Cubs (Imanaga) vs Brewers (Ashby): 10/6/25, 8:08pm

[Irrelevant Dude]

If the Wrigley wind ever reverts back to what it was in the past, Shota is going to give up 40 HR's in a season.

[DYMNO]

Imagine that. I guess MLB hitters CAN hit low 90s middle middle fastballs. 

[Dfan25]

If Imanaga doesn’t start to pitch away with his fastball , the league will destroy him . Everything is middle middle in to righties.  . He isn’t fooling anybody no more .

[Hortonhearsawho]

It's really not surprising that the Brewers didn't get worse when they lost Counsell he sucks and the Cubs should have let him go to New York instead. 

[s2obed]

I’m putting Imanaga in the pen if we advance. 
 

I wonder what Assad or Rea could’ve given us. 

[Dfan25]

It went exactly like I thought . Brewers are absolutely lock in against the Cubs lefty starters .  Cubs are in a world of trouble 

Edited October 7, 2025 by Dfan25

[Irrelevant Dude]

Are we getting to the point where Imanaga's affordable team option is now in question?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Shota is just so predictable. All they have to do is sit on 91 inside and eventually they'll get it.

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, Dfan25 said:

If Imanaga doesn’t start to pitch away with his fastball , the league will destroy him . Everything is middle middle in to righties.  . He isn’t fooling anybody no more .

Pitching it away is not the fix. He needs to elevate his fastball. He's not doing that. 

[chibears55]

Dodgers and Brewers yikes

[Papa Cub]

Not even worth watching - see ya next season 

[soccer10k]

3 minutes ago, Cubbies1996 said:

What a meltdown by this teams best pitchers

Our best SPs are hurt.

[s2obed]

Just now, Irrelevant Dude said:

Are we getting to the point where Imanaga's affordable team option is now in question?

No chance that’s being declined.

[Stratos]

3 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

His arm slot is all horsefeathered up. He's coming in too shallow. So he's leaving things lower than he did last year.

Last year that pitch probably gets upper-90 and it's a swing and a miss. But this year he's just dropping his arm too much and he's getting more of the middle of the zone.

For a ride-heavy fastball, you can't leave it lower. It rides into the barrel. 

TL;DR:   He sucks bawlz.

[Wilson A2000]

2 minutes ago, SpongeWorthy said:

counsell is losing the game planning battle 

Shota should not have been out there to face the heart of the order again. Counsell has had far too many misses in the playoffs. This team is not good enough to beat the Brewers when your manager gets outmanaged time and time again. 

[SpongeWorthy]

1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

Pitching it away is not the fix. He needs to elevate his fastball. He's not doing that. 

I don’t know what the mix was but he didn’t go splitter away as much as he does when he’s at his best

[Hortonhearsawho]

 "The Brewers are suddenly hitting for power" well horsefeathers they are facing Shota. 

[BobbyD3]

Am I the only one that does not want the Cubs brass to pick up that 20 million dollar Shota option?  

[Caesar]

Counsel, bro you’ve made some questionable decisions! Why iis Rea even on the roster?

[Hankchifan]

2 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Jeez, HRs have always been an issue for Shota but this is insane. He’s hardly worth playing with the number of bombs he gives up. 

 

2 minutes ago, s2obed said:

90 mph fastball on that homer. 

Gopher balls in a post season short series are killers, particularly in this season with a juiced ball and homers going out. Right and left.   Cubs better start working on getting a strong starting pitcher for next season.  Starting pitching is the Cubs Achilles Heel, with its elite defense and offense.

[s2obed]

Just now, BobbyD3 said:

Am I the only one that does not want the Cubs brass to pick up that 20 million dollar Shota option?  

 That’s not happening even if you want that.

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, s2obed said:

No chance that’s being declined.

Correct. Zero chance. He's still a good pitcher, even at $16m AAV. And I think the issues are quite fixable. His arm slot is about 4-5 degrees lower. It's creates more arm side ride (for Shota against a RHH, pitches that tail bail into the zone) and has lowered it's elevation.

The outcome is that his fastball is tailing both into the zone more and not getting the elevation. High ride fastballs are killer in the top-third but horrible in the bottom two-thirds. It's a narrow path to live, but high ride fastballs kill the launch angle of hitters. But only if you elevate. A flatter arm path has killed his fastball a bit.

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 minute ago, BobbyD3 said:

Am I the only one that does not want the Cubs brass to pick up that 20 million dollar Shota option?  

It's only $15M.

[s2obed]

Just now, Jason Ross said:

Correct. Zero chance. He's still a good pitcher, even at $16m AAV. And I think the issues are quite fixable. His arm slot is about 4-5 degrees lower. It's creates more arm side ride (for Shota against a RHH, pitches that tail bail into the zone) and has lowered it's elevation.

The outcome is that his fastball is tailing both into the zone more and not getting the elevation. High ride fastballs are killer in the top-third but horrible in the bottom two-thirds. It's a narrow path to live, but high ride fastballs kill the launch angle of hitters. But only if you elevate. A flatter arm path has killed his fastball a bit.

I don’t want it declined. It’s a no brainer to pick it up. 

[Wilson A2000]

Yes, the ump is still brutal. Pete had to offer at that one since Estabrook called it a strike for the first pitch. 

Edited October 7, 2025 by Wilson A2000