Cubs (Boyd) vs Blue Jays (Scherzer): 8/14/25, 2:07pm

[chibears55]

4 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Castro starting for PCA against a righty when he could just give him a break on Sunday against the lefty starter we face then is very dumb

Gets him an off day today and likely Sunday too, i think or hope CC uses this opportunity with Caissie up now to get these OFers and Zuki extra days off to get them well rested heading into final week of season and playoffs. 

[chibears55]

https://x.com/WatchMarquee/status/1956053788336312702?t=yDh4cTw5MOHHIWejMYbqLQ&s=19

[chibears55]

Let hope the new ginger OFer has as good first game as the last one 20 years ago on July 8 2005 (Matt Murton).😊

2 for 2 DBL BB SF RBI R

[BigSlick]

23 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Castro starting for PCA against a righty when he could just give him a break on Sunday against the lefty starter we face then is very dumb

Well PCA is like 1 for his last 40 or whatever, I don’t mind giving him a day off against whomever 

[squally1313]

5 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Let hope the new ginger OFer has as good first game as the last one 20 years ago on July 8 2005 (Matt Murton).😊

2 for 2 DBL BB SF RBI R

PCA is almost certainly natural a ginger, no?

[JHBulls]

Good thing I just checked the start time of this and didn’t miss anything assuming it’s another night game. 

[mul21]

34 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Castro starting for PCA against a righty when he could just give him a break on Sunday against the lefty starter we face then is very dumb

Castro is also much better hitting as a lefty so I don't have a big issue with it as bad as PCA has been lately.

[JHBulls]

Over/under 3 AB’s that Cassie will turn into Boo-ssie? 

[Cubbies1996]

I do not understand Happ batting 2nd. 

[squally1313]

1 minute ago, mul21 said:

Castro is also much better hitting as a lefty so I don't have a big issue with it as bad as PCA has been lately.

Didn't we get Castro specifically as a guy that could hit LHP? Or have I had that backwards the whole time. I feel like you could parse his stats in different ways to make him seem good in all situations but ultimately he adds up to basically league average. 

[UMFan83]

game starts at 2:07.  Tune in at 2:09 to find 2 outs and 2 strikes already 

[UMFan83]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

Didn't we get Castro specifically as a guy that could hit LHP? Or have I had that backwards the whole time. I feel like you could parse his stats in different ways to make him seem good in all situations but ultimately he adds up to basically league average. 

No you're right, he's much much better vs LHP

[Derwood]

I can see that Owen's arrival has really sparked the lineup (lol)

Also, why do our hitters keep hitting 390 foot fly balls to just right of dead center?

[squally1313]

1 minute ago, UMFan83 said:

No you're right, he's much much better vs LHP

Yeah, stats back that up for this year. In 2024 it was flipped, and career wise he's basically the exact same against both.

I'm obviously lingering too long on this, but his value to me was his ability to play everywhere in a world where we had three catchers, a short side 1B platoon, and a glorified pinch runner. Going forward I would prefer the plan to be that he rotates around 3B, 2B, SS (or 2B while Nico plays SS), and CF, with Caissie getting time in the corners and DH. Shaw, Dansby, Nico are all good/better against LHP, PCA is clearly worse, using your Castro for PCA day against a RHP seems suboptimal. But also, yes, to everyone elses point, PCA has been terrible, so maybe it's more just that. 

[UMFan83]

Just now, Derwood said:

I can see that Owen's arrival has really sparked the lineup (lol)

Also, why do our hitters keep hitting 390 foot fly balls to just right of dead center?

Noticed that too...very odd

 

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

Yeah, stats back that up for this year. In 2024 it was flipped, and career wise he's basically the exact same against both.

I'm obviously lingering too long on this, but his value to me was his ability to play everywhere in a world where we had three catchers, a short side 1B platoon, and a glorified pinch runner. Going forward I would prefer the plan to be that he rotates around 3B, 2B, SS (or 2B while Nico plays SS), and CF, with Caissie getting time in the corners and DH. Shaw, Dansby, Nico are all good/better against LHP, PCA is clearly worse, using your Castro for PCA day against a RHP seems suboptimal. But also, yes, to everyone elses point, PCA has been terrible, so maybe it's more just that. 

interesting, I didnt go beyond this year to see if he was consistently better vs lefties because when I saw 2025 I assumed that's why we got him.  Good stuff, makes a lot more sense now that he's giving guys days off against both righties and lefties.

[chibears55]

Crazy seeing Tucker's average dropping everyday since he was at .290 on July 1st.

He's way too good of a hitter for this, currently hitting .266 🙄

[We Got The Whole 9]

Fuxk you you nerd.

[Derwood]

Can't be mad about that. 5-star catch there

[JHBulls]

Ah, horsefeathers that’s annoying lol. 

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Who's that horsefeathers?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Dickhead.

[JBears79]

Nothing good can happen for the Cubs. Its a rule

[itisallpartoftheplan]

Welcome to the Cubs, kid.

[Chicago Al]

Damn, thought the kid had extra bases there… Good catch.

[squally1313]

2 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

interesting, I didnt go beyond this year to see if he was consistently better vs lefties because when I saw 2025 I assumed that's why we got him.  Good stuff, makes a lot more sense now that he's giving guys days off against both righties and lefties.

I mean, to be clear, he's a career 97 wRC against one and 96 wRC against the other, so I think he's a clear step back from any of the normal options. Ultimately I think today is a 'PCA needs a break' day, but I do think unless we get 1st half PCA back we should consider Castro starting in center against all LHP, so I'm a bit against the idea of giving PCA more time off than that.