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

[Soul]

10 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Yeah, for all their little engine that could vibes they really haven't a chance against the Dodgers.  Dodgers pitching, now that they have the luxury of moving Glasnow, Sasaki and Sheehan to their pen, is a very bad match up for them and probably all of baseball. 

horsefeathers think about that, Horton injury' not withstanding, Glasnow and Sasaki would quite probably be the Cubs games 1 and 2 starters vs. the Brewers.

I guess we are going to find out, barring the Cubs finding some magic.

I'm done doubting the Brewers.  They did what they do for an extended period.  It's no fluke.  They've assembled a team of (mostly) non-stars in such a way that the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts.  They can get hot, stay hot, and absolutely beat the Dodgers.  It all depends on how long that train stays on the tracks.

[gflore34]

4 minutes ago, Soul said:

I guess we are going to find out, barring the Cubs finding some magic.

I'm done doubting the Brewers.  They did what they do for an extended period.  It's no fluke.  They've assembled a team of (mostly) non-stars in such a way that the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts.  They can get hot, stay hot, and absolutely beat the Dodgers.  It all depends on how long that train stays on the tracks.

What about a hot Dodgers team?

[s2obed]

I hope the Cubs back from this hole but I'm not optimistic. The mystery rib injury to Horton threw a big wrench in our pitching plans. Ideally, he would have been the game 1 NLWC starter and Boyd in game 2. At worst, Horton is starting in last night's game.

You also won't win many series when you're offense is 2-17 with RISP so far in the playoffs. 

I never doubted the Brewers were good, but I won't root for them even if they advance. I'm from WI and I am surrounded by Brewer fans so it makes this pill tougher to swallow.

Edited October 7, 2025 by s2obed

[Geographyhater8888]

2 hours ago, gflore34 said:

+ Astros' reliever, who while effective in 25, has metrics strongly suggesting a downturn in performance.

And 3 more low velo number 4 starters on 2-4 year deals. A combined 5 war is the equivalent of having 1 Max Fried and much cheaper too.

Edited October 7, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[BigSlick]

It’s tempting to really scramble for explanations of managerial mistakes when your team does poorly in a playoff season but at the end of the day managers can only do so much and are operating in an extremely constrained space. Our two best starters are injured. We had to win a WC series to move on. Nothing is even close to ideal.

once you get here it’s like 80% luck/baseball and 5% maybe something you can influence. Don’t ask me about what the final 15% is.

[ILMindState]

4 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

once you get here it’s like 80% luck/baseball and 5% maybe something you can influence. Don’t ask me about what the final 15% is.

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill

[Connor McConnor]

2 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

I think they only look that way because they're winning. 

Exactly.  It's easy to grin when your ship comes in.....ect.  CC is unemotional.    I'd prefer some fire, but maybe thats not great for baseball managers.  

[chibears55]

8 hours ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

I’d bet they go Bellesteros to replace Suzuki at DH and move Seiya back to the outfield. With the expiring contracts after 2026 and the looming lockout I’m curious to see what direction the front office takes in terms of spending. 

My guess would be very little, mainly because most of their roster is filled already and they have a couple guys in system ready or close to ready, coming up in 2026.

They'll probably add a veteran OFer for the bench and a SP for depth, maybe bullpen depth.

 

[Soul]

35 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

What about a hot Dodgers team?

Sure.  I didn't say they couldn't.

[Soul]

39 minutes ago, s2obed said:

 

I never doubted the Brewers were good, but I won't root for them even if they advance. I'm from WI and I am surrounded by Brewer fans so it makes this pill tougher to swallow.

The only time I had fellow Cubs fans everywhere was when I was growing up in Naperville.  I've lived in the UP (which is like 50/50 Cubs and Brewers), Milwaukee, and now Madison WI.  I can honestly say if I have to be surrounded by an enemy, it's probably Brewer fans.  Except on Sundays when they turn into Packers fans.  The transformation is quite amazing actually.  I think it has something to do with the fact that Brewers have never won anything.  If they win the WS this year, they'll be like Packer fans all week long and it will suck hard.

[squally1313]

9 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

My guess would be very little, mainly because most of their roster is filled already and they have a couple guys in system ready or close to ready, coming up in 2026.

They'll probably add a veteran OFer for the bench and a SP for depth, maybe bullpen depth.

 

There's roughly a $75m difference between the luxury tax number that FG has for 2025 ($220m) and what they have for currently rostered players under contract for 2026 ($147m). A bench outfielder would presumably not be one of any consequence, with Happ, PCA, Suzuki, Caissie, and Alcantara all already here. A depth starter is....$15m? The bullpen cost roughly $25m-$30m this year. You really foresee another $30m or so drop in total spend?

[Rcal10]

46 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill

It’s like Yogi Berra once said. Baseball is 90% mental and the other half physical. 🤷😬

[The_Achiever]

I wonder what a Nico extension would look like.  He's had a great year and I think his contract is up after next year.  

[We Got The Whole 9]

14 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

There's roughly a $75m difference between the luxury tax number that FG has for 2025 ($220m) and what they have for currently rostered players under contract for 2026 ($147m). A bench outfielder would presumably not be one of any consequence, with Happ, PCA, Suzuki, Caissie, and Alcantara all already here. A depth starter is....$15m? The bullpen cost roughly $25m-$30m this year. You really foresee another $30m or so drop in total spend?

 

If be reticent to spend when the team that has owned us for 7 years has a payroll 60% of ours. It would not surprise me to see a cut like that. They got their championship, profit is #1 and they probably care very little about much else besides not being embarrassed by the Brewers anymore. Spending more hasn't stopped that from occurring. 

 

Catching the Brewers in player development is key. I'm not so sure a guy like Turang or Collins hits 100 with us, let alone 125. What are they doing to get all these offensive success stories? horsefeathers Andrew Vaughn and horsefeathers.

[Cuzi]

10 minutes ago, The_Achiever said:

I wonder what a Nico extension would look like.  He's had a great year and I think his contract is up after next year.  

If it's much higher than 5/100, I walk away.

[gflore34]

22 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

If be reticent to spend when the team that has owned us for 7 years has a payroll 60% of ours. It would not surprise me to see a cut like that. They got their championship, profit is #1 and they probably care very little about much else besides not being embarrassed by the Brewers anymore. Spending more hasn't stopped that from occurring. 

 

Catching the Brewers in player development is key. I'm not so sure a guy like Turang or Collins hits 100 with us, let alone 125. What are they doing to get all these offensive success stories? horsefeathers Andrew Vaughn and horsefeathers.

It's real easy to look good against a tiring Boyd and struggling Shota, let me see Turang, Collins and Vaughn do the same against the likes of Snell, Ohtani and Yamamoto.  And let's completly discount Moises and Cassie putting up comparable or better minor league numbers, let's just write then off now.

Edited October 7, 2025 by gflore34

[mul21]

11 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

If be reticent to spend when the team that has owned us for 7 years has a payroll 60% of ours. It would not surprise me to see a cut like that. They got their championship, profit is #1 and they probably care very little about much else besides not being embarrassed by the Brewers anymore. Spending more hasn't stopped that from occurring. 

 

Catching the Brewers in player development is key. I'm not so sure a guy like Turang or Collins hits 100 with us, let alone 125. What are they doing to get all these offensive success stories? horsefeathers Andrew Vaughn and horsefeathers.

Honestly, I think they're cheating somehow.  Isaac Collins doesn't suddenly become a star at 28, Vaughn doesn't suddenly start hitting the second he puts on a Brewers uniform, you don't get meaningful contributions from every single player up and down the lineup at every clutch moment you need it on a consistent basis like they do.  There were definitely rumors about Yelich during his MVP years and it wouldn't surprise me if something like that is still going on.

[gflore34]

1 hour ago, mul21 said:

Honestly, I think they're cheating somehow.  Isaac Collins doesn't suddenly become a star at 28, Vaughn doesn't suddenly start hitting the second he puts on a Brewers uniform, you don't get meaningful contributions from every single player up and down the lineup at every clutch moment you need it on a consistent basis like they do.  There were definitely rumors about Yelich during his MVP years and it wouldn't surprise me if something like that is still going on.

Collins is about as close to being a star as Matt Shaw is to being a star.  Look at the numbers.  And by, any measure over a larger sample size Vaughn is still sh*t on a stick.

Edited October 7, 2025 by gflore34

[ILMindState]

8 minutes ago, mul21 said:

Honestly, I think they're cheating somehow.  Isaac Collins doesn't suddenly become a star at 28, Vaughn doesn't suddenly start hitting the second he puts on a Brewers uniform, you don't get meaningful contributions from every single player up and down the lineup at every clutch moment you need it on a consistent basis like they do.  There were definitely rumors about Yelich during his MVP years and it wouldn't surprise me if something like that is still going on.

I'm hateful and petty and refuse to believe these guys are suddenly good.

[gflore34]

3 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

I'm hateful and petty and refuse to believe these guys are suddenly good.

I still maintain it's real easy to look good against, thus far, ****** Cubs pitching.  Let's see how "good" they are vs. some quality pitching.

[I owned a Suzuki]

7 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

I'm hateful and petty and refuse to believe these guys are suddenly good.

I watched the Cardinals do it for so many years, I do believe its more than Pixie Dust. Some organizations are just good at what they are doing. 

[gflore34]

Speaking of Shaw what'll happen first - the Cubs score more than 4 runs or Shaw puts the ball in play (bunts don't count)?  If it's Qunitana tomorrow and Shaw can't do more than swing and miss three times he's truly pathetic.  I'm still a believer in Shaw and truly believe we're going to see a big time improvement in 2026, right now, he's useless with the bat.

Edited October 7, 2025 by gflore34

[soccer10k]

2 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I think if there is a game 4 it will be Quintana. I would think the Brewers would hold Peralta to game 5, hoping they can win without him in game 4 and have him ready to start the next series. I think that is why they went with a pen day yesterday.

Also, I didn’t want Boyd on short rest either. But I do understand the thought process. If he can give you 12 outs he then lines up for game 4, on normal rest at Wrigley. Boyd has been really good at Wrigley. If we are being honest, there were no really good options. Counsell picked one and it didn’t work. Same with game 2. I think Imanaga was the obvious choice. He pitched well against the Brewers this year and even with giving up a crazy amount of homers, but for his last start of the regular, did fine for 6 weeks leading up to the playoffs. Even with giving up homers his era was under 4. 

The other problem with Boyd going in 1 and 4 is you’ve set Shota up to go 2 and 5 in Milwaukee. Or if you’re going to go a pen game in Game 5, why not just do that in Game 1, then go Boyd-Shota-Taillon-Boyd so you have nobody going on short rest. Shota pitches in Wrigley and you hope the wind is blowing in.

[Backtobanks]

33 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

I still maintain it's real easy to look good against, thus far, ****** Cubs pitching.  Let's see how "good" they are vs. some quality pitching.

Sounds a lot like the Cubs during the regular season.  They pounded all of the weakest pitchers on the lousiest teams, but now they have to face good teams.

[Rcal10]

46 minutes ago, soccer10k said:

The other problem with Boyd going in 1 and 4 is you’ve set Shota up to go 2 and 5 in Milwaukee. Or if you’re going to go a pen game in Game 5, why not just do that in Game 1, then go Boyd-Shota-Taillon-Boyd so you have nobody going on short rest. Shota pitches in Wrigley and you hope the wind is blowing in.

Because then Boyd gets 2 road games. If Boyd pitches game 1 he gets game 4 at Wrigley. Keep in mind I am not saying I like the decision on Boyd. Just thinking of reasons it could have been made. Boyd has a huge difference in home versus road numbers. You want him at Wrigley. 
 

As for game 5, my guess is the plan would have been Shota. But that is really an everyone available game even if it starts with Shota. 
 

Just remember we are talking about this after 2 failed starts. I am saying the Counsell decision was prior to the 1st game. We didn’t know it would end this bad. On paper I would have rather it been Boyd, Imanaga, Tailon, Boyd, Imanaga. I am sure that was the Cubs thinking too. Just didn’t work. 

Edited October 7, 2025 by Rcal10