Cubs-Padres Game Three Thread: Sudden Death Baseball

What were the advantages of moving Horton to the IL?  With expanded rosters at the end of the season they wouldn't have to call anyone up to name their postseason roster if they just left Horton off of it right?

Asking because it sounds like the Cubs can't put Horton on the NLDS roster because he's on the IL, and in order for him to play in the NLDS someone would have to get hurt for him to be activated, and I'm sure a mysterious injury after Game 4 would cause some outcry from the Brewers/MLB.

Maybe it doesn't matter, maybe Horton never had a legitimate shot of being back for Game 5.  Maybe the Cubs leave him off the NLDS roster anyways unless they're certain he can be back by Game 5.  Just don't see the advantage of putting him on the IL in that situation.

9 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

What were the advantages of moving Horton to the IL?  With expanded rosters at the end of the season they wouldn't have to call anyone up to name their postseason roster if they just left Horton off of it right?

Asking because it sounds like the Cubs can't put Horton on the NLDS roster because he's on the IL, and in order for him to play in the NLDS someone would have to get hurt for him to be activated, and I'm sure a mysterious injury after Game 4 would cause some outcry from the Brewers/MLB.

Maybe it doesn't matter, maybe Horton never had a legitimate shot of being back for Game 5.  Maybe the Cubs leave him off the NLDS roster anyways unless they're certain he can be back by Game 5.  Just don't see the advantage of putting him on the IL in that situation.

They must have solid info from the doctors that he simply can't do it safely.

9 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

What were the advantages of moving Horton to the IL?  With expanded rosters at the end of the season they wouldn't have to call anyone up to name their postseason roster if they just left Horton off of it right?

Asking because it sounds like the Cubs can't put Horton on the NLDS roster because he's on the IL, and in order for him to play in the NLDS someone would have to get hurt for him to be activated, and I'm sure a mysterious injury after Game 4 would cause some outcry from the Brewers/MLB.

Maybe it doesn't matter, maybe Horton never had a legitimate shot of being back for Game 5.  Maybe the Cubs leave him off the NLDS roster anyways unless they're certain he can be back by Game 5.  Just don't see the advantage of putting him on the IL in that situation.

It almost feels like that was a move to make sure Horton wasn't pushing to pitch before he was ready and I also think there was some thought to innings needed in the final few games against the Cards so they had the arms available they wanted to for the WC round.

9 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

What were the advantages of moving Horton to the IL?  With expanded rosters at the end of the season they wouldn't have to call anyone up to name their postseason roster if they just left Horton off of it right?

Asking because it sounds like the Cubs can't put Horton on the NLDS roster because he's on the IL, and in order for him to play in the NLDS someone would have to get hurt for him to be activated, and I'm sure a mysterious injury after Game 4 would cause some outcry from the Brewers/MLB.

Maybe it doesn't matter, maybe Horton never had a legitimate shot of being back for Game 5.  Maybe the Cubs leave him off the NLDS roster anyways unless they're certain he can be back by Game 5.  Just don't see the advantage of putting him on the IL in that situation.

Jordan Wicks ate 3 innings Sunday allowing the bullpen to come into the WC completely rested.  Pretty valuable in a series where we were side-eying every member of the rotation coming in.

I'd also guess that a minimum 15 day stay is a pipe dream regardless, but we'll see.

Anyone hear anything about Amaya's progress?  I saw he was working out in Chicago last week.  Reese has done a nice job this year but I'd love to have Amaya back as an option off the bench as long as he's not completely rusty. 

The other question is, if the Cubs decide to add another pitcher, which I think they will, who do they remove?  Options are Ballasteros, Alcantara, Turner or Castro.  Balla has the hottest bat in the bunch but is the most limited defensively.  Alcantara would likely only be dropped if they felt Tucker can play OF in the series, unless they are ok with Castro playing there in a pinch.  Speaking of Castro, his hitting has been terrible but they need someone to backup 3B and he has the most defensive versatility so he'll probably stay.  The last option is Turner but they've kept him on the roster all year and they'll want an option vs lefties.  

I think I'd drop Alcantara with the knowledge that Castro can play OF in an emergency if Tucker can't play the field and something happens to one of our regulars.  And then add Assad.

23 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Anyone hear anything about Amaya's progress?  I saw he was working out in Chicago last week.  Reese has done a nice job this year but I'd love to have Amaya back as an option off the bench as long as he's not completely rusty. 

The other question is, if the Cubs decide to add another pitcher, which I think they will, who do they remove?  Options are Ballasteros, Alcantara, Turner or Castro.  Balla has the hottest bat in the bunch but is the most limited defensively.  Alcantara would likely only be dropped if they felt Tucker can play OF in the series, unless they are ok with Castro playing there in a pinch.  Speaking of Castro, his hitting has been terrible but they need someone to backup 3B and he has the most defensive versatility so he'll probably stay.  The last option is Turner but they've kept him on the roster all year and they'll want an option vs lefties.  

I think I'd drop Alcantara with the knowledge that Castro can play OF in an emergency if Tucker can't play the field and something happens to one of our regulars.  And then add Assad.

 I think any hope of Amaya coming back died when he couldn't get regular season ABs. They aren't going to bring him back to his first game action in a long time while in the playoffs.

2 hours ago, gflore34 said:

  If I were a Brewers fan, I'd be really worried about facing the Dodgers.  Dodgers are not the same team they went 7-0 against in the regular season.

I'm sure they are not worried about facing anyone.  Especially a team they went 7-0 against.  No matter who it is or when it was.  

Edited October 3, 2025 by Connor McConnor

https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2025/10/03/padres-umpires/

2 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

His glove is likely too important. The Cubs are going to be in another low scoring series. Castro might be able to draw in if you expect a high-fly-ball game and a pitcher who has a strong LHH split, but I think you roll with the glove. Swanson and Hoerner showed last night how you can create your own variance (similar xBA' but the Cubs had 2x the hits because those two ate up about 4 of them). Shaw at 3b will help to create the variance defensively.

I agree - hell Dansby was the MVP of this series because of his glove.  Shaw has shown he can make similar type game saving plays at third, and certainly significantly better than anyone that would replace him. 

53 minutes ago, Connor McConnor said:

I'm sure they are not worried about facing anyone.  Especially a team they went 7-0 against.  No matter who it is or when it was.  

Guess it was 6-0 and you're correct, they'll just roll over the Dodgers like the Cubs did to the Mets in 2015.

2 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Guess it was 6-0 and you're correct, they'll just roll over the Dodgers like the Cubs did to the Mets in 2015.

Not what I said, but whatever.  

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

Anyone hear anything about Amaya's progress?  I saw he was working out in Chicago last week.  Reese has done a nice job this year but I'd love to have Amaya back as an option off the bench as long as he's not completely rusty. 

The other question is, if the Cubs decide to add another pitcher, which I think they will, who do they remove?  Options are Ballasteros, Alcantara, Turner or Castro.  Balla has the hottest bat in the bunch but is the most limited defensively.  Alcantara would likely only be dropped if they felt Tucker can play OF in the series, unless they are ok with Castro playing there in a pinch.  Speaking of Castro, his hitting has been terrible but they need someone to backup 3B and he has the most defensive versatility so he'll probably stay.  The last option is Turner but they've kept him on the roster all year and they'll want an option vs lefties.  

I think I'd drop Alcantara with the knowledge that Castro can play OF in an emergency if Tucker can't play the field and something happens to one of our regulars.  And then add Assad.

I think Amaya is healthy he just ran out of time to get ready.  Like he started a few games for Iowa, so I think if there was an injury he'd be added immediately.  I doubt he gets added otherwise though.  Kelly can play every day from here on because of the off days.  And McGuire provides better defense than Amaya in a situation where e.g. you pinch hit Mo for Kelly.

And I agree I'd guess Alcantara is the guy who loses his spot too.  Maybe he comes back if we face the Phillies next round?  But otherwise Castro can cover.  

39 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2025/10/03/padres-umpires/

I know we give the HP umpires lots of horsefeathers, it's got to be hard to call balls and strikes.  Horizontally, no problem same for every hitter, vertically is were the difficulty comes in.  It changes from batter to batter and the HP has to figure that out instantly, it can't be easy.  That said, I'm all for removing umpires from the strike calling equation, they lack true consistency and they'll never have it because they're human.

2 hours ago, mul21 said:

The Brewers put an incredible number of balls in play compared to most teams because they don't strike out much and don't hit a lot of homers.  You also probably don't close that game out like they did last night if Shaw isn't playing 3rd.  I don't think anybody else on the roster gets that 2nd out in the 9th on the slow hopper.

I get playing Shaw for his defense and hoping he can add something with the bat. Castro isn’t exactly an offensive force anyway. However, I think there is some exaggeration in your comment that no one could have made that play at 3rd. It was only close because Shaw bobbled the ball or hesitated a brief moment. I think Castro makes that play. Again, I do agree Shaw is a better glove and CC  will lean defense. So Shaw might be the guy. But I don’t think that play in the 9th was anything special. It was made close because he misplayed it a little. 

Edited October 3, 2025 by Rcal10

10 minutes ago, Connor McConnor said:

Not what I said, but whatever.  

No problem.

2 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I think Amaya is healthy he just ran out of time to get ready.  Like he started a few games for Iowa, so I think if there was an injury he'd be added immediately.  I doubt he gets added otherwise though.  Kelly can play every day from here on because of the off days.  And McGuire provides better defense than Amaya in a situation where e.g. you pinch hit Mo for Kelly.

And I agree I'd guess Alcantara is the guy who loses his spot too.  Maybe he comes back if we face the Phillies next round?  But otherwise Castro can cover.  

It really sucks that this was essentially a lost season for Amaya.  He hit so well to end 2024 and came out in 2025 looking really good.  Luckily Kelly did a great job in his absence but I would have loved to have seen a full season of Amaya to determine if his improvements were for real or just a hot streak.

1 minute ago, UMFan83 said:

It really sucks that this was essentially a lost season for Amaya.  He hit so well to end 2024 and came out in 2025 looking really good.  Luckily Kelly did a great job in his absence but I would have loved to have seen a full season of Amaya to determine if his improvements were for real or just a hot streak.

I actually forgot about him when discussing what this team has overcome. All things considered  they had a great season. No Steele or Assad for most of the year. Shota and Jamo missing starts, Amaya out most of the year. Tucker missed 30+games and now Horton. And they still won 92 games and a playoff series. Great season. 

27 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

I know we give the HP umpires lots of horsefeathers, it's got to be hard to call balls and strikes.  Horizontally, no problem same for every hitter, vertically is were the difficulty comes in.  It changes from batter to batter and the HP has to figure that out instantly, it can't be easy.  That said, I'm all for removing umpires from the strike calling equation, they lack true consistency and they'll never have it because they're human.

Agreed.  I’m looking forward to next year in that regard.

There is a lot of crying about that call today as you’d expect.  I’d be really PO’d too but also, there’s 8 goose eggs on the board heading into that inning.  A single bad call doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  The Padres put an awful lot on their star players to produce and 0-11 just isn’t gonna cut it. I know it’s really easy to say that when your team won though.

3 hours ago, Derwood said:

Had Horton been healthy, he would have already pitched in the SD series, so we would be getting just the one LDS start out of him regardless

He might have pitched Game 1 of wild card round, so could start twice in division series.  Oh well

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

I know we give the HP umpires lots of horsefeathers, it's got to be hard to call balls and strikes.  Horizontally, no problem same for every hitter, vertically is were the difficulty comes in.  It changes from batter to batter and the HP has to figure that out instantly, it can't be easy.  That said, I'm all for removing umpires from the strike calling equation, they lack true consistency and they'll never have it because they're human.

yea, as fans its easy to jump down an umpires throat about calls like that one. I go both ways on this, for the most part I'm happy with human umpires but every now and then I witness an Angel Hernandez circa 1998 and I feel very different

 

 

I would be 100% against ABS if MLB did even a little bit of something to punish guys like Angel Hernandez. At least do what soccer does and relegate the worst teams. They have all the tools to grade performance on these guys. Send the worst ones back to the minors until they get horsefeathers right.

Edited October 3, 2025 by Cuzi

38 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

I would be 100% against ABS if MLB did even a little bit of something to punish guys like Angel Hernandez. At least do what soccer does and relegate the worst teams. They have all the tools to grade performance on these guys. Send the worst ones back to the minors until they get horsefeathers right.

There was an ump early in the season who pre-warned both teams about not tapping their helmets during the game (or he would insta-toss them). He went on to miss 22 calls in that game and over 1200 for the season

2 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I actually forgot about him when discussing what this team has overcome. All things considered  they had a great season. No Steele or Assad for most of the year. Shota and Jamo missing starts, Amaya out most of the year. Tucker missed 30+games and now Horton. And they still won 92 games and a playoff series. Great season. 

This is what I told a friend of mine who is a Tigers fans. Most folks out there really don't know what this team went through. They got a lot of heart IMO.

I'll never forget what theo, maddon, jake, tony and javy did, but man those final years were so frustrating. what we've been through is in no way a curse or drought, but it had been long enough that I felt a tremendous weight lifted yesterday.

Just reflecting a little on 1984, I'll never understand Frey' logic of going with Sanderson in game 4.  Trout should have started maybe, the Cubs still lose that game unfortunately, we'll never know.