9/5 - Giants (Walker) vs Cubs (Hendricks): 6:40pm, Marquee

[Brock Beauchamp]

The Cubs have made up some ground on Milwaukee, who has scuffled the past few days. The Cubs currently sit 2.5 GB of both the division lead and the Wild Card-leading Phillies.

[CubinNY]

Get the division title. 

[Rcal10]

Aside from bragging rights no real difference between winning the division and finishing as the top WC. Sure division would be nice, but if game 162 decided the division but the loser wins the first wild card spot, and Steele was available to pitch, I wouldn’t pitch him. I would hold him to start game 1 of the playoffs. So, in that scenario winning the division is less important then starting the playoffs with your ace. 

[gflore34]

59 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Aside from bragging rights no real difference between winning the division and finishing as the top WC. Sure division would be nice, but if game 162 decided the division but the loser wins the first wild card spot, and Steele was available to pitch, I wouldn’t pitch him. I would hold him to start game 1 of the playoffs. So, in that scenario winning the division is less important then starting the playoffs with your ace. 

Much like the NCAA, it's all about making the tournament, doesn't matter how, once in, anything can happen.  So, I agree, if you're in, not worth going with Steele for the division in game 162.

[Tim]

21 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Much like the NCAA, it's all about making the tournament, doesn't matter how, once in, anything can happen.  So, I agree, if you're in, not worth going with Steele for the division in game 162.

There is also the matchup to consider. All things being equal, I'd rather play SF/Miami than Philly. But in the above scenario, I'd probably save Steele and hope for the best in game 162

[UMFan83]

2 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Aside from bragging rights no real difference between winning the division and finishing as the top WC. Sure division would be nice, but if game 162 decided the division but the loser wins the first wild card spot, and Steele was available to pitch, I wouldn’t pitch him. I would hold him to start game 1 of the playoffs. So, in that scenario winning the division is less important then starting the playoffs with your ace. 

Yep.  Even HFA isnt that big of a deal to me.   Just get in, win 2 games, and advance to the NLDS.  I believe home teams are 6-6 in these wild card rounds (2020 and 2022), though thats a tiny sample size.

[Rcal10]

41 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Yep.  Even HFA isnt that big of a deal to me.   Just get in, win 2 games, and advance to the NLDS.  I believe home teams are 6-6 in these wild card rounds (2020 and 2022), though thats a tiny sample size.

Agreed. Basically I am saying getting in is more important then winning the division. Not going to use my best pitchers just to win the division. Rather have them lined up for the playoffs.

[SOFNR]

Yah. I'm not gonna lie. I'd much rather have 2 games at Wrigley then not. But if fighting down to the wire for the division burns Steele and messes up the wild card rotation then I don't want to do it. Get into the playoffs and set your rotation. 

[UMFan83]

Ryan Walker is a rookie and it looks like he's been used as a multi-inning reliever this year to great success.  But it seems like today is more of a bullpen type of game for the Giants today which sounds great, but the Giants have a really solid bullpen so could be a tough one.

Right now, the Giants also seemingly have another bullpen game lined up for Wednesday as Tristan Beck is listed as the Giants starter.  He has made 2 starts this year but generally pitches out of the pen.  He also threw 1.1 IP yesterday against the Cubs.  Their pen may be gassed by Wednesday, especially with a day game after a night game.

Also looks like the wind will be blowing out strongly so hopefully Kyle can get weak contact on his fly balls today.

Edited September 5, 2023 by UMFan83

[UMFan83]

One more pregame note, the Cubs are saying that Stroman's bullpen in AZ yesterday went well and they are still discussing next steps.  Apparently AZ Phil saw the session and said he looked to be throwing without pain and was fist bumping and high fiving guys afterwards.

It will be interesting to see how this progresses....seems like even best case scenario he wouldn't be back until maybe the last 10 days of the season.  Maybe he can get 1-2 shorter starts in there to build up his arm but I'm personally still not expecting Stroman to make much of an impact this season.  We'll see.

[Rcal10]

36 minutes ago, SOFNR said:

Yah. I'm not gonna lie. I'd much rather have 2 games at Wrigley then not. But if fighting down to the wire for the division burns Steele and messes up the wild card rotation then I don't want to do it. Get into the playoffs and set your rotation. 

But there is no difference between division winner and the 1st wild card team. I get wanting the games at home. But wild card #1 gets home games. I definitely wouldn’t lose Steele just to win the division. And most likely I wouldn’t use him to finish 4th instead of 5th. But that is a tougher decision. Home field is nice to have. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

Why is Canario here right now?  I'm not arguing that he should be starting in the middle of a pennant race, but then why is he on the ML roster?  The guy has missed a majority of the season and needs at bats wherever he can get them, so what good is it doing anyone to have him watching games in Chicago?  If they just needed a roster-filler, they could have called someone else up for now.

[Rcal10]

21 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Why is Canario here right now?  I'm not arguing that he should be starting in the middle of a pennant race, but then why is he on the ML roster?  The guy has missed a majority of the season and needs at bats wherever he can get them, so what good is it doing anyone to have him watching games in Chicago?  If they just needed a roster-filler, they could have called someone else up for now.

I agree. Against a left handed starter, I honestly thought Canario would play. They have so many right handed bats not hitting lefties, I thought that is why they brought him up. I am not complaining about him not playing, but really if all they wanted was a guy to fill a roster spot they should have brought someone else up and let him get AB. Maybe being Higgins back to give them some flexibility at catcher. He would be the emergency catcher. Not like they are stunting his progress by bringing him up. He is what he is. 

[UMFan83]

22 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Why is Canario here right now?  I'm not arguing that he should be starting in the middle of a pennant race, but then why is he on the ML roster?  The guy has missed a majority of the season and needs at bats wherever he can get them, so what good is it doing anyone to have him watching games in Chicago?  If they just needed a roster-filler, they could have called someone else up for now.

Something about rewarding him and getting some value out of being in a major league clubhouse?  I dont know the situation is sort of weird.  Like I'm not one of the people flipping out on twitter everytime the lineup comes out, but why have him on the roster if they won't even bring him in for the 9th inning of a 15-7 game or whatever?  Seems like there should be someone in Iowa that can provide some value to a team in the middle of a playoff push.

This has also made me ponder whether someone is considered a major leaguer if he is on the MLB roster, or if they are not considered a major leaguer until they appear in a game.  You don't get a BR page if you are on the roster but never play right?

[Jason Ross]

I would guess that the organization would explain something about Canario being someone who has game-changing power and they'd like to have that option off the bench. In the grand scheme of things, a week, or two weeks, of missed AAA PA's won't really change his trajectory. With that said, I agree, and I wonder what the idea is here. It's probably still a bit better for Canario to keep playing, and making up for missed time. I'm not sure I'd have him on the MLB roster right now. I also don't think he should be starting right now. We'll see, he will probably hit a pinch hit home run tonight because I said what I said, and I'll look real dumb.

If there's one benefit, Alexander is cashing an MLB paycheck currently, so I'm sure he's not complaining.

Edited September 5, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I think the simplest explanation for Canario is:

• A position player has to be called up
• No one at Iowa is in a place where they are proven to push for more time than the current position player core.  If they were they probably would've been called up previously
• While not being the favorite to get any regular playing time, Canario is the option who can be me most useful as an extra bat on the bench during these extremely important playoff race games

I don't think it's any more complicated than that.  In a perfect world would I prefer Canario playing every day at Iowa?  Probably.  But it's also worth noting that Canario is not a top prospect, he's a guy whose most likely MLB future is a platoon/bench option(doubly so on the current Cubs roster).  A couple weeks of ABs is not going to make or break his future, and if they're calling him up now they clearly think he's hit whatever benchmark they'd need to feel comfortable calling him up next year even if he doesn't play again for Iowa.  So whatever hit to his progress is taken is worthwhile to have the best possible roster for the stretch run, especially since that sacrifice is not so great in the grand scheme of things.

 

[UMFan83]

3 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

I think the simplest explanation for Canario is:

• A position player has to be called up
• No one at Iowa is in a place where they are proven to push for more time than the current position player core.  If they were they probably would've been called up previously
• While not being the favorite to get any regular playing time, Canario is the option who can be me most useful as an extra bat on the bench during these extremely important playoff race games

I don't think it's any more complicated than that.  In a perfect world would I prefer Canario playing every day at Iowa?  Probably.  But it's also worth noting that Canario is not a top prospect, he's a guy whose most likely MLB future is a platoon/bench option(doubly so on the current Cubs roster).  A couple weeks of ABs is not going to make or break his future, and if they're calling him up now they clearly think he's hit whatever benchmark they'd need to feel comfortable calling him up next year even if he doesn't play again for Iowa.  So whatever hit to his progress is taken is worthwhile to have the best possible roster for the stretch run, especially since that sacrifice is not so great in the grand scheme of things.

 

A good explanation, but still confuses me that they couldn't find one spot over the last 5 days to give him a token AB.  Granted, 2 of the 5 games have been 1 run games that were close throughout, and the other 3 were mostly closer games that were broken open late.  But I hope they can find a spot for him to at least appear in the game.  There have been at least a couple of opportunities so far and they've chosen not to put him in.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

13 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

A good explanation, but still confuses me that they couldn't find one spot over the last 5 days to give him a token AB.  Granted, 2 of the 5 games have been 1 run games that were close throughout, and the other 3 were mostly closer games that were broken open late.  But I hope they can find a spot for him to at least appear in the game.  There have been at least a couple of opportunities so far and they've chosen not to put him in.

Yeah, for as much as I can understand(and mostly agree with) why he's not going to get starts, I don't think there's a satisfying answer to why he has ZERO plate appearances since his call up. Not giving him a stray PH spot in the double header or in the 9th on Sunday seems like a missed opportunity even if the consequences aren't great.

[PackLandVA]

I would prefer Canario’s first big league at bat NOT be during a critical point late in a game. Especially down the stretch run. That’s why I thought a good start would’ve been against a somewhat ordinary left-handed starting pitcher on Saturday. Get his feet wet.

[UMFan83]

I guess the wind is blowing in now

[Transmogrified Tiger]

18 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

I guess the wind is blowing in now

[WhyCantWeWin]

Joc looks like he's been eating really well

[PackLandVA]

And the 1st inning “HR allowed” fest continues, sans Steele starts.

[chibears55]

22 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

I guess the wind is blowing in now

Doesn't matter with Hendricks,  he still gives them up 🙄

[cl smooth]

Big Z! Love me some Carlos Zambrano!