were last year so the middle innings aren't quite as rock solid, but it's still quite good. By giving up 3 runs in 4+ IP today, they upped their ERA for the month to 3.66, 11th in MLB/5th in the NL.

 

yeah, cahill has been walking guys at a rate of 6 per 9ip...he has not been good unless all you look at is ERA

 

warren has been terrible overall...idk how anyone can say he's been really good. that doesn't mean i think he is terrible, but he absolutely has been terrible.

[Cubswin11]

At this point last year Warren had about a dozen starts under his belt, I wonder if starting the year in the bullpen as opposed to getting the longer/scheduled reps of starting has thrown him off a bit to start this year? Just looking for an explanation because his stuff seems fine.

[Clem Fandango]

Jayson Werth had an interesting post game interview...

 

[Schwarber Fan]

I know we're off today, but for God's sake, someone please start a new game thread!!

[Omar]

really? they broadcast their postgame interviews over the entire PA system? For a regular season game?

[Sammy Sofa]

I see that a lot.

[Banedon]

really? they broadcast their postgame interviews over the entire PA system? For a regular season game?

 

The Blackhawks do that.