9/24 - Rockies (Blach) vs Cubs (Wicks): 1:20pm, Marquee

[Derwood]

I switched channels not realizing that there was controversy

[UMFan83]

I’m so happy there is an off day tomorrow 

[chibears55]

Day off, then the real grind begins

 

6 games against 2 division leaders on the road and 3 other teams going for those last 2 WC spots

[UMFan83]

4 minutes ago, Derwood said:

I switched channels not realizing that there was controversy

That was a very very scary 90 seconds or so. Had visions of 2023 Brant Brown like play that we’d talk about for years. Of course we recovered from Brant Brown to make it but still. 

[UMFan83]

Just now, chibears55 said:

Day off, then the real grind begins

 

6 games against 2 division leaders on the road and 3 other teams going for those last 2 WC spots

I refuse to consider the Reds. 3 back in the loss column with 6 to play. It would take collapses from the Cubs and Marlins plus a hot streak of their own to make it. 

[UMFan83]

Astros lose again, increasing their chances that they will have to fight all of next weekend at home against Arizona to make the playoffs. Hopefully they don’t slide too far though. 
 

if the Yankees can somehow beat Arizona tomorrow I consider their spot very much in play even with a series against the White sox

Edited September 24, 2023 by UMFan83

[Tryptamine]

Miami has the Mets and Pirates, ouch.

[UMFan83]

Just now, Tryptamine said:

Miami has the Mets and Pirates, ouch.

The Mets have played spoiler a few times the last couple of weeks as have the Pirates obviously. 
 

Marlins are 35-40 on the road, not the same team away from Miami

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Just now, UMFan83 said:

The Mets have played spoiler a few times the last couple of weeks as have the Pirates obviously. 
 

Marlins are 35-40 on the road, not the same team away from Miami

They'll also face both Senga and Keller (and probably Oviedo).

[17 Seconds]

7 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Miami has the Mets and Pirates, ouch.

the mets aren't that bad, and the pirates have been hot

[17 Seconds]

15 minutes ago, Derwood said:

I switched channels not realizing that there was controversy

what happened?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

1 minute ago, 17 Seconds said:

what happened?

McMahon chopped a ball to first that seemed to end the game, but the umpires convened and ruled it a foul ball.  Replay showed it barely grazed his foot on the bounce.

[Dfan25]

Good for them that they swept . With that said i don’t think they are playing well .I don’t see them holding a 1 game lead with a week to go and the schedule they have sadly . Have to give the Marlins credit though . They went thru a gauntlet and came out of it in good shape . With the Dbacks having 3 with the Sox I think they will survive as well . 
 

It sucks but they really blew it in those 13 that they went 3-10 including 1-6 againts Dbacks .

[Rcal10]

34 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

Good for them that they swept . With that said i don’t think they are playing well .I don’t see them holding a 1 game lead with a week to go and the schedule they have sadly . Have to give the Marlins credit though . They went thru a gauntlet and came out of it in good shape . With the Dbacks having 3 with the Sox I think they will survive as well . 
 

It sucks but they really blew it in those 13 that they went 3-10 including 1-6 againts Dbacks .

I think 3-3 gets them in. Pirates and Mets aren’t pushovers. Marlins are under 500 on the road. They can easily lose both of those series. Wish they were in a better spot, but can’t do anything about that. 

[Dfan25]

36 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I think 3-3 gets them in. Pirates and Mets aren’t pushovers. Marlins are under 500 on the road. They can easily lose both of those series. Wish they were in a better spot, but can’t do anything about that. 

My concern has more to do with how the Cubs are playing and less with who the marlins face . Cubs just aren’t good right now . Bullpen is a mess . Steele has hit a wall Bellinger has been pretty meh for a while.   I don’t think they win 3 games next week TBH , Hope for the best but not really feeling it.

Anyway whatever happens , this season has been a lot more fun in general that what I was expecting . Hopefully is enough to push them into a really aggressive offseason .
 

 

[Rcal10]

47 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

My concern has more to do with how the Cubs are playing and less with who the marlins face . Cubs just aren’t good right now . Bullpen is a mess . Steele has hit a wall Bellinger has been pretty meh for a while.   I don’t think they win 3 games next week TBH , Hope for the best but not really feeling it.

Anyway whatever happens , this season has been a lot more fun in general that what I was expecting . Hopefully is enough to push them into a really aggressive offseason .
 

 

Can’t disagree with any of this. I am hoping they can get one in Atlanta(they aren’t playing well right now) and then 2 in Milw. They will have clinched. 

[UMFan83]

2 hours ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

McMahon chopped a ball to first that seemed to end the game, but the umpires convened and ruled it a foul ball.  Replay showed it barely grazed his foot on the bounce.

And to add to why it felt more significant than a normal play, the players started their handshake line and Go Cubs Go played long enough to get to the refrain before the umps got together and ruled it foul. Felt like we won the game, then all the sudden we were right back into super tense tying run on second baseball. 

[UMFan83]

All I’m saying is that if the Cubs sweep the distracted Braves and the Cardinals play spoiler and sweep the Brewers we can control our destiny for the division again 😂

[Irrelevant Dude]

Was there any discussion about why Hendricks got pushed back?

Is it just that the Cubs like the match up better against Milwaukee than the possibility of him facing the Braves' offense in Atlanta?

I guess if he's only going to get one more start either way, they might as well try to line up the best match-ups.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

6 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Was there any discussion about why Hendricks got pushed back?

Is it just that the Cubs like the match up better against Milwaukee than the possibility of him facing the Braves' offense in Atlanta?

I guess if he's only going to get one more start either way, they might as well try to line up the best match-ups.

I didn't see anything in particular, and thinking on it I doubt it's a singular thing.  Outside of the matchups bit that you mentioned, maybe he's battling some fatigue, maybe they want Taillon and Stroman to stay on consistent schedules, maybe it's a hedge that if Steele has to pitch Sunday that Hendricks can still start WC game 1(since he only has 1 start either way as you said)

[Rex Buckingham]

Anything that keeps a HR prone pitcher from facing ATL in that ballpark is a good idea. The HR ball has been Kyle's biggest downfall the past few years, and this year's Braves team might be the dongiest of dongsmiths ever assembled 

[soccer10k]

7 hours ago, Dfan25 said:

I don’t see them holding a 1 game lead with a week to go and the schedule they have sadly . Have to give the Marlins credit though .

The schedule isn't that bad. For Atlanta, Strider just pitched today so we miss him and Fried and Morton just got placed on the IL. So we get Elder Tuesday and ??? the other two games. I get Atlanta's offense is loaded but they aren't going to go all out just to beat the Cubs. They're up 3.5 on LA with 6 to play (7 for LA) and they have the tiebreaker. So if LA goes 7-0, the Braves would only have to go 3-3 to get the 1 seed.

The only way the Milwaukee series matters to them is if we sweep Atlanta and St Louis sweeps Milwaukee. And if that happens, great! Because it means we won 3 times and are probably in good shape. If they have the division locked, they're resting dudes for the WC series starting Tuesday.

Does that mean we're going to make the playoffs? Of course not. Other teams have easier schedules. But ours could be worse.

[Irrelevant Dude]

5 minutes ago, soccer10k said:

The schedule isn't that bad. For Atlanta, Strider just pitched today so we miss him and Fried and Morton just got placed on the IL. So we get Elder Tuesday and ??? the other two games. I get Atlanta's offense is loaded but they aren't going to go all out just to beat the Cubs. They're up 3.5 on LA with 6 to play (7 for LA) and they have the tiebreaker. So if LA goes 7-0, the Braves would only have to go 3-3 to get the 1 seed.

The only way the Milwaukee series matters to them is if we sweep Atlanta and St Louis sweeps Milwaukee. And if that happens, great! Because it means we won 3 times and are probably in good shape. If they have the division locked, they're resting dudes for the WC series starting Tuesday.

Does that mean we're going to make the playoffs? Of course not. Other teams have easier schedules. But ours could be worse.

And let's not dismiss Arizona as a possibility just yet.  We can hedge a little bit that, if the Cubs play 3-3 or 4-2 baseball over the next week and Miami goes on a run that is 1 game better, passing Arizona isn't out of the question if they struggle a bit.

[UMFan83]

15 minutes ago, soccer10k said:

The schedule isn't that bad. For Atlanta, Strider just pitched today so we miss him and Fried and Morton just got placed on the IL. So we get Elder Tuesday and ??? the other two games. I get Atlanta's offense is loaded but they aren't going to go all out just to beat the Cubs. They're up 3.5 on LA with 6 to play (7 for LA) and they have the tiebreaker. So if LA goes 7-0, the Braves would only have to go 3-3 to get the 1 seed.

The only way the Milwaukee series matters to them is if we sweep Atlanta and St Louis sweeps Milwaukee. And if that happens, great! Because it means we won 3 times and are probably in good shape. If they have the division locked, they're resting dudes for the WC series starting Tuesday.

Does that mean we're going to make the playoffs? Of course not. Other teams have easier schedules. But ours could be worse.

Miami also I think gets Senga and Lucchsei (who has been great lately) when they face the Mets. Also they are much worse on the road 35-40 this year. 
 

Arizona unfortunately has the White Sox but Davis and the Pfaadt guy that only the Cubs can’t touch going in that series. Houston is currently 0.5 games up in the WC and 2.5 back of the division so they will almost certainly have something to play for in those games. 
 

As for the Cubs, like you pointed out they get a break with the Braves rotation, and believe they will miss 2 of the Brewers big 3

Would I rather the Cubs be 4 games up like they were a week ago? Of course. Would I feel much better if they owned the tiebreaker with any of the teams they are going up against? Yup, our odds would be substantially higher if they did. But the Cubs are in a decent position and they have just as good a chance as the other two do. Just gotta hope for a good week of baseball from the Cubs

[CubUgly]

14 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

The Mets have played spoiler a few times the last couple of weeks as have the Pirates obviously. 
 

Marlins are 35-40 on the road, not the same team away from Miami

The Pirates have kind of reminded me of the Cubs last year down the stretch - having a good September.