08-14-04

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

Houston also got the shot in the arm that is Carlos Beltran. The Cubs got... Matt Lawton. Don't get me wrong, Lawton's a very good player. But we could never expect the same second half out of him that Beltran had last year.

[jyoung55]

Houston also got the shot in the arm that is Carlos Beltran. The Cubs got... Matt Lawton. Don't get me wrong, Lawton's a very good player. But we could never expect the same second half out of him that Beltran had last year.

 

I believe if you look at the stats Beltran wasn't that good for the Astros until the playoffs(except of course hitting 30 HRs against us in a 4 game series).

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Houston also got the shot in the arm that is Carlos Beltran. The Cubs got... Matt Lawton. Don't get me wrong, Lawton's a very good player. But we could never expect the same second half out of him that Beltran had last year.

 

The Cubs also got Nomar, Wood, and Williamson.

[halplm]

Houston also got the shot in the arm that is Carlos Beltran. The Cubs got... Matt Lawton. Don't get me wrong, Lawton's a very good player. But we could never expect the same second half out of him that Beltran had last year.

 

The Cubs also got Nomar, Wood, and Williamson.

 

Nomar is only barely starting to find his swing again, which he hasn't had all year... Wood and williamson are out of the bullpen, which only helps you not lose games, they can't win anything for you...

[Knightlife_in_Lubbock]

the difference between the cubs and houston is this....houston has an awesome lineup that had underachieved as a whole then suddenly started to hit that they were capable. the cubs aside from cpatt have had hit much better than expected. it would be hard to hope burnitz,barrett,dlee and rameriz could do much more.

 

I think you may want to back Burnitz off that list:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batting?team=chc&cat=OPS&season=2005&split=182&seasonType=2&type=reg

[Derwood]

First off, I credit the 3 victories against the Cardinals less to "getting up for a division rival" and more to seeing the best lineup on the field for the first time in forever. Notice that Neifi, Macias and Hollandsworthless were all on the bench this series? Coincidence that the Cubs offense didn't sputter when 4 automatic outs aren't in there?

 

Second, I think anyone can get hot. A lot of games left against Houston and St. Louis is good. Few to no games left against Florida, NY, Washington and Philly is more troublesome. The Cubs really blew it in the head to head matchups with the Mets, Nationals and Phillies this year. So while the Cubs could beat up on Houston all they want, if those NL East teams win as well, Chicago won't gain any ground (they'll just knock the Astros out of the wildard lead).

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

Houston also got the shot in the arm that is Carlos Beltran. The Cubs got... Matt Lawton. Don't get me wrong, Lawton's a very good player. But we could never expect the same second half out of him that Beltran had last year.

 

The Cubs also got Nomar, Wood, and Williamson.

 

Nomar is only barely starting to find his swing again, which he hasn't had all year... Wood and williamson are out of the bullpen, which only helps you not lose games, they can't win anything for you...

 

Exactly. Nomar has been decent since his return, but he still can't play everyday. Wood can only pitch 2 innings every 3 games or so, and Williamson hasn't really pitched at the major league level in how many months?

 

Beltran may not have been the only reason they got to the playoffs last year, but he upgraded their offense and defense. He slid everyone else into roles they were more comfortable with, and that helped everyone on that team to play good late in the season.

[Catman61]

Anyone know what's the lowest win total to take the wildcard??

 

Other than the strike shortened year of 95, the lowest win total for the Wild Card in the NL is 90. (96 Dodgers, 98 Cubs) The 96 Orioles won the AL wild card with 88 wins.

[Derwood]

To further my previous post:

 

Cubs record vs. wildcard teams:

 

HOU: 3-4 (9 remaining)

PHI: 2-4

WSH: 1-5

FLA: 4-2 (3 remaining)

NYM: 2-4

MIL: 6-7 (3 remaining)

 

Clearly the 10 vs. HOU are huge, and the 3 vs. FLA are pretty important.

 

Unfortunately, the Cubs really blew it against the other 3 teams, going a combined 5-13 this season.

 

If the Cubs had managed even a .500 record against WSH, NYM and PHI, they would be 61-57, 2 1/2 out of the wildcard.

 

No more games against those teams mean that the Cubs have no direct way to pass them except to just win, win, win.

 

 

edited to reflect Monday's game vs. HOU

Edited August 16, 2005 by Derwood

[DCNashville]

First off, I credit the 3 victories against the Cardinals less to "getting up for a division rival" and more to seeing the best lineup on the field for the first time in forever. Notice that Neifi, Macias and Hollandsworthless were all on the bench this series? Coincidence that the Cubs offense didn't sputter when 4 automatic outs aren't in there?

 

Second, I think anyone can get hot. A lot of games left against Houston and St. Louis is good. Few to no games left against Florida, NY, Washington and Philly is more troublesome. The Cubs really blew it in the head to head matchups with the Mets, Nationals and Phillies this year. So while the Cubs could beat up on Houston all they want, if those NL East teams win as well, Chicago won't gain any ground (they'll just knock the Astros out of the wildard lead).

 

Have you looked at how many times those East teams play each other in Sept? Its something like each of those teams facing each other nearly all month. We'll be gaining ground on someone everyday we win...we just need to hope one of those East teams doesnt get on an exceptional role.

[AlwaysaCub]

To further my previous post:

 

Cubs record vs. wildcard teams:

 

HOU: 3-3 (10 remaining)

PHI: 2-4

WSH: 1-5

FLA: 4-2 (3 remaining)

NYM: 2-4

MIL: 6-7 (3 remaining)

 

Clearly the 10 vs. HOU are huge, and the 3 vs. FLA are pretty important.

 

Unfortunately, the Cubs really blew it against the other 3 teams, going a combined 5-13 this season.

 

If the Cubs had managed even a .500 record against WSH, NYM and PHI, they would be 61-57, 2 1/2 out of the wildcard.

 

No more games against those teams mean that the Cubs have no direct way to pass them except to just win, win, win.

 

I think the most important games, besides Houston, are against the Brew Crew, because they always anhilliate us and are currently tied with us in the standings.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The Cubs have 44 games left, spread out over 7 weeks. In my opinion, to have a shot at the wild card, they would need to go 33-11 over those seven weeks. Is it possible? Maybe, but still not likely. If the Cubs can play at that clip, it will get them to 90 wins. I think it will take at least that many to make the playoffs. Simply put, we must win 3 of every 4 we play for the rest of the way. We can't afford to lose any series. We can't split any four game series. We'll need some sweeps. That's the only way we make it. I still don't find the prospects to be too probable. To get there, we're going to have to play better than we've played all year.

 

What team do you see winning 90?? This group of wildcard contenders don't look too strong.

 

Anyone know what's the lowest win total to take the wildcard??

 

I don't know.. but in 2003 we took the division with only 87... :)

 

88.

 

My bad, you're right.. I think 87 might have been the 2001 win total. I was thinking we won 88 last year, and I knew we won one more last year than in 03... but we actually won 89. That team could easily have won 92-93 games.. :evil:

 

Actually, the '01 team won 88 too.

[Fred Hornkohl]

it's not going to happen people... the only thing this 3 of 4 did was extend the misery that is our manager...

 

They might even win this series against the Astros... but don't kid yourself... Macias won the game for us last night... MACIAS.

 

He's playing like Neifi did at the beginning of the year... and we know that won't last...

 

Macias hasn't played anywhere near the level that Perez did in April, or again from mid-May to early June. But he has been very solid, not spectacular, for nearly 4 months now in limited action......

 

Macias         AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR  TB RBI  BB  SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS
04/27 - 08/15 100   9  33   6   0   0  39   9   2  13  0.330  0.337  0.390  0.727

[Fred Hornkohl]

Houston also got the shot in the arm that is Carlos Beltran. The Cubs got... Matt Lawton. Don't get me wrong, Lawton's a very good player. But we could never expect the same second half out of him that Beltran had last year.

 

The Cubs also got Nomar, Wood, and Williamson.

 

Nomar is only barely starting to find his swing again, which he hasn't had all year... Wood and williamson are out of the bullpen, which only helps you not lose games, they can't win anything for you...

 

I know it's a very small sample size.... but just what kind of numbers do you think Nomar is capable of when he finds that elusive swing of his ????

 

Garciaparra    AB   R   H  2B  3B  HR  TB RBI  BB  SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS
08/05 - 08/15  35   3  12   1   0   1  16   3   1   1  0.343  0.378  0.457  0.836

[Derwood]

Well it doesn't matter who swings the bat well if we get pitching like last night. I hate games when no matter who comes out of the pen, they suck. Seems to happen ever few weeks or so.

[neely crenshaw]

burnitz is hitting exactly where he has the last 4 years(minus colorado)...actually better. if anyone except hendry thought he would actually hit 275 with 35hrs like he was on pace to earlier, they were kidding themselves. what he is giving us, is what he is.... .230-.250 with about 20- 25hr power. he will not ever be lance berkman or beltran..probably not even biggio.

[SAMMYWHO]

burnitz is hitting exactly where he has the last 4 years(minus colorado)...actually better. if anyone except hendry thought he would actually hit 275 with 35hrs like he was on pace to earlier, they were kidding themselves. what he is giving us, is what he is.... .230-.250 with about 20- 25hr power. he will not ever be lance berkman or beltran..probably not even biggio.

 

I would say production like that is worth his salary.

[UMFan83]

From the game notes of todays' game:

 

The Astros took issue with umpire's Larry Vanover's strike zone throughout the game. Catcher Brad Ausmus argued a called third strike in the second inning and Morgan Ensberg did the same in the sixth. Astros Manager Phil Garner came onto the field both times.

 

Weiiiird

[PackLandVA]

So while the Cubs could beat up on Houston all they want, if those NL East teams win as well, Chicago won't gain any ground (they'll just knock the Astros out of the wildard lead).

 

Those NL East teams can't ALL keep winning. They'll continue to play each other through the end of September. And I think there is no clear cut favorite. They'll all beat up on one another without anyone separating. So if the Cubs can put together a hot streak to close the last 6 weeks, its very realistic they could hop over all of those teams. Houston not only won a bunch of games last year, but they jumped over 5 teams the last month, and just one team in their division (the Cubs :evil: ).

[Balsa]

Dare to beleive!