Reds (Littell) vs Cubs (Imanaga): 8/5/25, 7:05pm

[Brandon Glick]

I have nothing to say. Last night was harrowing.

[UMFan83]

Just sucks because if the Cubs were in any other division in baseball they'd at least be tied for 1st (percentage points ahead).  But because they are in a division with a team that has won 76% of their games since late May, everything feels like it's falling apart even though it's really not.  They're in a slump but they literally just won a series 2 days ago (1 pitch from sweeping) and have won 2 of their last 3 series overall.  They definitely have holes/issues and the deadline was a disappointment but it's not as bad as it feels at this point.

Edited August 5, 2025 by UMFan83

[17 Seconds]

playoff odds still at 97.2%, just don't get swept

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Zach Littell

[Chicago Al]

46 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Just sucks because if the Cubs were in any other division in baseball they'd at least be tied for 1st (percentage points ahead).  But because they are in a division with a team that has won 76% of their games since late May, everything feels like it's falling apart even though it's really not.  They're in a slump but they literally just won a series 2 days ago (1 pitch from sweeping) and have won 2 of their last 3 series overall.  They definitely have holes/issues and the deadline was a disappointment but it's not as bad as it feels at this point.

Any game now the Cubs offense is going to erupt and come back to life. It’s been a long slump that every contending team has gone through this season. I’m hoping they go on a tear that lasts throughout the rest of the season and into the playoffs. 

[ILMindState]

I'll be happy if no recent trade acquisitions get injured today.

[NorthsideAvenger]

Just get back to fundamentals and take it from there.

[Derwood]

8 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

I'll be happy if no recent trade acquisitions get injured today.

[CubinNY]

Shota will shut them down today. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

58 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Shota will shut them down today. 

Reds or Cubs?

[BigSlick]

2 hours ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Zach Littell

So this looks like he’s one of the worst pitchers in baseball. That’s….not good. Cubs aren’t gonna score. 

[gflore34]

8 minutes ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

Reds or Cubs?

Both.

[UMFan83]

1 hour ago, ILMindState said:

I'll be happy if no recent trade acquisitions get injured today.

I just want everyone to have a fun time today

[CubUgly]

2 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Just sucks because if the Cubs were in any other division in baseball they'd at least be tied for 1st (percentage points ahead).  

Only because every other team that had good records in MLB outside of Milwaukee seem to be struggling too. 

My concern is we just aren't playing well, our best players are not hitting, our bullpen that was among the leagues best entering July has been bad in July and we just in general aren't playing well.  

While we were exceeding expectations and projections before we are not any more and I would say in the last month or so we are performing below both....time to start playing better with what we have then we can complain more about the holes. 

[Stratos]

Here's a fun game called Willi Roulette where we guess what position Willi Castro is playing tonight.

I says DH.

[jorbloss]

2 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Just sucks because if the Cubs were in any other division in baseball they'd at least be tied for 1st (percentage points ahead).  But because they are in a division with a team that has won 76% of their games since late May, everything feels like it's falling apart even though it's really not.  They're in a slump but they literally just won a series 2 days ago (1 pitch from sweeping) and have won 2 of their last 3 series overall.  They definitely have holes/issues and the deadline was a disappointment but it's not as bad as it feels at this point.

yep you're spot on. Maybe the brewers will hit their own slump soon - if they don't, then more credit to them and they're actually a historically good team. I grew up in Boston and remember the AL East of the mid/late 00s - at least 3/4 of Toronto, Boston, Tampa, and New York were really, really good every single year. Sometimes divisions just work out this way. 

[Soul]

2 hours ago, 17 Seconds said:

playoff odds still at 97.2%, just don't get swept

My God.  Please stop with this stat, it triggers Cubs PTSD in the worst way.  Weren’t we basically at this level last year and didn’t make it?

[UMFan83]

Just now, CubUgly said:

Only because every other team that had good records in MLB outside of Milwaukee seem to be struggling too. 

My concern is we just aren't playing well, our best players are not hitting, our bullpen that was among the leagues best entering July has been bad in July and we just in general aren't playing well.  

While we were exceeding expectations and projections before we are not any more and I would say in the last month or so we are performing below both....time to start playing better with what we have then we can complain more about the holes. 

But shouldn't the fact that most good teams are playing poorly right now besides the Brewers emphasize that this stuff happens over the course of a season?  Even the magical Brewers played sub-500 baseball the first 6 weeks.   Yeah this isn't the 2016 Cubs, but they don't have to be.  Just make it in, be hot when the playoffs start and we'll see what happens.

[javy knows my name]

4 minutes ago, Stratos said:

Here's a fun game called Willi Roulette where we guess what position Willi Castro is playing tonight.

I says DH.

I says he won't start at DH ever with the Cubs

Edited August 5, 2025 by javy knows my name

[Dfan25]

I pretty much lost all the enthusiasm for the season after deadline , so whatever . Can’t wait for Ethan Roberts or Jordan Wicks tonight . Should be fun .
 

 And yes I know the odds of getting into the playoffs are very high via WC . Doesn’t feel like it TBH .

[mul21]

6 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

But shouldn't the fact that most good teams are playing poorly right now besides the Brewers emphasize that this stuff happens over the course of a season?  Even the magical Brewers played sub-500 baseball the first 6 weeks.   Yeah this isn't the 2016 Cubs, but they don't have to be.  Just make it in, be hot when the playoffs start and we'll see what happens.

I would much rather be going through the cold streak now than at the end of September.  We all know these guys are better than they've been playing for the last several weeks and regression to the mean works both ways.  This team will win more than they lose the rest of the way and just based on how streakiness works, there's a decent chance they're going well again when the playoffs roll around.

[Rcal10]

11 minutes ago, Soul said:

My God.  Please stop with this stat, it triggers Cubs PTSD in the worst way.  Weren’t we basically at this level last year and didn’t make it?

No. They were never at that level last year. Never even close to that level, last year.

[Rcal10]

3 minutes ago, mul21 said:

I would much rather be going through the cold streak now than at the end of September.  We all know these guys are better than they've been playing for the last several weeks and regression to the mean works both ways.  This team will win more than they lose the rest of the way and just based on how streakiness works, there's a decent chance they're going well again when the playoffs roll around.

Agreed. And actually in the Cubs last 28 games they are 16-12. If they kept that pace through the rest of the season they would win 28 more games. That would be 93 wins. We keep talking about them playing terrible, and yet if they continue this terrible run they will have 93 wins. Get in the playoffs and get hot when you are there. 

[Andy]

18 minutes ago, Soul said:

My God.  Please stop with this stat, it triggers Cubs PTSD in the worst way.  Weren’t we basically at this level last year and didn’t make it?

You're thinking of 2023, and according to The Athletic those odds peaked at 92.4%, so close but a little more of a lock right now.

[CubUgly]

16 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

But shouldn't the fact that most good teams are playing poorly right now besides the Brewers emphasize that this stuff happens over the course of a season?  Even the magical Brewers played sub-500 baseball the first 6 weeks.   Yeah this isn't the 2016 Cubs, but they don't have to be.  Just make it in, be hot when the playoffs start and we'll see what happens.

I guess you could say that 83, but this season seems to me to be unusual in the degree to which they are all playing mediocre baseball overs such a long stretch all at the same time.   The 2016 Cubs had a 5-15 stretch at the end of June and early July even but this is pretty prolonged and watching our good hitters struggle so much for so long is really, really hard to take.