Cubs (Horton) vs Braves (Strider): 9/9/25, 6:15pm

[Brandon Glick]

Were those the quintessential Cubs and Bears losses last night or what? That was like living through 25 years of ineptitude in one night.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I don't remember the last time a team I liked won a game.

[Derwood]

Seiya "snubbed from the All-Star Game" Suzuki has 2 HR and 13 RBI in 194 PA's since the ASB. 

I don't remember a worse collapse that wasn't tied to injury

[Ding Dong Johnson]

1 minute ago, Derwood said:

Seiya "snubbed from the All-Star Game" Suzuki has 2 HR and 13 RBI in 194 PA's since the ASB. 

I don't remember a worse collapse that wasn't tied to injury

Just barely beating out Pete for that honor.

Also how long can you keep leading off with Busch?

[CubinNY]

22 minutes ago, Brandon Glick said:

Were those the quintessential Cubs and Bears losses last night or what? That was like living through 25 years of ineptitude in one night.

Exactly. 

[Derwood]

3 minutes ago, Ding Dong Johnson said:

Just barely beating out Pete for that honor.

 

2 HR 14 RBI for Pete

Brutal

[NorthsideAvenger]

Yo Cubs offense, trying using this tonight:

[UMFan83]

I wonder how or if these 2nd half slumps affect their offseason strategy.  Seiya has 1 year left after this.  If you can't feel confident that he's a middle of the order bat, you're going to need to find one.  Especially if Tucker leaves which seems overwhelmingly likely.  

Busch is solid but unspectacular, PCA is young enough to improve but obviously his free swinging profile is always going to make it harder for him to succeed.  Javy found a way but even at his best I don't think he could ever be the best hitter on a World Series team, he was a great number 2 though in 2018-2019.

Overall 8 of the 9 starting hitters look locked in for next year, and the one that isn't locked in is your best overall hitter when healthy.  It's gonna be tough to improve this offense unless one of the prospects steps up.

Overall, I really don't feel great about the short term prospects of this team.  The SP (Steele, Shota, Horton, Boyd) and defense will raise the floor of next year's team but I'm not sure how much we can raise the ceiling.

Edited September 9, 2025 by UMFan83

[Soul]

Key hitters on the team all disappeared at the same time.  Only Tucker has seemed to right the ship but he’s gimpy now.  It’s brutal, it’s disappointing, and it’s confusing to me.  There wasn’t a middle ground with this bunch.  They were great and then bad.

[WhyCantWeWin]

Hopefully the wind doesnt blow in, oh wait wrong excuse

[Derwood]

If Horton wasn't pitching I don't know that I would even bother watching this one.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

The apathy is starting to set in.

[Max Power]

21 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

The apathy is starting to set in.

The fans, like the players have taken on the personality of Craig Counsell.

[squally1313]

Tucker to the IL (retroactive to 9/6), Ballesteros up, not starting tonight, fairly normal lineup with Castro in RF. 

[Max Power]

So…he was available off the bench, but now he isn’t?

[Stratos]

36 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Tucker to the IL (retroactive to 9/6), Ballesteros up, not starting tonight, fairly normal lineup with Castro in RF. 

Went from "calf tightness" to "calf strain".

So how long until Palencia bowling over in pain from "shoulder tightness"  turns into "shoulder strain" or whatnot.

Is this the new PR talk teams use or something before players get their tests back?

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

If Horton wasn't pitching I don't know that I would even bother watching this one.

Been catching the highlights and box scores the last several games.  You deserve a medal.

[Stratos]

56 minutes ago, Max Power said:

The fans, like the players have taken on the personality of Craig Counsell.

On the positive, A.I. can never replace Craig Counsell if he's already a robot.

[Hot Sauce]

[chibears55]

56 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Tucker to the IL (retroactive to 9/6), Ballesteros up, not starting tonight, fairly normal lineup with Castro in RF. 

I guessed yesterday for the IL, I was a day off. They waited a full week of him being hurt before putting him on the IL.

Funny how Counsell said last Friday that he might play over the weekend and 4 days later he's put on the IL.

I wish someone would ask Hoyer why he waits so long to IL an injured player

[We Got The Whole 9]

JThe only time I wouldn't IBB Albies is if the bases are loaded and theres probably some scenarios I would just go ahead and do it then as well. 

 

His pwnage of the Cubs is absolutely crazy. He sucks this year and still has 3 hr in 4 games against us.

[Stratos]

4 minutes ago, Hot Sauce said:

Since Horton is throwing strikes, inducing contact, and avoiding strikeouts wouldn't that make him the exact opposite of Kerry?

I get the comparison as a power pitcher with similar repertoire though. 

[Papa Cub]

7 hours ago, Derwood said:

Seiya "snubbed from the All-Star Game" Suzuki has 2 HR and 13 RBI in 194 PA's since the ASB. 

I don't remember a worse collapse that wasn't tied to injury

Can’t argue with that - could PCA also be thrown into that mix? 🤷‍♂️

Just a shame how much they’ve regressed since the break. Hoping they can get it back on track at some point - late September early October would be cool

[Hot Sauce]

Just now, Stratos said:

Since Horton is throwing strikes, inducing contact, and avoiding strikeouts wouldn't that make him the exact opposite of Kerry?

I get the comparison as a power pitcher with similar repertoire though. 

He’s endeared himself to the fans in the same way Kerry did. 

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 hour ago, squally1313 said:

Tucker to the IL (retroactive to 9/6), Ballesteros up, not starting tonight, fairly normal lineup with Castro in RF. 

Retroactive to 9/6?  Tucker hasn't played since 9/2.