Orioles (Rogers) vs Cubs (Horton): 8/1/25, 1:20pm

[Brandon Glick]

After completely and wholly improving their roster yesterday in a totally wild deadline (nod your head in agreement for Dear Leader Jed), the Cubs get to take on the Orioles in the extremely-hyped up Andrew Kittredge revenge game.

[Derwood]

Convince me that Cy Rogers' numbers aren't what they appear

[Bertz]

As far as SP matchups go, this is probably the toughest one this weekend.  Rogers isn't nearly as good as his ERA but he is good.

That said the O's bullpen should be in shambles this weekend, and the bottom half of their lineup likely a mess.  We're probably getting them at about as opportune time as possible.

[Tryptamine]

7 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Convince me that Cy Rogers' numbers aren't what they appear

He hasn't been 1.49 good, but he does seem legitimately greatly improved. 2.85 FIP, 3.76 xFIP, 3.30 xERA. The Cubs will have their hands full.

[KCCub]

 

 

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Thanks for stopping by, Moises.

[KCCub]

 

 

[Outshined_One]

AQI is once again for horsefeathers today.  Anyone running the bases would likely have a healthier outcome if they smoked a pack of Marlboro reds.

[Derwood]

Saroka can sit in limbo u til they need him to start, so one more move to come Sunday or Monday. 

[squally1313]

11 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

AQI is once again for horsefeathers today.  Anyone running the bases would likely have a healthier outcome if they smoked a pack of Marlboro reds.

Going to be at a rooftop and hoping I'll be able to see the action from there. 

[gflore34]

I would imagine Castro will be in LF today?

Edited August 1, 2025 by gflore34

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

I would imaging Castro will be in LF today?

I think it will be Happ. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Brett just posted the no-Castro lineup

[KCCub]

Yea sad no Castro against a lefty today. Chalking it up to allowing him to get accommodated. 

[Jason Ross]

Ah, bummer no Castro. Wonder if they just couldn't get him in until late-last-night based on the time they traded for him.

It was a later moment trade, so getting Castro who was presumably in Cleveland at 6pm est to Chicago was probably a bit of a night for him. Coupled with an afternoon game...

[Nolansomebody]

44 minutes ago, KCCub said:

 

 

Does anyone have a win/loss record for games where the wind was blowing in? I swear that some of the most recent games haven’t gone well when wind was blowing in.

Edited August 1, 2025 by Nolansomebody

[squally1313]

16 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Ah, bummer no Castro. Wonder if they just couldn't get him in until late-last-night based on the time they traded for him.

It was a later moment trade, so getting Castro who was presumably in Cleveland at 6pm est to Chicago was probably a bit of a night for him. Coupled with an afternoon game...

Do you think he's going to have a consistent spot/position in the lineup against LHP? Or is it going to be some sort of rotation between Happ, Castro, and PCA in addition to being able to spell some of the other guys. Swanson, Hoerner, Suzuki, Tucker all hit LHP really well, and Turner is basically only there to play first against LHPs. 

[Bertz]

4 minutes ago, Nolansomebody said:

Does anyone have a win/loss record for games where the wind was blowing in? I swear that some of the most recent games haven’t gone well when wind was blowing in.

I don't have the record but I think it's actually really good.  The vibes around here get rancid, like when we swept the Rockies but apparently not hard enough.  But I think the actual results are good.  It's been when the wind has been blowing out where things have gone more poorly, like that Mariners series.

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

Do you think he's going to have a consistent spot/position in the lineup against LHP? Or is it going to be some sort of rotation between Happ, Castro, and PCA in addition to being able to spell some of the other guys. Swanson, Hoerner, Suzuki, Tucker all hit LHP really well, and Turner is basically only there to play first against LHPs. 

My guess is that the Cubs plan for Castro is that he will play most every day against LHP, but that it will be a bit of a chess piece they can move around. He can basically play everywhere except 1b and C so I would expect they will be creative with him. Sometimes for Pete, sometimes for Happ, maybe sometimes for Shaw, and if they want to get crazy, he could probably bump Ian Happ or Kyle Tucker to 1b and have him be the Busch guy. 

I also think he'll play a bunch against RHP doing the same taking some time at LF, 2b, 3b and SS. I don't think he's a great defender at any one spot, but you can mix and match. Imanaga is a good day to get Willi Castro on the infield, Cade Horton is a good day to get him in the OF, for example. 

But I think he'll play more than any bench hitter we have had all season.

[KCCub]

 

 

[squally1313]

5 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I don't have the record but I think it's actually really good.  The vibes around here get rancid, like when we swept the Rockies but apparently not hard enough.  But I think the actual results are good.  It's been when the wind has been blowing out where things have gone more poorly, like that Mariners series.

We went 8-4 at home in August, with the losing games being: 

• a Pomeranz/Flexen bullpen day start against the Cardinals which featured 5 home runs, the key one being by something called Yohel Pozo, so doubt this was a wind blowing in game
• A Horton v Crochet game where Horton actually outpitched Crochet but Roberts, Pomeranz, and Pressly all gave up home runs late and we only scored 1 run
• A Brown/Flexen game against the Royals where they both pretty much imploded (gave up 12 total, six home runs in the game total so also doubt this was a wind blowing in game)
• Colin Rea getting beat by Seth Lugo, another 6 home run game in total

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, KCCub said:

 

 

Poor Ballesteros, the kid is stuck in Iowa

[chibears55]

19 minutes ago, KCCub said:

 

 

Gets Imanaga an extra day off with him going Tuesday 

[gflore34]

With Orioles in town does anyone think, given his numbers thus far, the price tag of Morton was exceedingly high?  Or did Jed view Morton as not an improvement over Rea, Brown and soon to be back Tallion/Assad?  I think many of us would have OK with Morton being one of the acquisitions yesterday.

Edited August 1, 2025 by gflore34

[squally1313]

Busch with the rare start against LHP. In a world with Castro, if they think Busch can at least tread water (or Happ/tucker can slot in), might not be much room left for Turner. I think he’s fine for what he is going forward, but also wondering if Amaya, Moises, Castro, and Alcantara is the better October bench.