Playoff Talk

[Brian707]

Im hoping the Blue Jays win this but the Dodgers aren't dead yet 

[CubinNY]

19 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Im hoping the Blue Jays win this but the Dodgers aren't dead yet 

I think it's over, but we will see. I thought the Cubs were done in 2016, so, like Jon Snow, I know nothing. 

[17 Seconds]

9 hours ago, Stratos said:

Bieber pitched his first game of the season on Aug 22, and coming back from TJS.  He was an unknown.  Hindsight = 20/20.

i don't think it's really hindsight, a lot of cubs fans were interested in him at the deadline

[ILMindState]

41 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I think it's over, but we will see. I thought the Cubs were done in 2016, so, like Jon Snow, I know nothing. 

Unless Yamamoto is not starting game 6 and Ohtani decides to take a day off this is far from over.

[Rob]

1 hour ago, Brian707 said:

Im hoping the Blue Jays win this but the Dodgers aren't dead yet 

Pretty much my thoughts exactly.

The Blue Jays only need to win one of the next two and they've got home-field advantage. But the Dodgers still feel like the better team.

All the various odds projections on Fangraphs have the Blue Jays as the favorites at this point. But they're mostly in the 60-70% range. Far from a lock.

[Rcal10]

55 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

i don't think it's really hindsight, a lot of cubs fans were interested in him at the deadline

Agreed. But probably not for Wiggins. Cubs fans think they can get someone by giving up mid to low grade prospects. The pitcher given up for Bieber was maybe just below Wiggins. But he was a ranked 79th by one publication and generally regarded as a very solid prospect. So I am ok not losing what would have been needed for Bieber. Sure, I guess if Horton didn’t get hurt and they had Bieber MAYBE they beat the Dodgers after beating the Brewers, but probably not. And they lose Wiggins. Worked out for the Jays. So no one is going to complain about the pitcher they gave up. Doesn’t mean it would have worked here. I don’t think Stratos is suggesting it is hindsight by fans saying it would have been nice to get Bieber. I think it is hindsight to now suggest at the time of the deal the Jays made a good deal. Had they lost to the Mariners no one would have suggested they made a good move. That is where hindsight comes in. Looks great now, but wouldn’t have had they lost earlier. 

[I owned a Suzuki]

7 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Agreed. But probably not for Wiggins. Cubs fans think they can get someone by giving up mid to low grade prospects. The pitcher given up for Bieber was maybe just below Wiggins. But he was a ranked 79th by one publication and generally regarded as a very solid prospect. So I am ok not losing what would have been needed for Bieber. Sure, I guess if Horton didn’t get hurt and they had Bieber MAYBE they beat the Dodgers after beating the Brewers, but probably not. And they lose Wiggins. Worked out for the Jays. So no one is going to complain about the pitcher they gave up. Doesn’t mean it would have worked here. I don’t think Stratos is suggesting it is hindsight by fans saying it would have been nice to get Bieber. I think it is hindsight to now suggest at the time of the deal the Jays made a good deal. Had they lost to the Mariners no one would have suggested they made a good move. That is where hindsight comes in. Looks great now, but wouldn’t have had they lost earlier. 

He really hasn't pitched that great in the post season. He has been solid, but Torontos offense sure makes his pitching look good

[Hot Sauce]

1 hour ago, CubinNY said:

I think it's over, but we will see. I thought the Cubs were done in 2016, so, like Jon Snow, I know nothing. 

The Dodgers will rebound in G6. Closing out the series at home, versus Yamamoto, is a tough ask. My fear is that the Dodgers will have a game like the Cubs did in 2016 where the bats finally wake up and they'll carry all of the momentum into G7. 

[CubinNY]

That splitter is devastating 

[We Got The Whole 9]

1 hour ago, CubinNY said:

That splitter is devastating 

His arm action is freaky. The ball looks like it damn near grazes his ear.

[muntjack]

I have to be honest,  I'm finding it hard to root against Ohtani.

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, muntjack said:

I have to be honest,  I'm finding it hard to root against Ohtani.

I have to be honest, rooting against him is easy for me. 

[JHBulls]

14 hours ago, CubinNY said:

I think it's over, but we will see. I thought the Cubs were done in 2016, so, like Jon Snow, I know nothing. 

Three times it was looking dicey in 2016.
Needed a 4 run 9th inning to close the series against a rampaging Giants in Game 4, 2-1 down to the Dodgers (although we scorched them in 3 straight games) and of course 3-1 down in the World Series.

[Brian707]

WS MVP?

Obviously if the Blue Jays win tonight its probably Vlad Jr. If the Dodgers win the next two its Ohtani.  If thos goes to 7 and Yesavage gets some shutdown relief I think he could get it.

[I owned a Suzuki]

2 hours ago, Brian707 said:

WS MVP?

Obviously if the Blue Jays win tonight its probably Vlad Jr. If the Dodgers win the next two its Ohtani.  If thos goes to 7 and Yesavage gets some shutdown relief I think he could get it.

If Yamamota pitches another dominant game and Dodgers win next 2 without Ohtani doing much I could see Yamamota getting it.

[squally1313]

23 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Agreed. But probably not for Wiggins. Cubs fans think they can get someone by giving up mid to low grade prospects. The pitcher given up for Bieber was maybe just below Wiggins. But he was a ranked 79th by one publication and generally regarded as a very solid prospect. So I am ok not losing what would have been needed for Bieber. Sure, I guess if Horton didn’t get hurt and they had Bieber MAYBE they beat the Dodgers after beating the Brewers, but probably not. And they lose Wiggins. Worked out for the Jays. So no one is going to complain about the pitcher they gave up. Doesn’t mean it would have worked here. I don’t think Stratos is suggesting it is hindsight by fans saying it would have been nice to get Bieber. I think it is hindsight to now suggest at the time of the deal the Jays made a good deal. Had they lost to the Mariners no one would have suggested they made a good move. That is where hindsight comes in. Looks great now, but wouldn’t have had they lost earlier. 

I don't know, this is the kind of mindset where, if Bieber would have blown up or never gotten healthy, we wouldn't have been saying 'well you never know' or 'that's only with the benefit of hindsight'. Bieber gave them 7 starts of a 3.57 ERA in the regular season which we probably didn't need, and 17 innings with a 3.57 ERA in the postseason that we almost definitely could have used. We've been at home for 2 weeks, they're one game away from the World Series. If we point to trades not working out as proof of why we shouldn't do trades and then when they do work out we take a position of like 'well, who knows, might not have worked that way for us'....you're basically just saying you aren't typically willing to trade future for present.

'Had they lost to the Mariners...' They didn't. He gave them them 9.2 innings of 4 earned runs while the Cubs watched from home after starting Drew Pomeranz and Jameson Taillon in a 5 game series. 

Sorry, kinda ranting at this point. 

[Rcal10]

44 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

I don't know, this is the kind of mindset where, if Bieber would have blown up or never gotten healthy, we wouldn't have been saying 'well you never know' or 'that's only with the benefit of hindsight'. Bieber gave them 7 starts of a 3.57 ERA in the regular season which we probably didn't need, and 17 innings with a 3.57 ERA in the postseason that we almost definitely could have used. We've been at home for 2 weeks, they're one game away from the World Series. If we point to trades not working out as proof of why we shouldn't do trades and then when they do work out we take a position of like 'well, who knows, might not have worked that way for us'....you're basically just saying you aren't typically willing to trade future for present.

'Had they lost to the Mariners...' They didn't. He gave them them 9.2 innings of 4 earned runs while the Cubs watched from home after starting Drew Pomeranz and Jameson Taillon in a 5 game series. 

Sorry, kinda ranting at this point. 

I’m not opposed to trading future for present. I liked the Tucker deal. I want them to do a future for present trade this off season. But I do think the ask for pitchers was too high this TDL. Without using hindsight, Bieber was a huge question mark. Sure, if he costed a mid level prospect, I would be all for getting him. But not at the expense of Wiggins (if that was the cost) Others had ridiculous price tags. I have said it before, I don’t blame Jed for not diving into the demands for a TOR/MOR starter at the deadline. I do blame hm for putting the Cubs in that spot. He misread the market for deadline pitchers in the off season. That was when he should have gotten another pitcher, even if it had to be giving up future for present. The future asset would have been less then. 

[squally1313]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

I’m not opposed to trading future for present. I liked the Tucker deal. I want them to do a future for present trade this off season. But I do think the ask for pitchers was too high this TDL. Without using hindsight, Bieber was a huge question mark. Sure, if he costed a mid level prospect, I would be all for getting him. But not at the expense of Wiggins (if that was the cost) Others had ridiculous price tags. I have said it before, I don’t blame Jed for not diving into the demands for a TOR/MOR starter at the deadline. I do blame hm for putting the Cubs in that spot. He misread the market for deadline pitchers in the off season. That was when he should have gotten another pitcher, even if it had to be giving up future for present. The future asset would have been less then. 

Agreed on him being at fault for putting us in that position. Agreed on misreading what the market would be in the offseason. Disagree on looking at what Bieber has done and what the Blue Jays have done with Bieber and being like 'nah, that's pretty irresponsible'. 

[Soul]

With their starters LA could easily take two games and win it.  I think it’s 50/50.  A top starter talent is going for the Dodgers in game 6.  Yamamoto is the kind of guy who can get his team a 1-0 CG win.  Then game 7 anything can happen.

I have enjoyed this WS.  It’s been a good matchup.  The whole Canada vs USA vibe.  The Ohtani snub angle.  Good stuff.

[Jason Ross]

I probably would not have paid what Cleveland would have wanted for Bieber. I think that might have been the most expensive player moved. With the TJS and the fact that you were only getting a few guaranteed starts, it was a no go from me.

I do think the Cubs left themselves short at the deadline, though. So while I don't think Shane Bieber on a few starts and then free agency was the right player to target, I do think the Cubs missed an opportunity to be better.

[gflore34]

15 minutes ago, Soul said:

With their starters LA could easily take two games and win it.  I think it’s 50/50.  A top starter talent is going for the Dodgers in game 6.  Yamamoto is the kind of guy who can get his team a 1-0 CG win.  Then game 7 anything can happen.

I have enjoyed this WS.  It’s been a good matchup.  The whole Canada vs USA vibe.  The Ohtani snub angle.  Good stuff.

Gausman isn't exactly a scrub, it's entirely possible he shuts down the Dodgers and the Blue Jays win.

[gflore34]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

I probably would not have paid what Cleveland would have wanted for Bieber. I think that might have been the most expensive player moved. With the TJS and the fact that you were only getting a few guaranteed starts, it was a no go from me.

I do think the Cubs left themselves short at the deadline, though. So while I don't think Shane Bieber on a few starts and then free agency was the right player to target, I do think the Cubs missed an opportunity to be better.

Definitely a failure by Jed in the off season, at the deadline, for the Cubs, teams were putting exorbitantly high prices on any pitcher of substance.

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, gflore34 said:

Definitely a failure by Jed in the off season, at the deadline, for the Cubs, teams were putting exorbitantly high prices on any pitcher of substance.

This is mt POV as well. He messed up and I blame him for being short on pitching. But that should have been taken care of in the off season. 

[JHBulls]

“… and the Hall of Famer John Smoltz” will never not make me cringe. 

[JHBulls]

This is some start by Gausman. 5 strikeouts through 2.