6/26 does anyone care we are playing tonight? Cubs (Butler) @ WSH (Gonzalez) 6:05 CT CSN/MLBN

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don't know, they're going to have to play so much better to show me they are capable of playing at a pace that gets them to 90+. If the pitching continues as it has the past week or so maybe I'll get there.

 

not only do i expect that, i wouldn't even be shocked if they went on a run that got them to 95+. they absolutely are capable of it, this is almost entirely the same roster that won 200 games in 2 seasons, if not better in some ways (and i anticipate adding a good starting pitcher too), and the division is far worse than it was.

 

guess i'm the only crazy one for whom the needle hasn't moved much as far as the projection and perception of this roster's talent as a result of a couple months of .500ish ball.

 

btw, they've been playing at about a 95 win pace in june...(kind of crazy to think that that that's what 14-10 projects out to, but yeah).

 

I don't think my perception has materially changed(maybe a bit for the rotation), but the games in the bank make 90+ wins a difficult ask. Winning an even 90 games requires that they play at a 96 win pace the rest of the year, winning 95 requires a 106 win pace. Are they capable of that? I think so, especially if they add a SP. But I find it hard to *expect* that or treat it as a base assumption.

[squally1313]

Getting to 90 wins means going 51-35 the rest of the year. I wouldn't expect much more than that from this version of the Cubs. As other have said, it's more than enough, and I still like our chances as much as anyone else come October.

[UMFan83]

Getting to 90 wins means going 51-35 the rest of the year. I wouldn't expect much more than that from this version of the Cubs. As other have said, it's more than enough, and I still like our chances as much as anyone else come October.

 

We will see. I could still see this team going on a big run in the second half as we have the last 2 seasons. In 2015 we did it with a rotation that included a pre-woke Hendricks, pre-potato chips Hammel and @ithrow88 serving up meatballs. We will almost certainly acquire a top 2 starter at the deadline, if not 2 starters, Zobrist, Heyward, Russell would presumably return healthy and hopefully we can some semblance of old Schwarber back. I could see us going on a 41-15 run like we did in 2015.

[weis21]

i - along with everyone here - hopes they win 100 games this year and blow the doors off the division. i was only saying i'm not freaking out about hovering around or slightly above .500 because i'll be happy as can be if they "only" win 86 games but take the division. they'll have to play better (but not amazingly) to do that but i firmly believe they will. and, they can certainly exceed that expectation obviously.

 

as every one of you know and have said countless times the playoffs are a crapshoot. i just want them to get there and believe they will.

 

will any one of you care if the 86 win cubs team takes the division as opposed to the 96 win cubs team? i mean, yeah, it would maybe lead to a bit more confidence or whatever in their odds of going further in the playoffs (but it probably shouldn't matter much if the team has better SP and playing better in the second half) but other than that it's meaningless.

[David]

i - along with everyone here - hopes they win 100 games this year and blow the doors off the division. i was only saying i'm not freaking out about hovering around or slightly above .500 because i'll be happy as can be if they "only" win 86 games but take the division. they'll have to play better (but not amazingly) to do that but i firmly believe they will. and, they can certainly exceed that expectation obviously.

 

as every one of you know and have said countless times the playoffs are a crapshoot. i just want them to get there and believe they will.

 

will any one of you care if the 86 win cubs team takes the division as opposed to the 96 win cubs team? i mean, yeah, it would maybe lead to a bit more confidence or whatever in their odds of going further in the playoffs (but it probably shouldn't matter much if the team has better SP and playing better in the second half) but other than that it's meaningless.

 

i mean, i already said i'd care, but since you asked, i'm answering.

[weis21]

ok. agree to disagree i guess. i want the cubs to win every game. they won't and we all know that. and i don't really *care* if they only win 86 vs 96 games as it doesn't mean a thing if they make the playoffs as the NL central champs. i think it's odd that would really bother you about their record when the end result is the same thing but to each their own.

 

go cubs?

[David]

well, aside from the fact that 96 would mean they're a much better team than 86, it -could- matter in terms of how many home games they play (not at all out of the question that one of WAS or LAD wins 95 or less - especially WAS).

[jersey cubs fan]

ok. agree to disagree i guess. i want the cubs to win every game. they won't and we all know that. and i don't really *care* if they only win 86 vs 96 games as it doesn't mean a thing if they make the playoffs as the NL central champs. i think it's odd that would really bother you about their record when the end result is the same thing but to each their own.

 

go cubs?

I'm mostly on board with this idea but there would be a notable level of increased enjoyment of seeing them win 10 more games this season, lose 10 less games, and go three straight seasons over 95 wins. 95+ win team teams are fun to follow because there is a noticeable difference in how good they are compared with the 86ers. Plus they could get homefield advantage in the NLDS.

[David]

god i just hope the dbacks or rockies can take out the dodgers

 

sidenote - have the dodgers still been awful against LHP this year or has bellinger over gonzalez singlehandedly fixed that for them?

[UMFan83]

god i just hope the dbacks or rockies can take out the dodgers

 

sidenote - have the dodgers still been awful against LHP this year or has bellinger over gonzalez singlehandedly fixed that for them?

 

Last year they had an OPS that was 150 points higher vs. RHP. This year their OPS vs. RHP is 1 point better (.785 vs. .784)

[squally1313]

ok. agree to disagree i guess. i want the cubs to win every game. they won't and we all know that. and i don't really *care* if they only win 86 vs 96 games as it doesn't mean a thing if they make the playoffs as the NL central champs. i think it's odd that would really bother you about their record when the end result is the same thing but to each their own.

 

go cubs?

I'm mostly on board with this idea but there would be a notable level of increased enjoyment of seeing them win 10 more games this season, lose 10 less games, and go three straight seasons over 95 wins. 95+ win team teams are fun to follow because there is a noticeable difference in how good they are compared with the 86ers. Plus they could get homefield advantage in the NLDS.

 

I get the day to day enjoyment of watching a win vs watching a loss. I'd be a hypocrite to sit here today and say I didn't really care about how many wins they had in the season after getting pretty anxious watching the end of the game last night.

 

But right now we're 84.4% to win the division. If that number were to dip below like...70% (nice), I might start to have some big picture worry, but as of now I have no doubts we'll start the playoffs in more or less the same spot we were last October. The regular season last year incredibly satisfying to watch, a culmination of a lot of dark years and of a very well executed plan. But I realize how rare those types of years are, even for a team as good as the Cubs. We did it last year, and we followed up in the ultimate way in October. Trying to strive for, or expecting, that type of dominance from April-September just seems like you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

The team is better than how they've played so far, but how they've played so far is good enough so....whatever.

[weis21]

ok. agree to disagree i guess. i want the cubs to win every game. they won't and we all know that. and i don't really *care* if they only win 86 vs 96 games as it doesn't mean a thing if they make the playoffs as the NL central champs. i think it's odd that would really bother you about their record when the end result is the same thing but to each their own.

 

go cubs?

I'm mostly on board with this idea but there would be a notable level of increased enjoyment of seeing them win 10 more games this season, lose 10 less games, and go three straight seasons over 95 wins. 95+ win team teams are fun to follow because there is a noticeable difference in how good they are compared with the 86ers. Plus they could get homefield advantage in the NLDS.

these are all fair points and i'm not a big fan about arguing about how i'd be ok if the cubs are less good so on that note i'll toss in the towel. i hope they do win 96 (or more) and know they are more than capable of going on that run. mostly i just want them to win the central and make the playoffs but i hope they win every MFer game

[Sammy Sofa]

Shitty baseball sucks, and all these dumb dildos acting like you have to be a Vulcan about it are the worst. Amazingly, you can both be confident that they can do better (and likely will) AND get annoyed at stretches of lousy games without being a meatball. I mean, it's just sports; you're supposed to get at least a little worked up over it, otherwise what's the point of even being a fan. Nobody gets bonus fan points acting like a monk the whole time.

[weis21]

this whole thing has been a really terrible argument and i'm sorry for the part i played in it. it's like a bunch of drunk guys in a bar that just want to find something to argue about so they choose something out of laziness.

[Sammy Sofa]

[David]

horsefeathers baseball sucks, and all these dumb dildos acting like you have to be a Vulcan about it are the worst. Amazingly, you can both be confident that they can do better (and likely will) AND get annoyed at stretches of lousy games without being a meatball. I mean, it's just sports; you're supposed to get at least a little worked up over it, otherwise what's the point of even being a fan. Nobody gets bonus fan points acting like a monk the whole time.

 

who is trying to impose anything on anyone

[weis21]

[Sammy Sofa]

horsefeathers baseball sucks, and all these dumb dildos acting like you have to be a Vulcan about it are the worst. Amazingly, you can both be confident that they can do better (and likely will) AND get annoyed at stretches of lousy games without being a meatball. I mean, it's just sports; you're supposed to get at least a little worked up over it, otherwise what's the point of even being a fan. Nobody gets bonus fan points acting like a monk the whole time.

 

who is trying to impose anything on anyone