Cubs (Horton) vs Tigers (Flaherty): 6/8/25, 12:40pm

[gflore34]

12 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

The last time he had an ERA over 3 Covid didn't exist. Granted theres been some time missed but he has a much longer and stronger track record than this season.

You're probably correct. Currently, his ERA 1.30, I'm thinking it's going to go up, maybe not too much.

[Rcal10]

11 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

He was put on 10 day DL

Really. I did not know that. I thought he just came back. Good to know.👍

[Hot Sauce]

1 hour ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

I'll say it.  Baseball games are too short now! 

When I go to a game, I don't want to be in and out in just over 2 hours.

Also, it used to be if it was 11:30 at night and I was looking for something to watch on TV for awhile before bed, I could almost always catch a few innings of a west coast game.  Now I don't even check anymore because the games are over in 2.5 hours or less.

I used to do the same and have also noticed this. 

[gflore34]

10 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

Harper is on the 10 day IL. Phillies seem to be struggling right now , but if Cubs can’t score it won’t matter . They get Wheeler tomorrow . Luzardo has been awful his last 2 .  At the least they didn’t lose ground to St Louis or Milwaukee today .

I fully expect Luzardo to right the ship vs the Cubs and that's okay.  With both Wheeler and Luzardo if the Cubs stay in those games, get into the Phillies bullpen, they'll win one of them.

[gflore34]

Was anyone encouraged that Horton' going to minimize the mistakes today?  He sandwiched three pretty effective innings with mistake littered innings.  Is too much to expect he's ever going to get it going this year?  Still a good thought to keep giving him chances going with a six man rotation when Shota comes back?  With his, thus far, apparent inability to consistently execute I don't know if moving Horton to the bullpen would serve the Cubs very well.

Edited June 8, 2025 by gflore34

[Derwood]

Brewers and Cards also lost, so no harm

[Backtobanks]

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

Agree on Flaherty, don't know if I'm sold on Kahnle, he's been fantastic over 27+ innings, maybe over performing a bit.  There's a real good chance he regresses over the next 20 or so innings.

He's got an ERA+ of 130 over 11 seasons.

[gflore34]

14 minutes ago, Backtobanks said:

He's got an ERA+ of 130 over 11 seasons.

Better than Pressly and I suspect would have been more effective as the closer for Cubs in April.  Though Pressly' ineffectiveness may turned out for the best, I've far more confidence in Palencia at the end of the game now.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

[731.4life]

3 hours ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

I'll say it.  Baseball games are too short now! 

When I go to a game, I don't want to be in and out in just over 2 hours.

Also, it used to be if it was 11:30 at night and I was looking for something to watch on TV for awhile before bed, I could almost always catch a few innings of a west coast game.  Now I don't even check anymore because the games are over in 2.5 hours or less.

Spot on, always enjoyed watching west coast teams at 11:30 at night on a random Tuesday in June.

[Soul]

We got out of there without losing serious ground, two hot teams on our ass.  I’ll take it.

[We Got The Whole 9]

I dont like that they keep losing series to playoff teams. They need to punch the Phillies in the teeth.

[Stu]

14 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Too many mistakes and the Tigers aren’t making any. But even if they lose this game, nothing that happened in this series makes me fear the Tigers. Cubs just don’t play their best and I truly believe we saw the absolute best of Detroit. 

I appreciate this viewpoint and a couple others you expressed around the way this Detroit series unfolded.. This was a great experience for PCA, Shaw, Brown, and Horton.

I also appreciated seeing PCA batting forth against Gore, one of the toughest lefties around — throw the kid up there. He’s only gonna get better.

 

 

[Bruno7481]

At the start of this 9 game road trip I likely would have taken a 4-5 outcome.  Finishing the trip with a winning record would be outstanding and is still on the table.

[CubUgly]

13 hours ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Ha! Yeah, they really gave Flaherty a generous strike zone and he took full advantage.  I think the one inning he got in trouble he tried the old Tom Glavine trick and go even a few inches extra off the plate, but didn't get it.

I thought Horton got a couple of calls but he didn't test the outer edges as often as Flaherty did.   Maybe when he'd more the wily veteran he'll learn to, but by that time they'll at least have the challenge thing in place.

[gflore34]

10 hours ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

I dont like that they keep losing series to playoff teams. They need to punch the Phillies in the teeth.

Time to kick them when they're down, no Harper, take advantage.  Taking advantage would be greatly facilitated by Happ and Tucker getting going, something, anything would help.

[Derwood]

Tucker with 0 HR and 1 RBI in the last 10 games

Last homer was May 21

 

[Bobson Dugnutt]

4 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Tucker with 0 HR and 1 RBI in the last 10 games

Last homer was May 21

 

Not arguing the spirit of this post. He’s in a bit of a power drought. But I love that his “slumps” still have him slashing .267/.436/.367 with a 10% K rate.

[gflore34]

4 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Tucker with 0 HR and 1 RBI in the last 10 games

Last homer was May 21

 

And the Cubs have done OK because of their line up depth but, it won't last.  He's got to get going, I think he will, some team is going to pay.

[Derwood]

35 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

Not arguing the spirit of this post. He’s in a bit of a power drought. But I love that his “slumps” still have him slashing .267/.436/.367 with a 10% K rate.

He's getting on base, he's just not scoring or driving anyone in

[Bobson Dugnutt]

8 minutes ago, Derwood said:

He's getting on base, he's just not scoring or driving anyone in

Meh. Just because it’s kinda fun that Seiya and PCA are jockeying for position in the RBI lead doesn’t mean we have to suddenly ascribe importance to RBIs as a stat.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

46 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

And the Cubs have done OK because of their line up depth but, it won't last.  He's got to get going, I think he will, some team is going to pay.

He’s had back to back 0-fers. The prior 8 games of that 10 game span Derwood looked at his slash was .348/.516/.478 with 1 strikeout and 6 walks. We’re talking about a two game “slump.”

[Derwood]

2 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

Meh. Just because it’s kinda fun that Seiya and PCA are jockeying for position in the RBI lead doesn’t mean we have to suddenly ascribe importance to RBIs as a stat.

It's informative about when he's hitting and who (if anyone) is on base. Part of this aligns with Happ's struggles coming off the IL, and part of it aligns with Amaya's injury which has put McGuire ahead of Tucker (at times) as the lineup turns over

[We Got The Whole 9]

1 minute ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

Meh. Just because it’s kinda fun that Seiya and PCA are jockeying for position in the RBI lead doesn’t mean we have to suddenly ascribe importance to RBIs as a stat.

Comparing players based on them is stupid but I think it's normal to want your best hitters to get them often.