8/1 - Reds (Lively) vs Cubs (Steele): 7:05pm, Marquee

[Brock Beauchamp]

Well, yesterday sucked. Let's try again, this time with better results.

[squally1313]

This guy sucks. Run differential game. 

[Cubs420psd]

Waking up realizing you have 3.5 years remaining on that Seiya contract 🤢

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Win losers 

[Michael Busch Light]

This is almost a must win tonight. 

[chibears55]

31 minutes ago, Javy Bystro said:

This is almost a must win tonight. 

I think it a definite must win game, they need to gain back the momentum they had going into Sunday game and stop the current losing streak, show that they can beat the Reds and not lose back to back games with (cubs) top 2 starters on the mound, fall 6 games back with 5 head to head remaining, and get back over 500 on the season.

[Jason Ross]

I would not call tonight "must" win, still early for "must" wins, IMO.  It's important to win, but this is a 4 game set.  They can lose again tonight, win the next two, and come out even on the series.  There's still enough games in the season and 4 more with the Reds after this, that they can still catch ground. 6 games left with Milwaukee too.  

[chibears55]

1 minute ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I would not call tonight "must" win, still early for "must" wins, IMO.  It's important to win, but this is a 4 game set.  They can lose again tonight, win the next two, and come out even on the series.  There's still enough games in the season and 4 more with the Reds after this, that they can still catch ground. 6 games left with Milwaukee too.  

For me it all about momentum and head to head matchup against team your chasing..

Yes there plenty of games left on the schedule but in the final 2 months you gotta beat the team ahead of you because it basically losing 2 games in the standings to them if you lose, also losing tonight puts that much pressure on the next 2 games to win both just to not lose ground in the standings, and a split would just keep them as they were going in but 4 head to head games off the schedule to make up games against them.

Momentum,  cubs can't let the Reds at WF take the first 2 games against the cubs top 2 starters in rotation and carry that momentum into the final 2 games of series to go for the kill and push their lead on them to 8 games.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

11 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I would not call tonight "must" win, still early for "must" wins, IMO.  It's important to win, but this is a 4 game set.  They can lose again tonight, win the next two, and come out even on the series.  There's still enough games in the season and 4 more with the Reds after this, that they can still catch ground. 6 games left with Milwaukee too.  

Agreed, not winning is a big missed opportunity given there's not many head to head chances anymore, but the overall playoff outlook doesn't hinge on winning specific games at this point.

[Rex Buckingham]

Tonight is huge because we've got Steele going against a computer-generated pitcher

[Jason Ross]

2 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

For me it all about momentum and head to head matchup against team your chasing..

Yes there plenty of games left on the schedule but in the final 2 months you gotta beat the team ahead of you because it basically losing 2 games in the standings to them if you lose, also losing tonight puts that much pressure on the next 2 games to win both just to not lose ground in the standings, and a split would just keep them as they were going in but 4 head to head games off the schedule to make up games against them.

Momentum,  cubs can't let the Reds at WF take the first 2 games against the cubs top 2 starters in rotation and carry that momentum into the final 2 games of series to go for the kill and push their lead on them to 8 games.

Well, yeah, we can make arguments about why games are important.  Each game between today and the playoffs there's some argument we can make as to why it'd be much better than to lose it.  But I reserve "must" wins as games in which you cannot lose in any shape or form.  I don't believe in "must" win games in August, personally...it devalues the actual must win games.

[JD94]

I’m just ready for Sunday. Steele vs Strider. That’s going to be a fun one. 

[chibears55]

10 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Well, yeah, we can make arguments about why games are important.  Each game between today and the playoffs there's some argument we can make as to why it'd be much better than to lose it.  But I reserve "must" wins as games in which you cannot lose in any shape or form.  I don't believe in "must" win games in August, personally...it devalues the actual must win games.

Everyone has their own thought process and opinions 🤷‍♂️

[Hairyducked Idiot]

"must win" is the new "best player available"

[Stratos]

3 hours ago, Cubs420psd said:

Waking up realizing you have 3.5 years remaining on that Seiya contract 🤢

Really terribly ABs lately, half swinging on everything.  I'd consider benching him some this series.  He's just bad at recognizing pitches, he's a pure guess hitter.

Stroman had to do better yesterday, you can't give up 6 runs early.

[Proven Veteran]

7 minutes ago, Stratos said:

Really terribly ABs lately, half swinging on everything.  I'd consider benching him some this series.  He's just bad at recognizing pitches, he's a pure guess hitter.

Stroman had to do better yesterday, you can't give up 6 runs early.

He definitely shouldn't be at the top of the order.

[squally1313]

1 hour ago, chibears55 said:

 

also losing tonight puts that much pressure on the next 2 games to win both just to not lose ground in the standings,

 

(Declares tonight a Must Win Game so as to avoid putting too much pressure on the next two games)

[KCCub]

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by KCCub
Link

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Well, yeah, we can make arguments about why games are important.  Each game between today and the playoffs there's some argument we can make as to why it'd be much better than to lose it.  But I reserve "must" wins as games in which you cannot lose in any shape or form.  I don't believe in "must" win games in August, personally...it devalues the actual must win games.

That's some kind of logic. 

I'll put it this way, it may not be a "must" win situation, but it certainly puts more leverage on the rest of the games this season when they aren't playing a team in their division that is directly in front of them. Maybe not a must-win from the academic definition, but very important still. 

By your reckoning, the only must-win game is the one that eliminates them from the postseason.  Make's sense. 

[squally1313]

I mean, it's also August 1st and there are 55 other games left after this. 

[chibears55]

9 minutes ago, KCCub said:

 

 

Gotta keep Madrigal and Wisdom bat in the lineup 🤷‍♂️😅

[Jason Ross]

2 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

That's some kind of logic. 

I'll put it this way, it may not be a "must" win situation, but it certainly puts more leverage on the rest of the games this season when they aren't playing a team in their division that is directly in front of them. Maybe not a must-win from the academic definition, but very important still. 

By your reckoning, the only must-win game is the one that eliminates them from the postseason.  Make's sense. 

Perhaps "in any way shape or form" was slightly stronger wording than I should have used, so I will rephrase to better explain; I think a "must win" game is a game with far deeper playoff implications than a game on August 1st can be.  It would be a game that could end a season, or it could be a game that directly, on its own, puts the season in absolute jeopardy base on a lost.  

 

I agree, tonight is important (those words were used in my original post).  Must win feels...hyperbolic to me for this one.

[CubinNY]

3 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

I mean, it's also August 1st and there are 55 other games left after this. 

just because games fall in a line, doesn't automatically make the ones at the end more important. I suppose it's all pretty subjective, but still

[squally1313]

Just now, CubinNY said:

just because games fall in a line, doesn't automatically make the ones at the end more important. I suppose it's all pretty subjective, but still

No, but the sheer magnitude of games makes it pretty much impossible for any particular game to be a 'must win game' if you don't have the benefit of being able to layer on the end of season leverage that comes from two teams playing the first 150-whatever games to a near tie. 

[chibears55]

8 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

I mean, it's also August 1st and there are 55 other games left after this. 

Do we expect the Reds and Brewers to just stop winning ???

There 55 games left after tonight, so that obviously means the cubs will have to play 7 games better then the Reds(if they lose) to pass them, that tougher to do when you have fewer head to head remaining. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by chibears55