Braves (Elder) vs Cubs (Horton): 9/3/25, 6:40pm

[mk49]

1 minute ago, Rcal10 said:

It appears so. Which is why he is in the game now. Counsell doesn’t ever chase wins using his high end guys. 

Very true.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Craig definitely wanted to give all the good bullpen guys two days off going into this game. Can't really blame him.

[chibears55]

4 minutes ago, mk49 said:

Rogers sucks.

Hes Counsell White Flag to a game 

[chibears55]

Shaw and Swanson have to be one of if not the best defensive left side of infield 

[Papa Cub]

16 minutes ago, DYMNO said:

I’m here, and you’re obnoxious.

Obnoxious you say? Ben Brown hasn’t done anything besides shown that he’s not a MLB pitcher YET.  Not saying he couldn’t develop, but this season my friend, he hasn’t shown anything besides being a liability. If that’s obnoxious of me - well 🤷‍♂️

I didn’t call him names and cut him down. THAT would be obnoxious. I’m simply stating an opinion. If you’re that offended by my comments, then not sure what to tell you guy 

[Soul]

3 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

It appears so. Which is why he is in the game now. Counsell doesn’t ever chase wins using his high end guys. 

Definitely.  And I’ll take that as a small positive nugget from tonight. At least CC knows enough to save his good arms.

[squally1313]

I will say, to balance out my ‘things are fine’ schtick, it remains incredibly frustrating that other teams, when choosing not to trade for a good starter, went and tried to build bullpens of doom and we were like ‘um, the worse Rogers brother? The hurt guy?’

[Papa Cub]

24 minutes ago, Cubbies1996 said:

Mostly Ben Brown

Don’t let DYMNO see you post something negative about Benjamin Brown

[DYMNO]

1 minute ago, Papa Cub said:

Obnoxious you say? Ben Brown hasn’t done anything besides shown that he’s not a MLB pitcher YET.  Not saying he couldn’t develop, but this season my friend, he hasn’t shown anything besides being a liability. If that’s obnoxious of me - well 🤷‍♂️

I didn’t call him names and cut him down. THAT would be obnoxious. I’m simply stating an opinion. If you’re that offended by my comments, then not sure what to tell you guy 

I’m the farthest I could possibly be from offended. Apathetic would be more apt. 

You fan how you want. I’m all about that. 

[DYMNO]

2 minutes ago, Papa Cub said:

Don’t let DYMNO see you post something negative about Benjamin Brown

🤣😂

[Papa Cub]

1 minute ago, DYMNO said:

I’m the farthest I could possibly be from offended. Apathetic would be more apt. 

You fan how you want. I’m all about that. 

Come on man - “apathetic”? That’s funny. If you didn’t care or not bothered, you would t respond to me. I do state opinions as do you and others and it’s simply that - opinions. ❤️👍

[Soul]

4 minutes ago, Papa Cub said:

Come on man - “apathetic”? That’s funny. If you didn’t care or not bothered, you would t respond to me. I do state opinions as do you and others and it’s simply that - opinions. ❤️👍

I care just enough to come here and say I don’t care.

[PackLandVA]

The offense pretty much sucks, and the pitching isn’t gonna carry the team every single night. They were never gonna sweep, and the won the first two. So it’s another series win. They aren’t going to sweep the Nats, so try to win two and move on.
 

Wash, rinse, repeat.

[mk49]

Wow, I don't even remember when the last time Hodge did no hit, no walk.  Seems like his velocity is getting better.  

[Rcal10]

12 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

I will say, to balance out my ‘things are fine’ schtick, it remains incredibly frustrating that other teams, when choosing not to trade for a good starter, went and tried to build bullpens of doom and we were like ‘um, the worse Rogers brother? The hurt guy?’

I agree I would have liked a better pen arm. But what did guys like Helsley, Doval, Bednar, Duran etc cost. Never mind Miller. Padres traded the 5th ranked prospect in baseball for him. How well have those guys done, anyway? 🤷 

Edit: would have liked Iglesias. He couldn’t have cost that much. 

Edited September 4, 2025 by Rcal10

[UMFan83]

1 run on 4 hits. What a stupid game

[squally1313]

2 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I agree I would have liked a better pen arm. But what did guys like Helsley, Doval, Bednar, Duran etc cost. Never mind Miller. Padres traded the 5th ranked prospect in baseball for him. How well have those guys done, anyway? 🤷 

We're just....short in the rotation and short in the pen, and both of those things were pretty obvious 4-6 weeks ago. A good bullpen (very statistical based analysis coming) is going to have 1-2 consistently good arms, and then 2-4 guys who are going to run hot and cold. We've got Palencia, Keller, Thielbar, none of them elite (27th, 30th, 44th in fWAR, 15th, 17th, 39th in FIP) and then we just....bet low on Kittredge and Soroka? With....maybe 3 healthy starters at any given point?

This is also not exact science, but sort qualified relievers by FIP, and in the top 100, you have 20 pitchers listed as pitching for more than one team, which is a rough approximation for being traded (or dumbly waived at some point I guess). We got one of them, Kittredge, 62nd. And did basically nothing else besides a tenth guy off the bench. It wasn't enough. 

[Wilson A2000]

The Cubs will obviously make the playoffs and most likely be the top Wild Card seed. They have enough starting pitching, great defense, speed, and a decent pen. But if  the top of the order is going to continue to struggle like this, they won’t win in the playoffs. I’m concerned. 

[squally1313]

8 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

The Cubs will obviously make the playoffs and most likely be the top Wild Card seed. They have enough starting pitching, great defense, speed, and a decent pen. But if  the top of the order is going to continue to struggle like this, they won’t win in the playoffs. I’m concerned. 

This is since 8/1. Obviously you have to buy in on the value of the expected stats, and obviously acting like the xwOBA is going to show up just in time for the three game series, but....there's plenty of reasons to hope. 

 

Edited September 4, 2025 by squally1313

[Ding Dong Johnson]

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

1 run on 4 hits. What a stupid game

And they were lucky to get that 1. 

[Soul]

Hottest team in baseball is Tampa Bay.  White Sox are on a 4 game winning streak.

The Padres were the biggest movers & shakers at the deadline and they’re on a 4 game bender.  2-8 in the last 10.

So yeah…baseball is stupid.  Got to apply some perspective.  Other teams are struggling too.  Padres fans are probably wondering what the hell is going on.

[javy knows my name]

4 hours ago, Papa Cub said:

Obnoxious you say? Ben Brown hasn’t done anything besides shown that he’s not a MLB pitcher YET.  Not saying he couldn’t develop, but this season my friend, he hasn’t shown anything besides being a liability. If that’s obnoxious of me - well 🤷‍♂️

I didn’t call him names and cut him down. THAT would be obnoxious. I’m simply stating an opinion. If you’re that offended by my comments, then not sure what to tell you guy 

I'm not your buddy, guy

The only tolerable way to read this guy's posts in the Terrence and Philip voice

[javy knows my name]

4 hours ago, Gjfificifjdej said:

Ben Brown is so upsetting to watch. He shows flashes on the occasional pitch but you can tell he isn’t putting in the effort or work required of a professional pitcher. Tough to have to cheer for such a poor quality person. 

Who the horsefeathers is this idiot

Man, I saw the cubs scored one run last night before I opened this thread and you guys didn't disappoint 

[Geographyhater8888]

5 hours ago, Soul said:

Hottest team in baseball is Tampa Bay.  White Sox are on a 4 game winning streak.

The Padres were the biggest movers & shakers at the deadline and they’re on a 4 game bender.  2-8 in the last 10.

So yeah…baseball is stupid.  Got to apply some perspective.  Other teams are struggling too.  Padres fans are probably wondering what the hell is going on.

For sure. Since last updated yesterday, Fangraphs has the Padres at 3.9% odds of winning the World Series trailing the Cubs at 4.5%, 12th and 11th highest odds for what it’s worth.

Edited September 4, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

8 hours ago, squally1313 said:

I will say, to balance out my ‘things are fine’ schtick, it remains incredibly frustrating that other teams, when choosing not to trade for a good starter, went and tried to build bullpens of doom and we were like ‘um, the worse Rogers brother? The hurt guy?’

A lockdown pen arm is what they needed. I don’t think any of the available starting pitchers moved the needle enough to justify the cost, especially with the emergence of Horton,

Duran costed Philly a 49th ranked pitching prospect in the top 100 and their 7th ranked prospect. You can brainstorm an equivalent cubs package. Too late. 

Edited September 4, 2025 by Geographyhater8888