Aaron_Kennelly

We got this.

They should have a broadcast focused solely on Javy and then after every decision he makes, he explains why he did what he did.

https://deadspin.com/javy-baez-was-in-the-brewers-heads-1828854717

Yeah, Carl's way better with his ability to miss bats. And he gets a lot of weak contact. He's always among the league leaders in exit velocity. He fits the closer profile if he finds out how to harness his stuff more consistently. I do think he's been a lot better this year at avoiding trouble. It's happened some, but not as much. And he hasn't compounded things by giving up bombs like he did last year when he got in trouble. I think he has the stuff to be elite and he's right on the cusp of it. But he's still not quite there.

Totally agree; it feels like that when Strop gets into trouble, it's FAR more likely he will be able to work out of it. Once Carl starts letting guys on base, it feels like he's toast more often than not, and he's not going to be able to escape without damage. Yeah, although Strop getting into trouble sometimes leads to a 3-run bomb, other times it only makes things more nerve-racking watching him wriggle out of it. It's hard to tell which version you're about to see unfold. But it feels like when Carl gets in trouble, the only foreseeable outcome is him walking in runs until he is relieved. That's not always the case. But I personally just feel way more comfortable with Bad Pedro on the mound than Bad Carl.

Strop has had his blowups too though and occasionally struggles with control. Maybe not as frequently or as bad as Carl but Carl has better overall stuff when he's on, and when he's off its mostly a control thing, he still doesnt usually get hit hard. I dunno I guess there is no ideal answer, and Strop has been mostly fine as closer and certainly has paid his dues in the Cubs pen. Yeah, I don't think it matters too much. Strop, Edwards, and Cishek are all very good but we don't have that one elite guy at the end. I agree Carl is the better pitcher between he and Strop. Cishek might be, too. But I feel like Cishek is more of a Swiss Army knife that can fill multiple different roles. It doesn't matter too much which roles they are in for me, because they are similar talent-wise and will all be relied on a lot. If one fucks up, I don't care too much if they ruin it in the 8th or the 9th. I do think Carl's blowups are different than Strop's though. That might just be my perception. And there could be some recency bias from something like last night. But I feel like Pedro has had a number of incidents where we've been on pins and needles; he's maybe put a couple guys on and then grinded his way through or suddenly found it and started striking guys out. When Carl doesn't have it, it always seems untenable to me. Again, it probably doesn't matter too much who is doing it in the 8th and who in the 9th. But I feel like if there is one option whose best fit is as a 1-inning guy reserved for the 9th, it's probably Strop. They're all very different, though, with Strop having the nasty slider, Carl with his curve and spin, Cishek with the weird delivery. They'd be best utilized not having defined roles.

Yeah, I think Strop closing is correct. It can’t be Carl because when he doesn’t have it, you’re screwed. I think Cishek is the best bet to put out fires, because he can get double plays and seems to have a rubber arm. Chavez needs to be able to go multiple innings if a starter fucks up. Strop seems like the most old-school type closer we have — 1 inning, gets whiffs, might make it interesting but can get out of jams.

one time when i was in high school i hit a ball into the left field corner and when i got to second i saw there was nobody at third. i was instantly thrilled about how smart i was for being the good baserunner who noticed things like that so i ran to third. the third baseman who was out in shallow left field immediately saw what i was doing and jogged back to the bag and i was out by 20 feet and my coach took me out of the game for being an idiot. i can’t even imagine what it must feel like to see stuff like that and be right. In that case, you should have used a Javy Slide. Pretty simple.

EL MOTHERFUCKING MAGO

Dang, I didn't know they'd hire our very own Duke Silver to be their next GM. Good luck bro. They really liked my presentation on how Mad Men gifs would lead us to redemption.

When the worst thing the biggest doom boner can think of still involves your team making the playoffs...

The Cubs have had a winning record in every month, are 48-26 against sub-.500 teams, are on pace to win 95 games, and are 3 games up on every team in the NL.

Galaxy Brain: They're just doing this to keep the Dodgers out of the playoffs.

If true, they are in big trouble then. Because this time next week, they still haven't gotten a day off and they have to play this team three more times before they do. This team is about to improve to 6-9 (nice) against the Cubs this year. They aren’t that good. The Cubs are still the better team and 2 games aren’t changing that.

Why am I still watching this?

horsefeathering pathetic.

These guys suck.

Do something

Vaunted Cubs

Throw strikes.

Figure it out.

Much better inning. Now dominate the rest of the way, Cole.

He hasn't thrown a strike yet.

Javy is insane.