Cubs (Brown) vs Pirates (Mlodinski): 5/25/26, 12:35pm

[Papa Cub]

6 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

Ben Brown is our new ace. 

If you would have said that a year ago I would have died laughing……a lot can change in a few weeks huh? 
I agree - he’s a positive takeaway. PCA long term contract isn’t aging well, along with some others. This team is in a full on freefall. 

[UMFan83]

Weirdest season ever. 
 

I think at our best we were 7 games clear of a playoff spot. Now we can be out of the playoffs with a Diamondbacks win tonight

still 12-13 in our last 25 games!

Edited 1 hour ago by UMFan83

[Geographyhater8888]

8 minutes ago, Papa Cub said:

If you would have said that a year ago I would have died laughing……a lot can change in a few weeks huh? 
I agree - he’s a positive takeaway. PCA long term contract isn’t aging well, along with some others. This team is in a full on freefall. 

PCA’s had great at bats lately with bad  batted ball luck. He hasn’t struck out in a couple days and a few 5 star catches today. If he’s anything he’s been a bright spot since Friday. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Geographyhater8888

[Tryptamine]

2 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

They are not firing Counsel. Please stop the nonsense. Don’t feed it. 

His job might not be immediately in jeopardy, but you don't think Counsell's job is in  jeopardy if they lose say another 5 games in a row? I think it very much would be. If you don't fire a coach for losing, in this example,  14 games in a row, then what do you fire them for?

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, Papa Cub said:

If you would have said that a year ago I would have died laughing……a lot can change in a few weeks huh? 
I agree - he’s a positive takeaway. PCA long term contract isn’t aging well, along with some others. This team is in a full on freefall. 

PCA has a WAR of 2.0, 1/3 of the way through the season. He is 27th in baseball at this point. Besides that they are basically paying him what he would get in arbitration yearly. His contract is fine. I know they suck now and everyone is frustrated. But something like commenting on PCA’s contract is just bitching to bitch. 

[UMFan83]

 

1 minute ago, Tryptamine said:

His job might not be immediately in jeopardy, but you don't think Counsell's job is in  jeopardy if they lose say another 5 games in a row? I think it very much would be. If you don't fire a coach for losing, in this example,  14 games in a row, then what do you fire them for?

I just don’t think they are eating 2 years and $16m on a managers contract. They’ll fire coaches before they fire the manager. 

[JHBulls]

Craig Counsell has a contract until the end of 2028. Fire him, and he either has his full contract paid by the Cubs if he isn’t hired by a different club. Or, he finds another managerial job and the Cubs split the cost with his new club. 

He’s not getting fired.

[UMFan83]

Can you imagine how much worse this would be if they didn’t have those 3 walkoff wins against the reds?

[Wilson A2000]

4 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

His job might not be immediately in jeopardy, but you don't think Counsell's job is in  jeopardy if they lose say another 5 games in a row? I think it very much would be. If you don't fire a coach for losing, in this example,  14 games in a row, then what do you fire them for?

Not during the season. After the season, possibly. If he can’t get the team to win the division in any of his first 3 years and they miss the playoffs this year, he might need to go. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Wilson A2000

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

I'm taking out Ben Brown so my butter knife works better, but all other pitchers that have started games for the Cubs this year have a combined -1.7 bWAR

Edited 1 hour ago by Tangled Up in Plaid

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

His job might not be immediately in jeopardy, but you don't think Counsell's job is in  jeopardy if they lose say another 5 games in a row? I think it very much would be. If you don't fire a coach for losing, in this example,  14 games in a row, then what do you fire them for?

First, they haven’t lost 5 more yet. Secondly, they still aren’t firing him. He has lost his 4 top starting pitchers and lost a lot of pen guys too. Is that his fault? Not going to debate this to decide whose fault this is, but I will say again, they are not firing Counsell. Maybe the hitting coach? Maybe no one. Maybe they win 5 of the next 7 and move on. Regardless I don’t see Counsell going anywhere. 

[17 Seconds]

I don't think hoyer and counsell are going anywhere, I think we're stuck with this for a while

[Soul]

I’m sure after the season they will assess Counsell but that will be with a full season’s results in mind.

[Papa Cub]

18 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

PCA’s had great at bats lately with bad  batted ball luck. He hasn’t struck out in a couple days and a few 5 star catches today. If he’s anything he’s been a bright spot since Friday. 

Definitely better plate appearances for sure from the last couple games I was able to watch. I missed today’s game due to a blackout market game (I live near Philly), so I missed the catches. His glove is elite to say the least, but his overall hitting or lack thereof is concerning. Then again - the whole horsefeathers team is struggling.

@Rcal10 called me on it too - I’m just bitching and venting. Ugh - onward I guess 

[gflore34]

23 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

PCA’s had great at bats lately with bad  batted ball luck. He hasn’t struck out in a couple days and a few 5 star catches today. If he’s anything he’s been a bright spot since Friday. 

PCA had one of hardest 0-fer's today, all balls, even the pop up at 96+ EV, 3 of them 100+ EV - that's just rotten luck.  Right now if the Cubs didn't have bad luck they wouldn't have any luck at all.  Super bold prediction - the Cubs will win a game this week.

Edited 1 hour ago by gflore34

[Hortonhearsawho]

1 minute ago, gflore34 said:

 the Cubs will win a game this week.

It will only happen after they lose 10 games first, since they are addicted to 10 game streaks. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

1 minute ago, gflore34 said:

the Cubs will win a game this week.

I don't know, smart money right now is on 29-133

[Rcal10]

6 minutes ago, Papa Cub said:

Definitely better plate appearances for sure from the last couple games I was able to watch. I missed today’s game due to a blackout market game (I live near Philly), so I missed the catches. His glove is elite to say the least, but his overall hitting or lack thereof is concerning. Then again - the whole horsefeathers team is struggling.

@Rcal10 called me on it too - I’m just bitching and venting. Ugh - onward I guess 

I’m frustrated too. Believe me. But PCA is fine. He hit 3 balls over 100 MPH today. 2 line drives and one sharp ground ball, all to the first baseman. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Rcal10

[Papa Cub]

2 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I’m frustrated too. Believe me. But PCA is fine. He hit 3 balls over 100 MPH today. 2 line drives and one sharp ground ball, all to the first baseman. 

I did see that he had two line outs, so solid contact is always a plus.

As @Geographyhater8888 stated, his plate discipline and appearances has been much improved. 
 

What’s impressed me and most fans lately, is the growth, production, and maturity of Ben Brown.

[gflore34]

While I believe Bregman, Happ and Suzuki will come around, I do not believe that of Swanson.  Dude is either hurt or he's toast, can't even manage solid contact when he miraculously puts the ball in play.  Has no business being any where near the lineup, he needs an IL stint, benched, something away from the Cubs lineup.

[JHBulls]

Tom Ricketts

[Rcal10]

3 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

While I believe Bregman, Happ and Suzuki will come around, I do not believe that of Swanson.  Dude is either hurt or he's toast, can't even manage solid contact when he miraculously puts the ball in play.  Has no business being any where near the lineup, he needs an IL stint, benched, something away from the Cubs lineup.

I think Swanson will come around too. Difference is, his coming around might amount to hitting maybe .230 and being right around a league average bat,  give or take a percentage or two.