Cubs (Boyd) vs Mets (Canning): 5/11/25, 11:05am

[CUBDOM4life]

11 minutes ago, Derwood said:

This game is making me never want to go to a Mets game

The Mets are such a lame and boring franchise 

[abuck1220]

pen is so ****** we all act like porter hodge (5.71 era, 1.50 whip) is our stud lol. 

[CUBDOM4life]

Someone, please make the Sundays stop

[We Got The Whole 9]

3 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Since April 18th, when he blew up he has pitched 7.1 innings with one run allowed. How is that awful for 2 weeks? 

Have you looked at his 14 day splits? 

[UMFan83]

welp that's 2 lost series in a row and 3 of 5.  Time to pick it up boys

[UMFan83]

Do we have a single good reliever?  Maybe Keller?  Hard to make the playoffs without 1 reliable guy

[gflore34]

7 minutes ago, CUBDOM4life said:

The Mets are such a lame and boring franchise 

They really are, they're due for a mammoth regression in pitching, especially their starters.  I hope the Cubs catch him during the downturn.  Saw a statistic last night displaying the whole of the Mets starters several deviations above their career norms.

Edited May 11, 2025 by gflore34

[Irrelevant Dude]

I think it's fair to say the team was never as good as they appeared for the first month of the season, but is still plenty good enough to be the prohibitive favorite to win the Central.

[UMFan83]

3 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

I think it's fair to say the team was never as good as they appeared for the first month of the season, but is still plenty good enough to be the prohibitive favorite to win the Central.

We'll see.  I thought that around this time in 2023 and early on in 2024 too.  This team is clearly better offensively and defensively but I think our SP is decidedly worse without any reliable bullpen guys (hopefully will sort itself out before it destroys us too much) and no Steele or Shota.

Edited May 11, 2025 by UMFan83

[WhyCantWeWin]

Didnt this happen last year too? Great start and then horsefeathers just hit the fan

[abuck1220]

cubs were literally getting mvp level production from FIVE hitters for the first month or whatever. they were due for regression offensively. unfortunately this disaster bullpen and extremely thin rotation is gonna struggle to prop up the slumping offense. 

[JHBulls]

Disappointing series defeat. But 23-18, division lead and this series was the last of the hardest stretch of the schedule 

[CUBDOM4life]

1 minute ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Didnt this happen last year too? Great start and then horsefeathers just hit the fan

Yes. They were 18-12 at the end of April, and 28-30 by end of May

[Geographyhater8888]

W

1 minute ago, UMFan83 said:

We'll see.  I thought that around this time in 2023 and early on in 2024 too.  This team is clearly better offensively and defensively but I think our SP is decidedly worse without any reliable bullpen guys (hopefully will sort itself out before it destroys us too much) and no Steele or Shota.

This is also the worst bench I can remember. Busch Suzuki and Kelly were going to regress from their 900 OPS+ pace, not a surprise the scoring is down ever since Carson Kelly remembered he’s Carson Kelly and not babe Ruth.

 

third base, rotation and pen are trending as expected. 88 wins it is, although it’s still the cubs we’re talking about l.

 

 

[17 Seconds]

5 games over .500 through that huge chunk of difficult games is a huge win. I don't know if they'll win the division but I'm definitely way more optimistic than I was before the season started. 

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, CUBDOM4life said:

Yes. They were 18-12 at the end of April, and 28-30 by end of May

I really don't see that happening this time around, their not going to continue to be impotent against replacement-below replacement level starting pitching like they were today.

[UMFan83]

3 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Didnt this happen last year too? Great start and then horsefeathers just hit the fan

2023 they started 12-7, then went on a 14-29 stretch

2024 they started 24-17, then went on a 16-31 stretch

This year we started 21-13 and have gone 2-5 since.  

Of course 7 games is not a large sample and every team goes 2-5 at some point or multiple points in a season, but the feeling is at least a little similar as 2023 and 2024 they were on fire offensively then cooled off dramatically (hasnt been nearly as dramatic this year but definitely some drop off from when everyone was hitting a week or 2 ago), in 2023 and 2024 they had a very shaky bullpen early and no solidified closer or setup men similar to this year. 

We also had fairly tough schedules in April when we got off to hot starts in 2023 and 2024 followed by a weaker stretch where we inexplicably struggled.

[CUBDOM4life]

2 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

I really don't see that happening this time around, their not going to continue to be impotent against replacement-below replacement level starting pitching like they were today.

I agree. I feel like last Mays results were due to an apocalyptic rash of bullpen injuries

[Geographyhater8888]

Do you bring Ballesteros up and put Busch and 2B or 3B? This team needs to score runs to win and I’m sick of seeing these automatic outs like Berti and Turner in the everyday lineup. 

[UMFan83]

7 minutes ago, CUBDOM4life said:

I agree. I feel like last Mays results were due to an apocalyptic rash of bullpen injuries

But do we even have a better bullpen right now than the ravaged one from last year?  I dunno maybe we do. I just know there’s not one guy I feel overly confident in getting the job done in a tight spot, even if they do occasionally come through.  Always waiting for that pen implosion that has happened several times this year. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

2 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

Do you bring Ballesteros up and put Busch and 2B or 3B?

So you're going to take your above average defensive first baseman and gold glove caliber second baseman and replace them with a below average defender at first base and a guy who has barely played second base in years?  And then put Nico at third where he doesn't have the arm strength for the position? 

No thanks.

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 minute ago, UMFan83 said:

But do we even have a better bullpen right now than the ravaged one from last year?

It's unfortunate that multiple injuries (Steele, Imanaga, Assad) have forced Ben Brown into the rotation indefinitely, because I still think he ultimately belongs in the bullpen and could be one of the missing pieces at the back end.

[UMFan83]

2 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

It's unfortunate that multiple injuries (Steele, Imanaga, Assad) have forced Ben Brown into the rotation indefinitely, because I still think he ultimately belongs in the bullpen and could be one of the missing pieces at the back end.

Agreed there. The starter injuries have had a trickle down effect on the entire staff. If everyone is healthy, Assad or Rea could be penciled in at 5. The other one and Brown could be in the pen as swing guys or maybe another late inning option. It’s just a mess and I hope it sorts itself out soon. As ****** as Jed’s bullpens are, they always find some semblance of workable late inning options eventually. 

[CUBDOM4life]

8 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

But do we even have a better bullpen right now than the ravaged one from last year?  I dunno maybe we do. I just know there’s not one guy I feel overly confident in getting the job done in a tight spot, even if they do occasionally come through.  Always waiting for that pen implosion that has happened several times this year. 

Unfortunately, due to the injuries to our starters, it might not be. I’m just praying Boyd can keep it together for the time being since he hasn’t even pitched 80 innings in a season since 2019.

[Geographyhater8888]

30 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

So you're going to take your above average defensive first baseman and gold glove caliber second baseman and replace them with a below average defender at first base and a guy who has barely played second base in years?  And then put Nico at third where he doesn't have the arm strength for the position? 

No thanks.

You’re putting Nico at shortstop. You have a guy raking in Iowa, try to find a spot for him with below replacement level production from the hot corner. At worst the net benefit is neutral. 
 

it was a question not a statement. 

Edited May 11, 2025 by Geographyhater8888