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

[Soul]

3 minutes ago, Connor McConnor said:

Winning streak starts tonight.   Let's go Cubs. 

Rock n’ roll baby.

[gflore34]

3 minutes ago, Hot Sauce said:

Not a real quote. Just a joke and me doing my best to answer as I believe Jed would. 

Seriously though, I wonder if this was a calculated gamble by Jed that didn't pay off.  We'll probably never know the answer.  I think it's a safe bet to write Soroka off for this season, which sucks. Had he'd been healthy, he might have been really helpful.

[Soul]

1 minute ago, gflore34 said:

Seriously though, I wonder if this was a calculated gamble by Jed that didn't pay off.  We'll probably never know the answer.  I think it's a safe bet to write Soroka off for this season, which sucks. Had he'd been healthy, he might have been really helpful.

In fairness it was a seller’s market and the deadline is chaos.  It’s not like he can say hold on, we need an MRI before we close this deal.  Of all the things I count as negatives for Jed this one isn’t super high on the list.  It was a gamble that failed.

[Rcal10]

35 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

They'll make the playoffs, it just they'll likely not get pass the Division round with the pitching they have.

If Boyd, Imanaga and Horton are all healthy they are fine with pitching. The problem is I don’t see all of them pitching in October. If they want Boyd and Horton to pitch then, they need less innings from them now. Basically conceding the division and settling for the WC. 

[Rcal10]

38 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

They'll make the playoffs, it just they'll likely not get pass the Division round with the pitching they have.

Double post

Edited August 5, 2025 by Rcal10

[Soul]

Just now, Rcal10 said:

If Boyd, Imanaga and Horton are all healthy they are fine with pitching. The problem is I don’t see all of them pitching in October. If they want Boyd and Horton to pitch then, they need less innings from them now. Basically conceding the division and settling for the WC. 

I’d do that then.  I don’t think they are winning the division.  This isn’t a hot streak from the Brewers.  They won’t continue this pace but they are going to play good baseball the rest of the way.

[CubUgly]

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

I think it will as well, what concerns me is may take another 2 weeks to a month for them to snap out of it. 

I know in one of the recent broadcasts Boog referenced the hand injury Tucker got sliding like back about 5 or 6 weeks ago when he missed the one game.....he seemed to be insinuating that the struggles are related to that and his hand injury from back then and it's still affecting him.   I'm not sure if that's speculation or has some merit but it would explain to some extent maybe, the lack of power. 

[Rcal10]

3 minutes ago, Soul said:

I’d do that then.  I don’t think they are winning the division.  This isn’t a hot streak from the Brewers.  They won’t continue this pace but they are going to play good baseball the rest of the way.

I don’t think you concede the division with 50 games to go and only 3 back. Maybe after the series with the Brewers if they are still 3 back or more AND the Brewers have the tiebreaker we can talk about a rough road to win the division. Right now it is still very much in question. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

23 minutes ago, Connor McConnor said:

Winning streak starts tonight.   Let's go Cubs. 

That is not the problem. Extending the winning streaks, is the issue.

[Jason Ross]

To be fair the Cubs and Mike Soroka, he had an MRI just before the TDL. 

Quote

That led to Soroka getting an MRI before his final start with the Nationals on July 29 against the Houston Astros.

“That’s kind of what we did for my peace of mind before my outing against the Astros,” Soroka said. “We looked at some avenues mechanically, some other things as to where the velocity went. We decided to check that other box off and there was nothing that presented to be an issue at the time there.

-The Athletic

So while the Cubs may not have had a second MRI after this one, I guarantee they saw the data and had it made available to them. It seems like there was nothing popping on medical scans.

[Derwood]

Seiya with the night off

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Willi Castro continues to build an impressive Cubs immaculate grid resume. 

Also thought Amaya would be back tonight but guess not.

Edited August 5, 2025 by Tangled Up in Plaid

[Soul]

14 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

To be fair the Cubs and Mike Soroka, he had an MRI just before the TDL. 

-The Athletic

So while the Cubs may not have had a second MRI after this one, I guarantee they saw the data and had it made available to them. It seems like there was nothing popping on medical scans.

Wow.  That changes how I look at it for sure

[Chicago Al]

Happ slowly working his way back to the lead off spot.

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

Seriously though, I wonder if this was a calculated gamble by Jed that didn't pay off.  We'll probably never know the answer.  I think it's a safe bet to write Soroka off for this season, which sucks. Had he'd been healthy, he might have been really helpful.

I feel like he really didn't want to trade any of his significant prospects and Soroka was the best he could get without giving any of them up.

They looked at the MRI that Soroka got at the end of July that showed no damage and was just hoping that the drop in velocity was something they could fix, unfortunately they never got the chance.

I think best case scenario with Soroka is second or third week in September if it just soreness and rest could help.

I do see Hoyer offering him a 2 year deal to return next year as hes just 27, whether he able to start the season with the Cubs or on IL.

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

If Boyd, Imanaga and Horton are all healthy they are fine with pitching. The problem is I don’t see all of them pitching in October. If they want Boyd and Horton to pitch then, they need less innings from them now. Basically conceding the division and settling for the WC. 

Correct on Horton, my thinking was theyll pretty much shut him down if they feel hes going to be a big part of their future, and they'll basically be going with Taillon as the 3rd starter. But agree if they want Taillon to be that guy in the playoffs, they'll need to limit his starts until then.

im more worried about a dead tired bullpen then the actual 3-4 man rotation they'll be going with. I think this bullpen is going to get overworked to try and win games from 6th inning on and will be gassed by October. 

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

I don’t think you concede the division with 50 games to go and only 3 back. Maybe after the series with the Brewers if they are still 3 back or more AND the Brewers have the tiebreaker we can talk about a rough road to win the division. Right now it is still very much in question. 

I always felt if a team was within 5 games of division on September 1st they had a chance.

[Andy]

1 hour ago, CubUgly said:

I know in one of the recent broadcasts Boog referenced the hand injury Tucker got sliding like back about 5 or 6 weeks ago when he missed the one game.....he seemed to be insinuating that the struggles are related to that and his hand injury from back then and it's still affecting him.   I'm not sure if that's speculation or has some merit but it would explain to some extent maybe, the lack of power. 

He had 12 HR on June 1 when the injury occurred and has 6 since, including only 1 in July. It's likely as good an explanation as any.

Edited August 5, 2025 by Andy

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

Seiya with the night off

PCA needs to get back to just hitting like he was doing earlier and not trying to get 40 homeruns on every swing.

[gflore34]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

Seiya with the night off

Would giving Seiya several games off help?  If, by some miracle, the Cubs generate more than 5 runs, I’d seriously consider giving Seiya tomorrow off as well.

Edited August 5, 2025 by gflore34

[ILMindState]

 

[Rcal10]

8 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Correct on Horton, my thinking was theyll pretty much shut him down if they feel hes going to be a big part of their future, and they'll basically be going with Taillon as the 3rd starter. But agree if they want Taillon to be that guy in the playoffs, they'll need to limit his starts until then.

im more worried about a dead tired bullpen then the actual 3-4 man rotation they'll be going with. I think this bullpen is going to get overworked to try and win games from 6th inning on and will be gassed by October. 

I don’t think the pen has to be dead tired. He has enough arms to mix and match. If Taillon comes back and pitches like he did earlier in the year with a string of 7 QS in a row, and Assad can give them 6 innings why should the pen be taxed any more than other pens. Boyd and Imanaga do their thing, and that leaves the 5th spot. Maybe to limit Horton’s innings they mix and match with Rea , Brown and Horton. Maybe even have Wicks come up for a spot start if they face a team who is bad against lefties. I am far less worried about the pen being tired than I am Horton or Boyd’s innings. Maybe Brown turned a corner. He has had 2 good appearances in a row. 

[Rcal10]

10 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I always felt if a team was within 5 games of division on September 1st they had a chance.

I wouldn’t go as far as 5 games in September 1st, especially if the Brewers have the tiebreaker. I mean, sure they have a chance. But not much if one. If they stay even until the Brewers series then take 3 of 5 they would be two back with the tiebreaker. That would be a fine place to be. 

[Jason Ross]

5 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

 

[Eeyore]

3 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Season back on:

Just a reminder he has a 12.66 ERA this year, -0.7 bWAR and has last 2 appearances for the Cubs:

5 ER in 2 IP vs Seattle

3 ER in 0.1 IP vs San Diego

It would probably be more effective to bring in the corpses of Assad and Taillon.