BigbadB

I just got back from a two week trip where I was off the grid, but if I got some cell service I'd at least check in on what's going on. I'm glad I was gone, because I'd probably be losing my mind right now, too. Yesterday's game alone made me want to quit watching baseball for awhile. Nice to see the Brewers haven't lost since they last played the Cubs. Minus 2016, we can never have nice things. Feels like the whole team died the day Ryno passed.

It’s the little things that help a franchise turn a corner.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to over extend his innings this year. Playoff starts can include short rest. I felt one starter was the #1 priority. Alcantara, Kelly, Cease, Cabrera seemed like guys who may not have cost the farm. Gotta hope Taillon is ready for a strong return.

Driving across the country, I open this thread an hour before the trade deadline after hearing the Cubs traded for Castro. As I’m trying to catch up, new pages keep adding to this thread, so I’m thinking they traded for a big starter. Boy was I disappointed. Boyd Shota Taillon as your top 3 playoff arms seems weak to me. Assuming Horton will need to stop piling up innings. So Soroka, Rea and Assad round out the last two spots/long relief. I’m quite sad they couldn’t get one more solid arm.

We lived in a rural area, so we didn't have cable. I only saw game of the week or maybe we would be at someone else's house that did have WGN. I distinctly remember when the Cubs traded for Ryno. It was Ryno and Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus. I wasn't really a fan of DeJesus, but I was very blah about Larry Bowa and I knew nothing about Ryno. Anyway, I see Ryno playing 3b for the Cubs in 1982 on a friends tv in town, and he's in game 7 of the season and he is 0 for his first 22 at bats. I then saw him get his first hit. Didn't see much without cable back then, but I did see that. Same friend that had that tv for the first Ryno hit got us tickets for a whole Cardinals/Cubs series in St. Louis in late September in '84. Rained all day Saturday, so we had a double header on Sunday. Have to look up that series box scores, because that was fun. To really age myself, I also remember seeing the Cubs on a black and white tv at my grandmother's house in Chicago when Ernie Banks was still on the team. I remember watching Milt Pappas throw a no hitter on our tv for the game of the week. RIP Ryno. I eventually got cable and watched every game I could.

If management can be happy with one of Suzuki, Happ or Berti patrolling CF to give PCA a rest day, then there is no reason for Brujan to be on this roster beyond 7-31.

First time I turned the game off early this year. I was so mad they didn't pull Shota earlier. Not sure how many whiffs there were last night, but my over/under is 3. Nothing he threw up there missed a bat. It was very clear he didn't have anything in the first inning. While I wouldn't have pulled him in the first, I would have pulled him after the 4th hit in the 2nd, which if I recall correctly, was before he recorded a single out in the 2nd. I believe that was 9 hits and except for a K, even the outs were loud. I think he had about 5 warning track flyouts in the first 2/3 innings.

I would think it would be more concerning if Caleb is struggling and Bagent isn't.

Go ahead and grab Shane Bieber along with him. I like one stop shopping sometimes.

I feel Cease has been underwhelming all year. Not really all that many quality starts. And couple the fact that he's on an expiring contract, He's also not really all that cheap. I'm not saying I wouldn't trade for him, but I doubt he'd fetch too high of a prospect given his warts.

The race of blogs to see who could report Justin Fields was near death yesterday was pretty pathetic. On a happy note, I blocked several pages from ever seeing my Facebook feed ever again.

At least he mentioned Ozzy. Respect for that.

Green Bay fans need abuse, too.

Especially since the games are no longer on national broadcast like WGN anymore. I pay for the streaming service, but I'm sure a lot either don't want to pay for it or can't afford it. I would imagine radio would still have a strong following. Maybe podcasts have replaced the need for radio coverage?

There was a huge need for pass protection, AND for Caleb to trust the pass protection. I think they got both with the guys they signed. I also think the backups will be a lot better than last year if someone needs to miss some time. Couple the pass protection with much better coaching and play calling, and I believe they have the makings of a 10-12 win team. A lot still needs to go right. I think I'm going to like Dennis Allen's defensive scheme better than Eberflus' as well.

He'd be a great addition to the starting rotation (along with a top 3 rotation starter) to end the regular season and as a bullpen guy for the playoffs, which is the kind of help you are looking for at the trade deadline.. Horton is going to need to slow down on his innings.

There's no reason to be afraid to pull the trigger on a premium upgrade this year. They already kinda went all in on a rent a player in Tucker. You look foolish if you don't do more when you are sitting in the driver's seat in your division, but still being challenged. Especially if Tucker doesn't sign long term. There is no doubt room to add a SP that can be a playoff starter, because this team is highly likely to be in the playoffs. Everything after that is added bonus. There is enough talent in the minors to make the upgrades to get whoever they want. Ryan and Suarez would be a great trade deadline get. Ryan and Castro or Kelly and Suarez would be great deadline grabs. But I'd be fine with a top line starter and a bench bat that can play 3rd better than either of the two current options. Amaya will be back and contributing soon, too. Assad should be a boost to the pen with a fresh arm. Amaya and Assad will feel like deadline upgrades since we haven't had their production most or all of the year, and are likely improvements over what is already on the roster. Getting Carson more rest will be good for him as well. Bottom line, they left money on the table preseason. The offer for Bregman should be the bare minimum they have to spend (with less than half a season to play, which ends up being a lot of money). The talent in the minors is plentiful. Now just don't be slow to make some trades. Get your offers out there to the teams that have the players you covet. The Cubs are not the only team looking to upgrade. Even the teams on the bubble should be fielding phone calls from Jed. This is his moment. So I don't want to see him in the booth doing interviews with Boog and JD right now. I'd rather think he's working the phones with his own team of scouts and other team's GM's instead of wasting time telling us what he's up to. Plenty of time for that after August 1. It will be very frustrating if some guys the Cubs could really want or need go somewhere else for less than what could have been offered by Jed because he was slow to the show or unwilling to close out what he started when he traded for Tucker.

Not true. He made an impression that he wasn't going to get to that ball, which the runner bought into. Why do you think the runner was so far away from the bag?

Not sure if anyone responded to this, but watch that play again. PCA duped the runner into thinking that ball was going to drop. I don't always catch stuff like that, but this one I saw right away. PCA sorta pulled up as if he was going to play it on a hop and then the runner took off and he then sprinted to the ball and caught it. PCA even seemed surprised that he had a play at 2nd. Pure genius.

PCA had a HR stolen from him.

Biggest strike zone I’ve seen this year, but only when Rodon is on the mound. F this game.

That's why I think a Willi Castro type would be a good fit. This team needs a better hitting bench guy who could technically play every day. He can play every position, spelling people where needed and allow Shaw to continue developing at the major league level. Brujan is just a waste of a roster spot. Berti isn't much better. Minnesota seems to me like a perfect trade partner for a SP, RP and a utility guy, not necessarily in that order, but also possibly filling all 3 needs in one trade.

This has been the best called game I’ve seen all season.

The Sutcliffe/Carter trade would rate higher on my list.

If they could have swept Minnesota, maybe they could have come back home with Willi Castro. Not so sure they end up with Suarez. Not so sure they add 3 guys. 2 guys, yeah. Maybe a SP and a 3b. Maybe a SP and a reliever.