7/4/17: World Series Champ Cubs (Lester) vs Rays (Archer), 1:20, WGN TV/670 AM

[Cubswin11]

horsefeathers losing by one hurts worse knowing that Lester could've easily only given up 1-2 runs today if not for that stupid BABIP inning

[Bryants Disco Ball]

3.5 back

 

It's just not going to happen this year.

 

Impossible to make up 3.5 games with 80 left.

 

Things we do know: Tim is wrong about the Brewers selling by the deadline and Duker is wrong about us being 10 games better than the Brewers by the end of the season.

 

Let's just hope that's where you guys being wrong and me being right ends.

 

ETA: The vaunted Brewers. Not just the Brewers.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Bryant's Disco Ball

[Aaron_Kennelly]

horsefeathers losing by one hurts worse knowing that Lester could've easily only given up 1-2 runs today if not for that stupid BABIP inning

 

Yep. BABIP'd and all sequenced together. Pen did good. Offense with 11 hits, 6 walks, and 5 runs. Tough pill to swallow.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Just gonna throw this out there

 

Bryant has 74 RBI over the last calendar year of regular season baseball

[UMFan83]

 

It's just not going to happen this year.

 

Impossible to make up 3.5 games with 80 left.

 

Things we do know: Tim is wrong about the Brewers selling by the deadline and Duker is wrong about us being 10 games better than the Brewers by the end of the season.

 

Let's just hope that's where you guys being wrong and me being right ends.

 

ETA: The vaunted Brewers. Not just the Brewers.

 

Gasping at straws but plenty of instances of teams playing way over their heads for half the season and tanking. The Brewers did it in 2014 (52-31 at one point and finished 82-80) the White Sox did it recently too.

[SpongeWorthy]

horsefeathers losing by one hurts worse knowing that Lester could've easily only given up 1-2 runs today if not for that stupid BABIP inning

 

Yep. BABIP'd and all sequenced together. Pen did good. Offense with 11 hits, 6 walks, and 5 runs. Tough pill to swallow.

 

yeah but what about our overwhelming talent edge against almost any team in baseball that was supposed to render variance to the ash bin of history

 

that's what we thought this team was coming into the season. now we have to cling to "aw shucks bad luck" against mediocre teams? i wanted a dynasty god damnit

[Bryants Disco Ball]

 

Impossible to make up 3.5 games with 80 left.

 

Things we do know: Tim is wrong about the Brewers selling by the deadline and Duker is wrong about us being 10 games better than the Brewers by the end of the season.

 

Let's just hope that's where you guys being wrong and me being right ends.

 

ETA: The vaunted Brewers. Not just the Brewers.

 

Gasping at straws but plenty of instances of teams playing way over their heads for half the season and tanking. The Brewers did it in 2014 (52-31 at one point and finished 82-80) the White Sox did it recently too.

 

100 percent correct. The Brewers were actually up by eight game on everybody in the Central like midway through July and even perhaps later that year.

 

Of course, that doesn't make me feel any better about this year and what I have been seeing.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

The Brewers still horsefeathering suck.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Just gonna throw this out there

 

Bryant has 74 RBI over the last calendar year of regular season baseball

 

And...? He's hitting .285/.396/.526 over that time. It's almost as if he had a guy hitting .150 batting in front of him for a lot of that time period.

[Cubswin11]

Just gonna throw this out there

 

Bryant has 74 RBI over the last calendar year of regular season baseball

Clearly lacks the clutch gene

[We Got The Whole 9]

Just gonna throw this out there

 

Bryant has 74 RBI over the last calendar year of regular season baseball

 

And...? He's hitting .285/.396/.526 over that time. It's almost as if he had a guy hitting .150 batting in front of him for a lot of that time period.

Yeah, his wOBA with RISP this year is 300. He's had plenty of opportunities. He's been abysmal.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Just gonna throw this out there

 

Bryant has 74 RBI over the last calendar year of regular season baseball

 

And...? He's hitting .285/.396/.526 over that time. It's almost as if he had a guy hitting .150 batting in front of him for a lot of that time period.

Yeah, his wOBA with RISP this year is 300. He's had plenty of opportunities. He's been abysmal.

 

And I should care about that smaller sample of PA than the rest of his career PA why? You're digging too deep to find horsefeathers to worry about. He's a horsefeathering MVP.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Duke Silver

[UMFan83]

Just gonna throw this out there

 

Bryant has 74 RBI over the last calendar year of regular season baseball

Clearly lacks the clutch gene

 

Should trade him ASAP. Can you honestly see him hitting a game tying HR in the 9th inning of a playoff game? Or haha should we make the World Series, can you see him hitting a couple of important HRs or maybe in a game 7 game having 3 hits?

[Aaron_Kennelly]

People have been trying to poke holes in Kris Bryant's game his whole career. Can't play third. Strikes out too much. Can't mash lefties. Can't hit on the road. Can't hit in day games. Can't hit high velocity. Can't hit curves. Can't go the other way. Swings through too many pitches in the zone. Can't hit inside pitches. Can't hit outside pitches.

 

He's generally been nothing but awesome and has disproved basically every critique about him. And he's made a lot of doubters -- ahem, Tony Massarotti -- look foolish. He's not a guy you need to worry about.

[FlyTheW]

3.5 back

 

It's just not going to happen this year.

 

Impossible to make up 3.5 games with 80 left.

I can't remember the last time this team has won 3 in a row. This team clearly isn't very good and nothing they've done has shown they can go on a run.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

 

It's just not going to happen this year.

 

Impossible to make up 3.5 games with 80 left.

I can't remember the last time this team has won 3 in a row. This team clearly isn't very good and nothing they've done has shown they can go on a run.

 

Yeah, this team clearly isn't going on a run. I've admitted as much. As long as Lackey and Butler are in the rotation, that's just not going to happen. This team has been playing Javy and Almora against righties. They've heavily featured Candelario and Zagunis. This team is not good.

 

Add Hendricks. Add another starter. Then you have what could be a good rotation. Hopefully get a non-terrible Schwarber back. Hope Zobrist is healthy. Hope Heyward can provide a little help with his bat. That team could go on a run.

[bcl412]

 

Things we do know: Tim is wrong about the Brewers selling by the deadline and Duker is wrong about us being 10 games better than the Brewers by the end of the season.

 

Let's just hope that's where you guys being wrong and me being right ends.

 

ETA: The vaunted Brewers. Not just the Brewers.

 

Gasping at straws but plenty of instances of teams playing way over their heads for half the season and tanking. The Brewers did it in 2014 (52-31 at one point and finished 82-80) the White Sox did it recently too.

 

100 percent correct. The Brewers were actually up by eight game on everybody in the Central like midway through July and even perhaps later that year.

 

Of course, that doesn't make me feel any better about this year and what I have been seeing.

 

I'm not worried about the Brewers. We suck though.

[UMFan83]

 

It's just not going to happen this year.

 

Impossible to make up 3.5 games with 80 left.

I can't remember the last time this team has won 3 in a row. This team clearly isn't very good and nothing they've done has shown they can go on a run.

 

A bunch of them won 103 games and a World Series last year. I know thisnyear is a different team but clearly they've shown *something* to make you think they can go on a run.

 

To me it's all about starting pitching. You get hendricks back and get a 1 or 2 quality starter and I think things will turn around quickly. There are several guys that aren't hitting great offensively but that doesnt even matter. Last years formula was elite starting pitching, elite defense and above average offense. Not a huge hill to climb for the offense to get to last year's point. The issue is every single starter has regressed from last year's performances. Fix that and you fix this team

[17 Seconds]

they're just not very good

[FlyTheW]

 

Impossible to make up 3.5 games with 80 left.

I can't remember the last time this team has won 3 in a row. This team clearly isn't very good and nothing they've done has shown they can go on a run.

 

A bunch of them won 103 games and a World Series last year. I know thisnyear is a different team but clearly they've shown *something* to make you think they can go on a run.

 

To me it's all about starting pitching. You get hendricks back and get a 1 or 2 quality starter and I think things will turn around quickly. There are several guys that aren't hitting great offensively but that doesnt even matter. Last years formula was elite starting pitching, elite defense and above average offense. Not a huge hill to climb for the offense to get to last year's point. The issue is every single starter has regressed from last year's performances. Fix that and you fix this team

I expected the pitching to decline a little this year. It's the offense that's very disturbing because literally everyone has regressed.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

The Brewers still horsefeathering suck.

psst... so do the cubs. pass it on

[We Got The Whole 9]

People have been trying to poke holes in Kris Bryant's game his whole career. Can't play third. Strikes out too much. Can't mash lefties. Can't hit on the road. Can't hit in day games. Can't hit high velocity. Can't hit curves. Can't go the other way. Swings through too many pitches in the zone. Can't hit inside pitches. Can't hit outside pitches.

 

He's generally been nothing but awesome and has disproved basically every critique about him. And he's made a lot of doubters -- ahem, Tony Massarotti -- look foolish. He's not a guy you need to worry about.

He's certainly a guy who I can complain about, no matter how well he is laying his path to the HOF. This is pretty much my favorite Cub ever but he's not immune from criticism. No player is. And talking about their weaknesses shouldn't be as taboo as you guys make it out to be.

 

His career wOBA in high leverage situations is 296 and his K% is pushing 30. He has 3 HR and 8 2B in 180+ PA. Nowhere near the type of hitter he is, and the team would benefit greatly if he started performing there more often. He's one of their leaders and should be relied on to drive in runs at a high level consistently. Especially when the offense is struggling as much as it has this year, they should be able to rely on their MVP to pick up the slack.

 

Do you not agree with the simple statement that KB should have more RBI given the opportunities he's had?

[Cubswin11]

People have been trying to poke holes in Kris Bryant's game his whole career. Can't play third. Strikes out too much. Can't mash lefties. Can't hit on the road. Can't hit in day games. Can't hit high velocity. Can't hit curves. Can't go the other way. Swings through too many pitches in the zone. Can't hit inside pitches. Can't hit outside pitches.

 

He's generally been nothing but awesome and has disproved basically every critique about him. And he's made a lot of doubters -- ahem, Tony Massarotti -- look foolish. He's not a guy you need to worry about.

 

His career wOBA in high leverage situations is 296 and his K% is pushing 30. He has 3 HR and 8 2B in 180+ PA. Nowhere near the type of hitter he is, and the team would benefit greatly if he started performing there more often. He's one of their leaders and should be relied on to drive in runs at a high level consistently. Especially when the offense is struggling as much as it has this year, they should be able to rely on their MVP to pick up the slack.

I know those numbers aren't great, but would it be a safe assumption that most guys high leverage numbers are a little lower than their career avg/norms? In high leverage spots, aren't hitters more times than not going to be facing elite level relief pitching which will/should suppress output numbers offensively?

[We Got The Whole 9]

People have been trying to poke holes in Kris Bryant's game his whole career. Can't play third. Strikes out too much. Can't mash lefties. Can't hit on the road. Can't hit in day games. Can't hit high velocity. Can't hit curves. Can't go the other way. Swings through too many pitches in the zone. Can't hit inside pitches. Can't hit outside pitches.

 

He's generally been nothing but awesome and has disproved basically every critique about him. And he's made a lot of doubters -- ahem, Tony Massarotti -- look foolish. He's not a guy you need to worry about.

 

His career wOBA in high leverage situations is 296 and his K% is pushing 30. He has 3 HR and 8 2B in 180+ PA. Nowhere near the type of hitter he is, and the team would benefit greatly if he started performing there more often. He's one of their leaders and should be relied on to drive in runs at a high level consistently. Especially when the offense is struggling as much as it has this year, they should be able to rely on their MVP to pick up the slack.

I know those numbers aren't great, but would it be a safe assumption that most guys high leverage numbers are a little lower than their career avg/norms? In high leverage spots, aren't hitters more times than not going to be facing elite level relief pitching which will/should suppress output numbers offensively?

Not to replacement level. I mean they're different for everybody. Some rise up and some don't. But KB should be markedly better than a 296 wOBA 80 wRC+.

[BigSlick]

lol I could not care less at all how mediocre (not even bad!) Bryant's numbers are with runners in scoring position

 

There are literally 74 other things to care about than that

 

And the Cubs are still trash