UMFan83

Out of curiosity for those that follow closer, what the heck happened to Alcantara? He was great at Iowa last year, we brought him up and other than a power surge was rather 'meh' but many expected him to adjust and be a contributor this year. And he's just sucked in Chicago and at Iowa. Is he a failed prospect? Are they working on adjustments that are affecting his numbers in the short term? Is there any chance he's up in September? Just kind of confused as he was a top 100 prospect going into last year, got into the top 50 on some midseason lists and now is just kind of there lost in the shuffle with all the other prospects coming up and succeeding.

We did this in July 2008, thought it would be interesting to try again. 2008 results: Cubs - 21 Bulls - 0 Blackhawks - 4 Bears - 1 In July 2008: -Cubs were well en route to a 97 win season and seemed to have a team that could compete for the next 2-3 years with the right moves -Bulls just missed the playoffs for the only season in an 11 year stretch but won the lotto and took Derrick Rose number 1 -Bears were in between a disappointing 7-9 follow up to the SB season, and the expectations were as low as any year I can remember before this season -Blackhawks just went through a season where old man Wirtz died, Rocky took over and started to completely turn around how the team was run, putting home games on TV, reconnecting with Hawks legends, also Kane and Toews made their debuts and the Hawks finished 3 points short of a playoff spot Since 2008: -We all know how this went, disappointing 2009, then went on a downward spiral that led to Theo being hired, team sold to PTR, team gutted for extended rebuilding, etc -Rose turned into a superstar, Bulls were legit contenders but lost to the Heatles, then Rose tore his ACL, Bulls treaded water for 2 years waiting for him to come back and now its apparent that Jordan:LeBron::Knicks:Bulls -Bears acquired Cutler, everyone was excited but for various reasons it hasnt worked out to this point, went to 2010 NFC C game, lost to Packers, Lovie eventually fired, Trestman era a disaster, 2005 core slowly aged now they're in transition -Blackhawks became the darlings of the NHL, won 3 titles, and were a model franchise until Kane may or may not have raped a girl, casting a bit of a cloud on their short term championship hopes So which Chicago team is likely to win the next title?

Very annoying that Theriot is jumping on the Cubs bandwagon on twitter. Dude we don't forget

yup i definitely remember that.

If the Cubs go 19-19 the rest of the way, the Giants would have to go 27-10 to pass the Cubs. Of course they would likely pass the dodgers if they did that, so the Dodgers would have to go 25-13 as well for them both to pass the Cubs.

This was actually the video that kicked it off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAgJwlY4pVg

Well wouldn't that still make their WC magic number 31? One of them has to win the division.

Fangraphs playoff odds at 97.7% this morning

Now on pace to win 95.4 games

If we do it again starting now we'll be 94-55

We win

Strop only threw 2 pitches. Id like to see him come out in the 9th and try to save Rondon.

Maybe to keep him fresh? When is the last time we used him before today?

Probably

Dammit I should have went to bed when it was 8-1. Now I have to watch the rest

Haren and Hunter have probably been our two worst players since the deadline. If you would have told me that, I would have thought we'd be hanging around .500. You thought we'd be around .500 solely on the basis of our 5th starter and a middle reliever being the worst players on the team?

I remember that. I wanted him to stop at 2B and refuse to advance.

Grace is the last one right?

Anyone interested in knowing what Jake's ERA is down to now? 2.22

Solid commitment

Well so much for any debate about removing jake after this inning as he's now close to 100 pitches

He said he doesn't want to win he wants to dominate. In his mind allowing a single run to score is simply unacceptable.

Smart of Arrieta to make an error to keep his ERA down Edit: wait is it an earned run if the pitcher commits the error?

Just about to say that. Considering Arrieta is going to pitch well more innings than he's ever thrown before and the pen is rested. That said, hendricks and Haren are bullpen abusers lately. Might need a rested bullpen the rest of this series

So what do we do when Soler comes back? If Starlin, TLS, or Javy can take hold of the 2B job (not a lock that happens), then Soler probably goes to the bench if he returns at all. Yeah that's the other thing. I'm not sure we see Soler again this year. Look how long it took LaStella to come back from an oblique strain and then consider Solers history of leg injuries.