5/28 Cubs (Lester) @ Astros (Martin) ABC 7:10 Central

[TMan92]

Bryant hurt, Baez and Willson in the trash can and no pitching. This is pretty much the expected result. Now we get to see what team we actually have.

[Sammy Sofa]

 

Yes, because this horsefeathers roster is somehow Maddon’s fault.

 

Granted, he's just a relatively small part of the problem, but seeing him get bounced would bring me such glee.

 

Maybe it will negate the doom in your soul when you get to watch Russell starting at second when Javy gets healthy.

 

Awww.

[17 Seconds]

i just don't see how you can be optimistic about a team with this pitching

[17 Seconds]

Now as a five-time All-Star on this board, I've learned that these things tend to go in waves. It all looks like horsefeathers right now, but the team does have a lot of talent. So, it will turn back the other way and we all will be excited again. It's just never fun during the lows, but it always turns around unless your team legit sucks. And I don't think this team legit sucks.

 

they don't suck. they're just not very good. basically what we thought all offseason

[Hawk4Hall]

 

Yes, because this horsefeathers roster is somehow Maddon’s fault.

 

Granted, he's just a relatively small part of the problem, but seeing him get bounced would bring me such glee.

 

Do you want Girardi or Sandberg as your manager? Because that's how you get Girardi or Sandberg as your manager

Girardi I could see being the next Cubs manager.

 

Sandberg. Not so much.

[soccer10k]

i just don't see how you can be optimistic about a team with this pitching

 

Because it's top 10-12 in the league both as starters and relievers and we've got a top-5 offense in the majors?

[17 Seconds]

i just don't see how you can be optimistic about a team with this pitching

 

Because it's top 10-12 in the league both as starters and relievers and we've got a top-5 offense in the majors?

 

do you think this is a top 10-12 pitching staff the rest of the way? i'm optimistic that they can win 85-90 games if they stay healthy, which is basically where we were before the season, when we all agreed that this team was disappointing.

[soccer10k]

i just don't see how you can be optimistic about a team with this pitching

 

Because it's top 10-12 in the league both as starters and relievers and we've got a top-5 offense in the majors?

 

do you think this is a top 10-12 pitching staff the rest of the way? i'm optimistic that they can win 85-90 games if they stay healthy, which is basically where we were before the season, when we all agreed that this team was disappointing.

 

I do. I think we've got 4 above average starting pitchers. The non-Darvish guys all have FIP's between 3.31 and 3.99 (Lester's was 3.41 and I assume that didn't go over 4 after today) and ERA+ above 110. As for the pen, I generally trust Strop, Cishek and Brach, though they're far from perfect. Kintzler has been okay, though I don't trust him, and Ryan has been okay. Chatwood is definitely due for some regression, though the walks are way down. Monty since he came off the DL has a 1.64 ERA, though it's only been 11 innings. The pen is still tough to tell because they're not even at 30 innings yet.

 

I don't remember who said it in a game thread (either yesterday or today) but I think the biggest issue perception wise is we don't have a stud on the staff. We don't have an ace that you can trot out there every five days and be pretty confident they're going to shut the other team down. And we don't have a lights out closer that we can trust to preserve a 1-run lead in the ninth (or any inning for that matter). We've got a lot of decent to good arms but no great ones. And when the bad outings come slightly more frequently and pitchers aren't putting up zeroes consistently (and struggling a bit when they do), it really alters the perception of how good they are.

 

I get it. When the game is close and we bring in a new reliever only to see him walk or give up a hit to the first hitter, I'd be lying if my first thought generally isn't "well here we go again". We definitely need an upgrade and I, like pretty much everyone on this board, will be annoyed if we don't make any moves to upgrade the pen before the deadline. Theo will do something. How significant? We'll see.

 

But yeah, on the whole, I do trust the staff. The non-Darvish starters are all capable of being lights out on any given night or stringing together a few strong starts in a row. Two weeks ago Q was 4th among the starters with a 3.50 ERA. They had a terrible 10 days to start the year, then a great month, and now a bad two weeks. Who knows, another great month could be right around the corner. Could they all blow up and cause this season to go south quickly? Sure. They're still pitchers. But I haven't seen anything yet to make me think that's super likely.

[We Got The Whole 9]

A guy in his first MLB game catching can frame better than Willson.

I've been wondering how much our FIP would improve simply by having an average catcher behind the plate. Probably half a run at least.

[squally1313]

Bryant hurt, Baez and Willson in the trash can and no pitching. This is pretty much the expected result. Now we get to see what team we actually have.

 

So our best player is injured and two of our other top three hitters, who have been top 30 in baseball in offensive fWAR for the season, go through a tough stretch...and THIS is the 'team we actually have'? I thought the team we have counts on Bryant playing 150 games and Baez and Contreras putting up 4-5 WAR?

[TMan92]

Bryant hurt, Baez and Willson in the trash can and no pitching. This is pretty much the expected result. Now we get to see what team we actually have.

 

So our best player is injured and two of our other top three hitters, who have been top 30 in baseball in offensive fWAR for the season, go through a tough stretch...and THIS is the 'team we actually have'? I thought the team we have counts on Bryant playing 150 games and Baez and Contreras putting up 4-5 WAR?

 

Didn’t mean that. We are going to figure out if it is Super Cubs or Meh Cubs or somewhere in the middle. Situational hitting at this point isn’t a random issue for these guys but has been a pretty common occurrence. That and the lack of power arms has me a bit concerned that we still don’t know what the team is.

 

We just lost a couple disappointing games to a teams B squad. With our current stretch it isn’t surprising. With the walk off wins we have had recently I am surprised we are doing as well as we have.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Bryant hurt, Baez and Willson in the trash can and no pitching. This is pretty much the expected result. Now we get to see what team we actually have.

 

So our best player is injured and two of our other top three hitters, who have been top 30 in baseball in offensive fWAR for the season, go through a tough stretch...and THIS is the 'team we actually have'? I thought the team we have counts on Bryant playing 150 games and Baez and Contreras putting up 4-5 WAR?

 

Didn’t mean that. We are going to figure out if it is Super Cubs or Meh Cubs or somewhere in the middle. Situational hitting at this point isn’t a random issue for these guys but has been a pretty common occurrence. That and the lack of power arms has me a bit concerned that we still don’t know what the team is.

 

We just lost a couple disappointing games to a teams B squad. With our current stretch it isn’t surprising. With the walk off wins we have had recently I am surprised we are doing as well as we have.

Without Bryant and with a possibly banged up Javy I would say our B squad lost to their B squad