10/17 - NLCS Game 3 - dodgers (Darvish) @ World Champs (Prof. Hendricks) - 8:00

[David]

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[Sammy Sofa]

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http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/095/451/314.jpg

[Cubswin11]

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Looks like a winner

[OleMissCub]

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2017/10/17/16489378/chicago-cubs-poor-hitting-kris-bryant-anthony-rizzo-javier-baez

 

"The 2017 Cubs are one of 92 teams in the wild-card era to win a division series and reach the LCS round. Among that group, their current .162 playoff batting average, .251 playoff on-base percentage, and .262 playoff slugging percentage all rank last"

 

http://ladodgerreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/sad-nationals-fans.jpg

 

http://www.korkedbats.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Sad-Nationals.jpg

[squally1313]

It's kinda goofy when sample size sentiment mutates into this thing where people are this close to seemingly just flat out refusing to believe what's happened.

 

Nobody is saying that the Cubs in these last 7 games are the Cubs going forward, like this is who they're doomed to be. Its pointing out that, yes, even by the small sample-size standards of a stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching, the Cubs' bats have been REALLY bad/cold/ineffective/whatever descriptor offends people the least, and that that's surprising for a team that has hit so well, even with the context of a 7 game stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching.

 

Like, there's taking a dip in the playoffs as expected, and then there's whatever level of hell the bats have descended to at this point.

 

No I mean, I get it. With or without statistics, it's pretty clear they've been horrid. I guess I just don't really care that much whether it's incredibly bad or historically bad. And the implication that comes with this article, or articles like this, is that this is somehow predictive going forward. I mean, the link on the front page of the Ringer right now is "The Chicago Cubs seem to have forgotten how to hit". That's not true. They, past tense, have hit like horsefeathers. There's no reason to connect that with hitting poorly tonight, or going forward.

[Sammy Sofa]

It's kinda goofy when sample size sentiment mutates into this thing where people are this close to seemingly just flat out refusing to believe what's happened.

 

Nobody is saying that the Cubs in these last 7 games are the Cubs going forward, like this is who they're doomed to be. Its pointing out that, yes, even by the small sample-size standards of a stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching, the Cubs' bats have been REALLY bad/cold/ineffective/whatever descriptor offends people the least, and that that's surprising for a team that has hit so well, even with the context of a 7 game stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching.

 

Like, there's taking a dip in the playoffs as expected, and then there's whatever level of hell the bats have descended to at this point.

 

No I mean, I get it. With or without statistics, it's pretty clear they've been horrid. I guess I just don't really care that much whether it's incredibly bad or historically bad. And the implication that comes with this article, or articles like this, is that this is somehow predictive going forward. I mean, the link on the front page of the Ringer right now is "The Chicago Cubs seem to have forgotten how to hit". That's not true. They, past tense, have hit like horsefeathers. There's no reason to connect that with hitting poorly tonight, or going forward.

 

Well, their conclusion is basically this: the Cubs have struggled mightily against good pitching in the playoffs, and it doesn't get any easier any time soon. Obviously it doesn't mean they are a lock to keep stinking at the plate, but it's not a crazy prediction to think there's a good chance they aren't able to right the ship before it's too late. I think completely dismissing the offense of the last 7(6) games is as faulty as assuming that the horrible offense is definitely going to continue. We don't have to act like it's not a thing.

[Agony and Ivy]

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Where the horsefeathers is Ian Happ? This is a dumb lineup.

[squally1313]

It's kinda goofy when sample size sentiment mutates into this thing where people are this close to seemingly just flat out refusing to believe what's happened.

 

Nobody is saying that the Cubs in these last 7 games are the Cubs going forward, like this is who they're doomed to be. Its pointing out that, yes, even by the small sample-size standards of a stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching, the Cubs' bats have been REALLY bad/cold/ineffective/whatever descriptor offends people the least, and that that's surprising for a team that has hit so well, even with the context of a 7 game stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching.

 

Like, there's taking a dip in the playoffs as expected, and then there's whatever level of hell the bats have descended to at this point.

 

No I mean, I get it. With or without statistics, it's pretty clear they've been horrid. I guess I just don't really care that much whether it's incredibly bad or historically bad. And the implication that comes with this article, or articles like this, is that this is somehow predictive going forward. I mean, the link on the front page of the Ringer right now is "The Chicago Cubs seem to have forgotten how to hit". That's not true. They, past tense, have hit like horsefeathers. There's no reason to connect that with hitting poorly tonight, or going forward.

 

Well, their conclusion is basically this: the Cubs have struggled mightily against good pitching in the playoffs, and it doesn't get any easier any time soon. Obviously it doesn't mean they are a lock to keep stinking at the plate, but it's not a crazy prediction to think there's a good chance they aren't able to right the ship before it's too late. I think completely dismissing the offense of the last 7(6) games is as faulty as assuming that the horrible offense is definitely going to continue. We don't have to act like it's not a thing.

 

It does get easier though. We don't have to face Scherzer or Strasburg again. Darvish is good, but has been a little worse than Hill was this year when healthy. Alex Wood is a clear step down from every other starter we've seen (besides maybe Gio, who didn't pitch well) when you look at what he's done in the second half after only pitching 60 innings last year.

 

I get that we're in a hole, and so odds are their prediction that it's too late to climb out is right. It's really hard to win four out of five against anyone, much less the best team in the NL and/or all of baseball. And it's impossible (or would be dumb) to draw conclusions one way or another over the next 2+ games because it's an even smaller amount of PAs. We were a slightly above average offensive team this year, much better in the second half. That's still the team going into tonight. Bryant isn't a 45% K guy, Baez has (multiple) hits in his career. There's 'righting the ship' in terms of getting our statistics back to a reasonable level, but there's no 'righting the ship' when it comes to 'remembering how to hit'. It's still the same guys.

[Sammy Sofa]

 

No I mean, I get it. With or without statistics, it's pretty clear they've been horrid. I guess I just don't really care that much whether it's incredibly bad or historically bad. And the implication that comes with this article, or articles like this, is that this is somehow predictive going forward. I mean, the link on the front page of the Ringer right now is "The Chicago Cubs seem to have forgotten how to hit". That's not true. They, past tense, have hit like horsefeathers. There's no reason to connect that with hitting poorly tonight, or going forward.

 

Well, their conclusion is basically this: the Cubs have struggled mightily against good pitching in the playoffs, and it doesn't get any easier any time soon. Obviously it doesn't mean they are a lock to keep stinking at the plate, but it's not a crazy prediction to think there's a good chance they aren't able to right the ship before it's too late. I think completely dismissing the offense of the last 7(6) games is as faulty as assuming that the horrible offense is definitely going to continue. We don't have to act like it's not a thing.

 

It does get easier though. We don't have to face Scherzer or Strasburg again. Darvish is good, but has been a little worse than Hill was this year when healthy. Alex Wood is a clear step down from every other starter we've seen (besides maybe Gio, who didn't pitch well) when you look at what he's done in the second half after only pitching 60 innings last year.

 

I get that we're in a hole, and so odds are their prediction that it's too late to climb out is right. It's really hard to win four out of five against anyone, much less the best team in the NL and/or all of baseball. And it's impossible (or would be dumb) to draw conclusions one way or another over the next 2+ games because it's an even smaller amount of PAs. We were a slightly above average offensive team this year, much better in the second half. That's still the team going into tonight. Bryant isn't a 45% K guy, Baez has (multiple) hits in his career. There's 'righting the ship' in terms of getting our statistics back to a reasonable level, but there's no 'righting the ship' when it comes to 'remembering how to hit'. It's still the same guys.

 

OK? My point is still that it's going to be equally not surprising if they don't do a damn thing tonight or if they score 10. It's not some crazy leap to worry that their beyond the pale offensive struggles can continue for just 2 more games when they're still facing pitchers who can most charitably be described as "maybe less good."

[squally1313]

Yeah, might just be semantics at this point. I'm probably guilty of looking at it too much in a numbers based way. For me, they've established the quality of hitters that they are. At that point, I'm almost looking at it like they've been getting 14s and 15s at the blackjack table for the last 6 (of 7) games. Maybe they'll get a bunch of 21s tonight, maybe they'll continue getting nothing. But what happens tonight doesn't have anything to do with what's happened so far to me.

 

And this isn't an issue with someone like you or most of the board, but these are the exact articles that make the idiots on Facebook or the most pessimistic people here throw out terms like 'choke' or 'pressure' or 'clutch'.

[We Got The Whole 9]

I was just posting fodder.

[jersey cubs fan]

I was just posting fodder.

 

his fodder was a mudder, his mother was a mudder

[squally1313]

To get away from Sofa and I killing the rest of our afternoon...

 

Just saw an @Cubs tweet about who's doing all the ceremonies tonight, and for whatever reason (probably seeing Kerry is throwing out the first pitch) it took me back to last year, and gave me this weird rush of excitement. Even though we did the whole damn thing last year, and even though we're down 2-0, we're still the center of the baseball world tonight.

 

Figure out Darvish tonight, take care of business tomorrow, and it's a best of three. I was pretty excited to take on villain role going into this year and with the early season struggles it hasn't really happened. Coming back in this series will put the target right back on our backs, where it belongs.

 

Edit: Yes, I'm aware the meatball-y nature of this contradicts pretty much everything I said above. Whatever.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

To get away from Sofa and I killing the rest of our afternoon...

 

Just saw an @Cubs tweet about who's doing all the ceremonies tonight, and for whatever reason (probably seeing Kerry is throwing out the first pitch) it took me back to last year, and gave me this weird rush of excitement. Even though we did the whole damn thing last year, and even though we're down 2-0, we're still the center of the baseball world tonight.

 

Figure out Darvish tonight, take care of business tomorrow, and it's a best of three. I was pretty excited to take on villain role going into this year and with the early season struggles it hasn't really happened. Coming back in this series will put the target right back on our backs, where it belongs.

 

Edit: Yes, I'm aware the meatball-y nature of this contradicts pretty much everything I said above. Whatever.

 

Maybe they come back and win this series. Maybe they don't. Great teams end most seasons with a playoff series loss.

 

Either way, 3 straight NLCS trips is pretty effing sweet. Before this run, there had been 8 NLCS games ever played at Wrigley Field. We're guaranteed to have 7 in the last 3 years and probably 8.

[Cubswin11]

To get away from Sofa and I killing the rest of our afternoon...

 

Just saw an @Cubs tweet about who's doing all the ceremonies tonight, and for whatever reason (probably seeing Kerry is throwing out the first pitch) it took me back to last year, and gave me this weird rush of excitement. Even though we did the whole damn thing last year, and even though we're down 2-0, we're still the center of the baseball world tonight.

 

Figure out Darvish tonight, take care of business tomorrow, and it's a best of three. I was pretty excited to take on villain role going into this year and with the early season struggles it hasn't really happened. Coming back in this series will put the target right back on our backs, where it belongs.

 

Edit: Yes, I'm aware the meatball-y nature of this contradicts pretty much everything I said above. Whatever.

 

Maybe they come back and win this series. Maybe they don't. Great teams end most seasons with a playoff series loss.

 

Either way, 3 straight NLCS trips is pretty effing sweet. Before this run, there had been 8 NLCS games ever played at Wrigley Field. We're guaranteed to have 7 in the last 3 years and probably 8.

Yup, and this core should be in the playoffs more times than not in the next 5-8 years (Russell will be a year younger and Bryant a year older than Justin Turner is right now 8 years from now, lol, and Hendricks will probably still being shutting guys down with a 75 MPH fastball) with multiple NLCS trips in there. That being said, horsefeathers it. Just win this series you jerks.

[Old Style]

Minimum 3 dongs from Schwarber tonight.

[David]

It's kinda goofy when sample size sentiment mutates into this thing where people are this close to seemingly just flat out refusing to believe what's happened.

 

Nobody is saying that the Cubs in these last 7 games are the Cubs going forward, like this is who they're doomed to be. Its pointing out that, yes, even by the small sample-size standards of a stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching, the Cubs' bats have been REALLY bad/cold/ineffective/whatever descriptor offends people the least, and that that's surprising for a team that has hit so well, even with the context of a 7 game stretch in the playoffs against excellent pitching.

 

Like, there's taking a dip in the playoffs as expected, and then there's whatever level of hell the bats have descended to at this point.

 

No I mean, I get it. With or without statistics, it's pretty clear they've been horrid. I guess I just don't really care that much whether it's incredibly bad or historically bad. And the implication that comes with this article, or articles like this, is that this is somehow predictive going forward. I mean, the link on the front page of the Ringer right now is "The Chicago Cubs seem to have forgotten how to hit". That's not true. They, past tense, have hit like horsefeathers. There's no reason to connect that with hitting poorly tonight, or going forward.

 

Well, their conclusion is basically this: the Cubs have struggled mightily against good pitching in the playoffs, and it doesn't get any easier any time soon. Obviously it doesn't mean they are a lock to keep stinking at the plate, but it's not a crazy prediction to think there's a good chance they aren't able to right the ship before it's too late. I think completely dismissing the offense of the last 7(6) games is as faulty as assuming that the horrible offense is definitely going to continue. We don't have to act like it's not a thing.

 

I just don't think righting the ship is actually a thing. They'll either hit tonight or they won't and I think the fact that they haven't hit well the past 7 or 8 games has little to no bearing or reflection on that.

[kente777]

 

Well, their conclusion is basically this: the Cubs have struggled mightily against good pitching in the playoffs, and it doesn't get any easier any time soon. Obviously it doesn't mean they are a lock to keep stinking at the plate, but it's not a crazy prediction to think there's a good chance they aren't able to right the ship before it's too late. I think completely dismissing the offense of the last 7(6) games is as faulty as assuming that the horrible offense is definitely going to continue. We don't have to act like it's not a thing.

 

It does get easier though. We don't have to face Scherzer or Strasburg again. Darvish is good, but has been a little worse than Hill was this year when healthy. Alex Wood is a clear step down from every other starter we've seen (besides maybe Gio, who didn't pitch well) when you look at what he's done in the second half after only pitching 60 innings last year.

 

I get that we're in a hole, and so odds are their prediction that it's too late to climb out is right. It's really hard to win four out of five against anyone, much less the best team in the NL and/or all of baseball. And it's impossible (or would be dumb) to draw conclusions one way or another over the next 2+ games because it's an even smaller amount of PAs. We were a slightly above average offensive team this year, much better in the second half. That's still the team going into tonight. Bryant isn't a 45% K guy, Baez has (multiple) hits in his career. There's 'righting the ship' in terms of getting our statistics back to a reasonable level, but there's no 'righting the ship' when it comes to 'remembering how to hit'. It's still the same guys.

 

OK? My point is still that it's going to be equally not surprising if they don't do a damn thing tonight or if they score 10. It's not some crazy leap to worry that their beyond the pale offensive struggles can continue for just 2 more games when they're still facing pitchers who can most charitably be described as "maybe less good."

 

You mean like the 2015 Cubs in the NLCS? This team has not hit well in the postseason. We did just enough to get by Washington. Bryzzo is 1-14 in this series and Baez is swinging at dirt balls and birds.

 

We've got to win tonight (actually, I thought Game 2 was a must win). Our bats are certainly capable of breaking out at our home park, but this postseason sample size (so far) does little to give me great confidence that the Cubs can pull this out.

 

Given that, I am not worried. I believe we will pass the test tonight.

[David]

 

It does get easier though. We don't have to face Scherzer or Strasburg again. Darvish is good, but has been a little worse than Hill was this year when healthy. Alex Wood is a clear step down from every other starter we've seen (besides maybe Gio, who didn't pitch well) when you look at what he's done in the second half after only pitching 60 innings last year.

 

I get that we're in a hole, and so odds are their prediction that it's too late to climb out is right. It's really hard to win four out of five against anyone, much less the best team in the NL and/or all of baseball. And it's impossible (or would be dumb) to draw conclusions one way or another over the next 2+ games because it's an even smaller amount of PAs. We were a slightly above average offensive team this year, much better in the second half. That's still the team going into tonight. Bryant isn't a 45% K guy, Baez has (multiple) hits in his career. There's 'righting the ship' in terms of getting our statistics back to a reasonable level, but there's no 'righting the ship' when it comes to 'remembering how to hit'. It's still the same guys.

 

OK? My point is still that it's going to be equally not surprising if they don't do a damn thing tonight or if they score 10. It's not some crazy leap to worry that their beyond the pale offensive struggles can continue for just 2 more games when they're still facing pitchers who can most charitably be described as "maybe less good."

 

You mean like the 2015 Cubs in the NLCS? This team has not hit well in the postseason. We did just enough to get by Washington. Bryzzo is 1-14 in this series and Baez is swinging at dirt balls and birds.

 

We've got to win tonight (actually, I thought Game 2 was a must win). Our bats are certainly capable of breaking out at our home park, but this postseason sample size (so far) does little to give me great confidence that the Cubs can pull this out.

Given that, I am not worried. I believe we will pass the test tonight.

 

well that's good because no 7 game sample should give you great confidence about anything.

[Cubswin11]

We’ve scored 1 less run than the Astros in 13 less innings. They’ve won 2 games in their series. Playoff baseball is a mysterious beast Edited October 17, 2017 by Cubswin11

[squally1313]

 

It does get easier though. We don't have to face Scherzer or Strasburg again. Darvish is good, but has been a little worse than Hill was this year when healthy. Alex Wood is a clear step down from every other starter we've seen (besides maybe Gio, who didn't pitch well) when you look at what he's done in the second half after only pitching 60 innings last year.

 

I get that we're in a hole, and so odds are their prediction that it's too late to climb out is right. It's really hard to win four out of five against anyone, much less the best team in the NL and/or all of baseball. And it's impossible (or would be dumb) to draw conclusions one way or another over the next 2+ games because it's an even smaller amount of PAs. We were a slightly above average offensive team this year, much better in the second half. That's still the team going into tonight. Bryant isn't a 45% K guy, Baez has (multiple) hits in his career. There's 'righting the ship' in terms of getting our statistics back to a reasonable level, but there's no 'righting the ship' when it comes to 'remembering how to hit'. It's still the same guys.

 

OK? My point is still that it's going to be equally not surprising if they don't do a damn thing tonight or if they score 10. It's not some crazy leap to worry that their beyond the pale offensive struggles can continue for just 2 more games when they're still facing pitchers who can most charitably be described as "maybe less good."

 

You mean like the 2015 Cubs in the NLCS? This team has not hit well in the postseason. We did just enough to get by Washington. Bryzzo is 1-14 in this series and Baez is swinging at dirt balls and birds.

 

We've got to win tonight (actually, I thought Game 2 was a must win). Our bats are certainly capable of breaking out at our home park, but this postseason sample size (so far) does little to give me great confidence that the Cubs can pull this out.

 

Given that, I am not worried. I believe we will pass the test tonight.

 

You...realize they got shut out two games in a row by the Dodgers in the 2016 NLCS right? By Kershaw and Rich Hill?

[Sammy Sofa]

I just don't think righting the ship is actually a thing. They'll either hit tonight or they won't and I think the fact that they haven't hit well the past 7 or 8 games has little to no bearing or reflection on that.

 

Eh, we just disagree. Call it meatball-y all you want; I think enough of a lineup can press/panic/get frustrated and it can impact them detrimentally. In the scope of a full season, yeah, not a big deal, but in the sample size of a short series it can hurt. It just happens sometimes; it's the terrible beauty of baseball.

 

It is also, like we've both essentially said, something that they can snap out of from one game to the next. Hopefully we see that tonight.

[Brian]

Just saw the the flags blowing out with a nice breeze... keep the ball down Kyle and have our dongsmith go to work

[weis21]

I just don't think righting the ship is actually a thing. They'll either hit tonight or they won't and I think the fact that they haven't hit well the past 7 or 8 games has little to no bearing or reflection on that.

 

Eh, we just disagree. Call it meatball-y all you want; I think enough of a lineup can press/panic/get frustrated and it can impact them detrimentally. In the scope of a full season, yeah, not a big deal, but in the sample size of a short series it can hurt. It just happens sometimes; it's the terrible beauty of baseball.

 

It is also, like we've both essentially said, something that they can snap out of from one game to the next. Hopefully we see that tonight.

so, basically, baseball will be played and things will happen.

 

which is essentially what david said

[Derwood]

Despite logically understanding exactly why the schedule is why it is, I'm still irrationally annoyed that the games in Chicago start LATER than the ones in LA