7/7 Braves (Harrell) @ Cubs (Hammel) - 7:05 pm ABC7

[Ski]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

[Cubswin11]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

If only we yelled, we may be 6-9.

Edited July 8, 2016 by Cubswin11

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

We skipped the two WS Red Sox and went straight to the Carl Crawford signing and chicken and beer

[tawfiqmp]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

16-18 in their last 34. Even worse. This isn't a 15 game thing.

[bcl412]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

 

No, it would fix everything. This has already been established.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

 

Yelling isn't really going to do anything and it's not Joe's style. No way he stops believing in his ways.

 

As Theo points out, his team just needs to get back to their grinding ways, when every at-bat was a nightmare for the opposing pitcher.

 

That and every pitcher but Kyle needs to stop sucking.

[Sammy Sofa]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

 

The best part about you being so hung up on a grown man screaming at other grown men is that it would be a grown man screaming at other grown men and there's no way you'd be able to see or hear it happen.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

[Transmogrified Tiger]

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

16-18 in their last 34. Even worse. This isn't a 15 game thing.

 

16-18 with a 4-11 stretch means they were 12-7 (a 102 win pace) prior to the 15 game stretch, in your larger sample.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Here's a somewhat exhaustive list of things that are causing the struggle.

 

- Randomness. Even teams that win 110 games have poor stretches of 10-15 games

- A bunch of games against good opponents

- A stretch of mediocre starting pitching, which is mostly just regression from their incredible early season pace

- Nearly 4 weeks without an off day, which combined with the point above means

- More innings for the worst pitchers in the bullpen

- Injuries to position players. Almora, Baez, and Contreras all have very good qualities. They(along with Candelario) have 30% of the Cubs July plate appearances entering tonight. That's not at all what we want and leads to stretches without offense when they inevitably have growing pains and stretches of not only outs, but poor approaches.

[Little Slide Rooter]

How do you let Nick Markakis single handedly beat you? He's like the worst player on earth.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Here's a somewhat exhaustive list of things that are causing the struggle.

 

- Randomness. Even teams that win 110 games have poor stretches of 10-15 games

- A bunch of games against good opponents

- A stretch of mediocre starting pitching, which is mostly just regression from their incredible early season pace

- Nearly 4 weeks without an off day, which combined with the point above means

- More innings for the worst pitchers in the bullpen

- Injuries to position players. Almora, Baez, and Contreras all have very good qualities. They(along with Candelario) have 30% of the Cubs July plate appearances entering tonight. That's not at all what we want and leads to stretches without offense when they inevitably have growing pains and stretches of not only outs, but poor approaches.

 

Dexter Fowler, Dexter Fowler, Dexter Fowler. For the 1st two months of the season, we had a lead off hitter who got on base like 75% of the time. It's hard not to spark a flame when that happens. Then he came down to earth, then he got hurt. This isn't to say that Dexter's to blame for the struggles so much as the credit he deserves for the 1st few months.

[Little Slide Rooter]

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

 

No, it would fix everything. This has already been established.

 

Well, I guess that all depends on the volume and intensity of the yelling. If it's just a stern but kind lecture, it's not going to get the point across. But if we're talking top of the lungs, vein popping, with some well placed obscenities, that's the only way that they're going to learn that this isn't ok. Because the next step is going to be loss of privileges. This means no TV. This means no I Pad. This means no, you don't get to see Bell, Biv, Devoe with Becky and Stacy next weekend. And you can sit there and pout all you want, but until you learn some respect and start winning some ball games, this is just how it's going to have to be from now on.

[cubsclapp]

Enough with this [expletive]. No coddling. Gather the team together and tell everyone to get their heads out of their asses.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with that. They're not losing because their heads aren't in it or they aren't trying hard. They're losing for a ton of baseball reasons. They're awful right now. But (for example), I highly doubt they're getting shut out by a garbage pitcher like Lucas Harrell because they aren't focused or aren't trying to get on base. Or that Hector Rondon is allowing a homer to Nick Markakis because he isn't focused on executing in the 9th inning of a one-run game.

 

It's a big list of things right now and it's all adding up to this god awful stretch of play.

[cubsclapp]

The Cubs can go out and get bullpen help but is it even going to be enough at this point? I don't trust anyone in this bullpen right now and you need at least 4 trustworthy arms to win anything in October.

 

4-5 such arms would be great (and I think they add at least 1 more such arm), but do you really need that many good pen arms to win in October?

 

If your starting pitchers aren't going at least 6 or 7 on average, you're in big trouble in October anyway. You're riding your good arms. You figure that Lester or Arrieta is getting you into the 8th+ for at least a couple of these games. You're using Strop and Rondon in every game necessary as well. Not to mention you have a day off in a five-game series, then another couple days off before the next series, and what, two off days in a seven-game series?

 

So, I mean, 4+ trustworthy arms are great. But in reality you probably only "need" 2 or 3 Rondon/Strop level arms, and a couple more at least decent arms. Between whatever they'll acquire at the deadline, and the underachieving guys currently in the pen, the Cubs should be able to have enough in this department.

[UMFan83]

 

You solved it. Not enough yelling. Why are you still posting if the issue is solved?

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

16-18 in their last 34. Even worse. This isn't a 15 game thing.

 

That 16-18 is broken down into a 11-5 stretch followed by a 5-13 stretch

 

Don't make the bad run longer than it needs to be. Before this 5-13 stretch we were still playing at 114 win pace for the season. Now we are on pace for 99 wins

Edited July 8, 2016 by UMFan83

[UMFan83]

The Cubs had 14 base runners in the game. 8 of them reached with 0 outs and 0 runs were scored. Of the remaining 6 runners, 5 of them reached with 2 outs in the 8th and 3 scored. Baseball is a funny game.

[David]

Pretty glad I went to sleep when it was still 2-0 in the 7th or something.

[David]

Would yelling make things worse after going 4-11 in our last 15?

16-18 in their last 34. Even worse. This isn't a 15 game thing.

 

16-18 with a 4-11 stretch means they were 12-7 (a 102 win pace) prior to the 15 game stretch, in your larger sample.

 

I honestly had the most involuntarily confused look on my face when I read that, wondering if someone could actually think that made sense or if it was sarcasm (except IIRC that poster is one of the rondon fan/ski school of chicken little).

[Andy]

I remember the Mother's Day game where I was absolutely positive the Cubs would win, it was just a matter of who would do it. Last night I went to bed following the 10th knowing they'd lose. Incredible how things have turned this drastically.

[David]

I remember the Mother's Day game where I was absolutely positive the Cubs would win, it was just a matter of who would do it. Last night I went to bed following the 10th knowing they'd lose. Incredible how things have turned this drastically.

 

weird...i am never this confident or doubtful in the moment...especially for extra inning games. just nervous as horsefeathers.

[UMFan83]

I remember the Mother's Day game where I was absolutely positive the Cubs would win, it was just a matter of who would do it. Last night I went to bed following the 10th knowing they'd lose. Incredible how things have turned this drastically.

 

weird...i am never this confident or doubtful in the moment...especially for extra inning games. just nervous as [expletive].

 

I think its more the mindset changes. When they were winning, they'd get 2 on and 0 outs and you're thinking 'ok how many runs can they score this inning..2? 3?. Now it seems like you are thinking 'which one of these [expletive] is going to strike out and which is going to hit into the DP?'

[David]

I remember the Mother's Day game where I was absolutely positive the Cubs would win, it was just a matter of who would do it. Last night I went to bed following the 10th knowing they'd lose. Incredible how things have turned this drastically.

 

weird...i am never this confident or doubtful in the moment...especially for extra inning games. just nervous as [expletive].

 

I think its more the mindset changes. When they were winning, they'd get 2 on and 0 outs and you're thinking 'ok how many runs can they score this inning..2? 3?. Now it seems like you are thinking 'which one of these [expletive] is going to strike out and which is going to hit into the DP?'

 

yeah i'm not really like that at all. just optimistic if the situation is good and pessimistic if it's bad.

[Sammys Boombox]

I mean, I don't really buy into the idea that the team with one of the best combined offenses and pitching staffs combined suddenly collapsing on all fronts for three weeks is 'just baseball.' Something is going on.

 

We skipped the two WS Red Sox and went straight to the Carl Crawford signing and chicken and beer

 

So we still have another WS win to come.