Mets (Quintana) vs Cubs (Imanaga): 6/21/24, 1:20pm

[Brock Beauchamp]

[CubinNY]

I like the Cubs chances to make it three in a row. 

[Bertz]

I wouldn't hate Busch or PCA getting a start today.  Q is pretty split neutral and obviously not a flamethrower so he's a good lefty to give a young guy a shot against.

[Brock Beauchamp]

By the way, I'll be handing off the game threads again, I simply didn't bother for awhile because I know Cubs exhaustion was a real thing over the past six weeks. If they start winning or even being competent again, I'll hand off the game threads.

[We Got The Whole 9]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-end-of-the-2016-cubs-is-coming/

 

Quote

Remember when I mentioned that Báez, Bryant and Rizzo face uncertain futures? All three left 2023 with a worse outlook than they entered the year with, and 2024 has only continued that unpleasant trajectory. In 146 combined games this season, they’ve hit .203/.265/.299 with 11 home runs in 588 PA, “good” for -1.9 WAR. 

 

Edited June 21, 2024 by We Got The Whole 9

[Cuzi]

56 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I wouldn't hate Busch or PCA getting a start today.  Q is pretty split neutral and obviously not a flamethrower so he's a good lefty to give a young guy a shot against.

Busch, imo, should be starting every day, minus rest days, no matter what handedness the pitcher is. The guy has even splits L vs R.

[Jason Ross]

55 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I wouldn't hate Busch or PCA getting a start today.  Q is pretty split neutral and obviously not a flamethrower so he's a good lefty to give a young guy a shot against.

The caveat of "it's super small sample size" and likely "curated PA's at that" should apply, but Busch is sporting a 132 wRC+ against LHP this year. Now, I don't expect him to be that good against lefties; this is in under 40 PAs. But he didn't sport horrible splits in Triple-A (well over .800 last year) and he's more than held his own when he's hit lefties this year. I'd like to see Busch start against a few more left handed pitchers moving forward. Sit him against the Nick Lodolo's, but I think he's earned a little bit more of a look against lefties 

[WhyCantWeWin]

53 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-end-of-the-2016-cubs-is-coming/

 

 

And I think Rizzo will end up earning less with the yankees than he would have with the “lowball” offer Jed gave him that Rizzo walked away from without countering. Im assuming the yankees are declining the team option on him this offseason 

[mfcubs22]

1 hour ago, Cuzi said:

Busch, imo, should be starting every day, minus rest days, no matter what handedness the pitcher is. The guy has even splits L vs R.

Agree! Pretty infuriating to not see Busch in there today. If you want Wisdom in vs the lefty, fine, but no reason to start Bote over Busch. Also, your bench now lacks a good right handed PH option. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

7 minutes ago, mfcubs22 said:

Also, your bench now lacks a good right handed PH option. 

I don't think this really matters now that there's a DH.  The only LHH to pinch hit for with a righty is Bellinger.

[muntjack]

Busch is now tops in the NL central in OPS and wRC+.   

[We Got The Whole 9]

11 minutes ago, muntjack said:

Busch is now tops in the NL central in OPS and wRC+.   

Damn didn't realize Contreras fell off that hard. Nice. 

 

The Busch trade is a clear home run. We could also get a pick out of it. If he is a neutral-splits guy that is just huge. There aren't a lot of LHB like that and you would hope that it only gets better with more experience.

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 hour ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

And I think Rizzo will end up earning less with the yankees than he would have with the “lowball” offer Jed gave him that Rizzo walked away from without countering. Im assuming the yankees are declining the team option on him this offseason 

And when/if the Yankees decline that option, then what?  How many teams are going to be banging down the door for an injury prone 35 year old first baseman?  As much as I would have loved him to come back to the Cubs to finish out his career, there simply isn't a fit here anymore.  Not even at the league minimum, should it come to that.

[WhyCantWeWin]

29 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

And when/if the Yankees decline that option, then what?  How many teams are going to be banging down the door for an injury prone 35 year old first baseman?  As much as I would have loved him to come back to the Cubs to finish out his career, there simply isn't a fit here anymore.  Not even at the league minimum, should it come to that.

Yeah i love Rizzo still and wanted him to retire a Cub, think he will be limited to minor league offers after this year.

[Chicago Al]

24 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Yeah i love Rizzo still and wanted him to retire a Cub, think he will be limited to minor league offers after this year.

Love Rizzo, but he’s probably nearing retirement with his ailing back, age and lack of production.

[Bull]

No Busch, no PCA. Wisdom at first, Belli in CF.

Edited June 21, 2024 by Bull

[Irrelevant Dude]

That sucks.  After an off day, Busch should be in the lineup against all but the toughest lefties.  Spoiler alert:  Quintana does not qualify as one of those.

[Thusly Boned]

Rizzo/KB/Baez have all pretty much taken the realistic worst case scenario career routes I imagined leading up to their trades. I didn't think they all would go so south (or so quickly), but it is everything I feared might happen if they were re-signed.

And honestly, I thought Rizzo would be the first to fall all the way off, but he was the last. There may be some hope for Bryant, but that's just a depressing situation.

All that said, I hope some role in the organization can be found for Rizzo somewhere down the road, though it obviously wouldn't be as an regular player at this point.

[gflore34]

17 minutes ago, Bull said:

No Busch, no PCA. Wisdom at first, Belli in CF.

Wisdom adds nothing, well, besides a lack of contact and K's, to the lineup.  I agree Quintana is the type of LHP Busch should be facing.

[CubinNY]

24 minutes ago, Thusly Boned said:

 

All that said, I hope some role in the organization can be found for Rizzo somewhere down the road, though it obviously wouldn't be as an regular player at this point.

I think those bridges were burned. 

[Illiterate Scholar]

12 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Wisdom adds nothing, well, besides a lack of contact and K's, to the lineup.  I agree Quintana is the type of LHP Busch should be facing.

Wisdom has a 141 wRC+ vs LHP. There are very specific things he adds, and he's being used as such.

[PeanutPunch33]

game over

[Irrelevant Dude]

17 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I think those bridges were burned. 

How is that?

[chibears55]

Bats need to respond with something here, even just 1 run.

[Outshined_One]

Yep, that's definitely Quintana on the mound.