7/23 - Cardinals (Montgomery) vs Cubs (Taillon): 1:20pm, Marquee

[Irrelevant Dude]

5 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

They finish off today and take both games from the WSox, I'll jump on the buying bandwagon. 

I feel like we've been at this place multiple times over the past month or so, right on the cusp of being in the race but ultimately unable to sustain the run.  Well, now they have one week do show they can sustain it.  If the Cubs end up 5 or fewer games out of first by the trade deadline, then staying the course plus a few minor acquisitions may be a viable option.

[Irrelevant Dude]

3 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

It also suggests the pen kind of sucks

And that run differential is a flawed, albeit interesting, measure of a team's ability.

[UMFan83]

FWIW, all of the teams ahead of us for realistic playoff spots:

Reds tied with Diamondbacks 3-3 in the 6th

Brewers lead Braves 2-1 in the 5th

Phillies lead Guardians 4-3 in the 7th

Giants trail Nationals 6-0 in the 6th

Marlins lead Rockies 2-1 in the 7th

Padres lost 3-1 to the Tigers

 

If any or all of the Reds, Brewers or Giants lose, the Cubs can gain some ground with a win (can only gain 0.5 games if Giants lose, 1 game if the other 2 lose)

Edited July 23, 2023 by UMFan83

[bukie]

6 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

It also suggests the pen kind of sucks

Not really. The pen is middle of the road in MLB, 19th of 30 in WAR, 17th in ERA, 16th in FIP, and 15th in xFIP. Close losses have very little correlation with bullpen strength.

[Irrelevant Dude]

2 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Giants trail Nationals 6-0 in the 6th

Apparently the Cubs woke a sleeping giant. (pun intended)

[Tryptamine]

That error probably cost Taillon an extra inning.

[UMFan83]

90 through 5 for Taillon.  Probably 1 more inning and pray that 7 runs is enough for the pen to hold 

[Derwood]

Just got back from softball, what did I miss?

[Irrelevant Dude]

Just now, Derwood said:

Just got back from softball, what did I miss?

The Cubs are back again.

[champaignchris]

Carlson has to be Taillon’s last batter, right?

[CubinNY]

Pitch to failure Ross

[Tryptamine]

Rucker....

[UMFan83]

A grand slam here would certainly be frustrating....

Or walking in runs because the Cubs have so few reliable middle relievers

Edited July 23, 2023 by UMFan83

[Tryptamine]

Look, if it's 7-0 and a fresh inning then Rucker is fine. When one swing of the bat puts the Cards right back in it, there is no reason he should be in the game

[Transmogrified Tiger]

8 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Look, if it's 7-0 and a fresh inning then Rucker is fine. When one swing of the bat puts the Cards right back in it, there is no reason he should be in the game

The top 4 pitchers in the pen have all gone each of the last 2 days, and I'm not sure the exact degree that Assad is available with his weird long man usage.  Gotta use the bottom of the pen with a 6 run lead even if it makes you white knuckle for a moment.

[Tim]

45 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

And that run differential is a flawed, albeit interesting, measure of a team's ability.

The second-order metrics were just as favorable last time I looked a couple weeks ago

[PeanutPunch33]

If they can smash the Sox, things get exciting again 

[UMFan83]

About as quiet of a final 3 innings as you can get during a Cubs-Cardinal game.  Good stuff.

 

Brewers lose, so the Cubs will be 6.5 games behind Milwaukee/Cincinnati in the division and 5.5 behind the Giants/Diamondbacks for the 2nd and 3rd Wild Card spots.

Edited July 23, 2023 by UMFan83

[Tim]

Atlanta came back for the win, so we gained a game in the division today

[UMFan83]

14 minutes ago, The20thK said:

Cubs playing .545 ball since June 1st…

Unfortunately, they played .357 ball in May.

Making the endpoint more arbitrary, 22-15 since June 9th, which is 96 win pace.  They'll need to play at least at that level the rest of the year to have a shot.

[Andy]

Reds facing the Brewers this week, so there's guaranteed ground to be made up.

[Nolansomebody]

That was a series we definitely needed to win. I don't want to put a jinx on it, but I hope this is the start of something well.

[bukie]

The Cubs have also passed the Padres for 6th in the WC standings.

Still trail the Reds, Giants, Dbacks, Phillies and Marlins, would need to jump into the top 3 to get the spot.

[PackLandVA]

54 minutes ago, Andy said:

Reds facing the Brewers this week, so there's guaranteed ground to be made up.

Or lost.

That's so Cub.

[CubUgly]

3 hours ago, Andy said:

I'm ambivalent about Mowins 

I feel the same way.  I agree with some others her voice is a bit off-putting, but otherwise she's what a play-by-play person should be, call the action, set up the color guy and get out of the way.  But the constant merry-go-round of analysts and PBP folks is to me what's exhausting.