Cubs (Taillon) vs Orioles (Kremer): 7/9/24, 5:35pm

[Tryptamine]

Run doesn't come home from 3B on a pitch to the back stop

[Cuzi]

Has Morel swung the bat one time tonight where it looked like he agreed with his decision mid swing?

[squally1313]

Need someone to come check on how the game is going based solely off the last dozen or so posts here and then say what they think the score is 

[Tryptamine]

Dansby needs time off badly. 

[Illiterate Scholar]

Just now, squally1313 said:

Need someone to come check on how the game is going based solely off the last dozen or so posts here and then say what they think the score is 

The not scoring on a ball to the (brick) backstop post up 8-2 made me chuckle

[Irrelevant Dude]

2 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Dansby needs time off badly. 

He had an entire off-season, which didn't seem to help much.

[Tryptamine]

2 minutes ago, Illiterate Scholar said:

The not scoring on a ball to the (brick) backstop post up 8-2 made me chuckle

You've seen this bullpen no?

[Tryptamine]

Excited to see Bigge

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Mastrobuoni now hitting .277/.350/.333 since his recall, which is probably about a league average line?

[Derwood]

Miles and Nido showing up Dansby this inning

[Illiterate Scholar]

Crew chief has to announce his call getting overturned twice

[Tryptamine]

That Busch trade is looking like a steal 

[Tryptamine]

That was an exciting show by Bigge

[JBears79]

Bigge looked impressive. He was pumping gas

[JHBulls]

Did we just find our new closer?

[Irrelevant Dude]

5 minutes ago, JBears79 said:

Bigge looked impressive. He was pumping gas

Coincidentally, that's what Brewer will be doing next year.

[mfcubs22]

Merryweather, Bigge, Little, Hodge looks like it could be fun.

[Bertz]

42 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Mastrobuoni now hitting .277/.350/.333 since his recall, which is probably about a league average line?

I really want him to hit, his skillset just compliments the roster so well

[PeanutPunch33]

Really nice win, if they somehow pull off a sweep in Baltimore it could change everything

[Bertz]

You're really seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with the bullpen woes

- Hodge and Little have been studs for a few weeks now, pitching well AND doing so in leverage spots 

- Leiter was a bit wobbly right before his IL stint but has otherwise been phenomenal, and showed zero rust tonight

- That was a phenomenal debut by Bigge,  and he's been crushing it as the Iowa closer so it's not out of nowhere

- Palencia looked like he was similarly making the leap before going on the IL.  He's healthy again and has had a few good outings at Iowa since coming back.  Probably an option post break

- Merryweather is starting his rehab tonight.  With how long he was out he probably needs like a half dozen outings before he can come back up but still we're likely talking before the end of the month

- The returning SPs should have some positive cascading effects on the bullpen

[Tim]

19 minutes ago, Bertz said:

You're really seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with the bullpen woes

- Hodge and Little have been studs for a few weeks now, pitching well AND doing so in leverage spots 

- Leiter was a bit wobbly right before his IL stint but has otherwise been phenomenal, and showed zero rust tonight

- That was a phenomenal debut by Bigge,  and he's been crushing it as the Iowa closer so it's not out of nowhere

- Palencia looked like he was similarly making the leap before going on the IL.  He's healthy again and has had a few good outings at Iowa since coming back.  Probably an option post break

- Merryweather is starting his rehab tonight.  With how long he was out he probably needs like a half dozen outings before he can come back up but still we're likely talking before the end of the month

- The returning SPs should have some positive cascading effects on the bullpen

Since 6/15, the Cubs bullpen has the 5th best ERA in baseball at 3.15. The bullpen woes have been over for a while now.

But I agree with your broader point. I'm excited that the pen could be a real strength in the second half and going into 2025.

[Stratos]

13 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

The Orioles are definitely one of the teams I think would most be in on Taillon. They adamantly refuse to include Basallo/Mayo/Holliday and seemingly Kjerstad in any trade. So when your lead trade pieces are Connor Norby/Chayce McDermott/Dylan Beavers you're probably shopping in the Taillon level starter range. Of course if I was them I'd be chasing Fedde, but who knows.

Taillon has some control left which will help us.  Not expecting a ton, we see

[Stratos]

10 hours ago, squally1313 said:

Do you think the market for Taillon in December is markedly worse than the market for him now?

Yes.   There will be lots of SP on the FA market in Dec

[Stratos]

11 hours ago, squally1313 said:

On the one hand, the Cubs were projected to be 24th in overall catcher fWAR going into the year. So I think it was safe to say it was a concern or at least something they consciously decided to punt on for soft skills.

On the other hand, they were projected for 1.8 fWAR for the year and have been worth -1.5 so far this year, so we're talking about basically a 2.5 win swing in the wrong direction from even those feeble projections. 

On pace for about -3 war.  That's 5 wins difference at catcher alone.   I doubt they'll be that bad in the 2nd half though.

Amaya isn't good but he's not this bad most likely.  At best he's probably a backup catcher.  His defense and throwing came better advertised.

[Stratos]

4 hours ago, squally1313 said:

Realizing now that bote and wisdom are both on the active roster, so changing my answer to shrug emoji. 

Lefty righty platoon