raw

I haven't thought about this game very much all day. That was not good as now I can't sit still.

They have some pieces, but the extent of their injured talent is White and Goldman. You could throw in Fuller, but he hasn't proven to be very good when healthy. Langford, I guess, but he's not even the best young talent at his position. I do often look at the Bears and say, "Hey the interior of the OL is really good and Leno is serviceable at worst" "Man, Howard is really talented. Spell him with Carey and change the pace with Langford and that's not bad" "Jeffery is a stud, Meredith is really developing, when White gets healthy" "Our ILBs are pretty good" "We have some developing talent at CB, just drafted a couple guys there and at S who could be solid" "Goldman, Bullard, and Hicks are a solid DL" But then I come back to the fact that, while they all could get better individually and as a unit....they are this team now, and this team isn't close to good enough with all those guys on it even if projected back next year.

It probably doesn't give us the advantage because at home the Indians have no way of playing Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana at the same time, who are their best hitters Re: Schwarber and Contreras, for the Hendricks start at least, you get *both* of those mean bats in the lineup, and suffer no defensive disadvantage. Also, handedness. No because Hendricks starts in the NL park, unless there's a game 7.

I think if you aren't going to start Heyward, I'd put Szczur on the roster. Not over Heyward, but over Almora. Maddon didn't really use many defense only changes in the 2 rounds so far. Szczur gives you a better bat and the defense in the corners is probably a marginal difference (though, huge advantage for Almora in CF). IF- Rizzo, Baez, Bryant, Russell OF- Fowler, Heyward, Szczur, Coghlan OF/IF- Zobrist DH- Schwarber Pitching would be the same as now minus Zastryzny.

Man, Pirates fans really don't want the Cubs to win. And oddly, most are strangely indifferent to the Cardinals. Probably a little jealousy playing in, just like their shitty players. Oh well, that'll just make me that much more unbearable in a week or so.

That double play was so odd for me. I knew when he hit it, it would be an out, and I went to stand up off my couch for the final out. I don't think my brain even processed that there was a runner on 1st and this could possibly be a double play. It didn't hit me until I saw everyone running toward the mound. Then I collapsed.

https://twitter.com/DexterFowler/status/790112289999446016 Yeah, I got it from his wife on Twitter via Instagram. His wife is incredible, FTR.

I don't know why I didn't put 2-and-2 together, but when Dexter Fowler steps in the batter's box to open up the World Series, he'll be the 1st African-American Cubs player to play in a world series game.

IU with a must-win at home vs. Maryland. The defense is coming together and has played well, but the offense really needs to be more consistent. QB needs to hit the open passes he's missing and stop throwing the ball to the other team. Was really hoping for 1 or maybe even 2 of Wake, Nebraska (before I knew they'd be really good), or NW. But the road to back-to-back bowl games is to beat Maryland and Rutgers the next 2 weeks and Purdue to end the regular season.

Going to Cleveland would definitely be much easier for me. 2 hour drive vs. almost 8. But it's during the week and I have a busy week at work this week. Best case would be a Game 6 or 7 next week.

Good points here. Which is strange since you almost never make good points. :lol:

I'm a person that thinks the closer position is lame. But I also believe when you have a team this good (projected for next year) that having a bullpen that basically shuts it down late takes it to the next level. I'd actually put going big on a closer as more important than going big on a CF (to either be or replace Fowler). Jansen would be #1 for me. Chapman would be a great Plan B. Melancon is more "meh" for me. Even though he's clearly dominant, he's a good 2 years older than both Chapman and Jansen. And paying him a ton of money would not be ideal for me. If not Jansen or Chapman, I'd then look to getting a really good LH late-to-middle relief option.....though admittedly, there are not a ton of FA options out there. I'm still pretty confident in Strop, Rondon, Edwards, Montgomery (if not starting), and a strong LH option.

First of all, this is a Schwarber thread....hence my assumption. Secondly, the rumor is he could be added to the roster to DH. There are no comments from Theo or Maddon that mention him as a bench bat. Third, if he IS a bench bat, then you basically shorten your roster by not only his spot, but for a 2nd spot for whoever is going to come in and play the field if A) he doesn't bat in the bottom of the 9th or B) if he doesn't bat for the pitcher at Wrigley. He's either going to DH in Cleveland (bench bat in Wrigley) or he's going to be with the team watching 25 other guys play. 0 doubt about it. Seems unlikely that an org this creative is going to approach it like that. They'll make it work. My thinking is the exact opposite. I don't think this organization would do something for basically sentimental purposes and have Schwarber as just a guy to try to give them a dramatic late dong. The team's been fine the way it is, all year, all playoffs, without him. You gotta remember, this isn't your typical team. The Cubs have like 3 guys in any given lineup that they are willing to pinch hit for. The catcher's spot, if not Contreras; Heyward's spot; and the pitcher's spot. As good as Schwarber is, he's not going to PH for Fowler, Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, Baez, or a now non-slumping Russell. He's not going to hit for Heyward because they are both LH. Same reason he won't hit for Montero if he's in there. And he's not going to hit against LH Andrew Miller who pitched 7.2 of their like 21 relief innings last series. So, if the Cubs activate him and put him on the roster, it's because they think he can help the team more than in just what will basically become 9th inning ABs against Cody Allen only if the lineup is turned over to the bottom.

I want Jon back! And JC. C'mon guys!

I'm operating under the assumption that if the Cubs activate Schwarber it will be for more than him taking 1 AB per game vs. a non-Andrew Miller reliever, which may not even be possible considering they only basically use 2 RHRPs, and only 1 of them comes into play if their starter goes less than 6. It's certainly not a given that an extremely rusty player is going to get in there at all, or for more than a handful of AB's. Deep playoff teams seem to always have guys that are there just in case and rarely, if ever, used. Obviously, that's a weird spot to have Schwarber in, but it's not clear cut he's a better option to be getting the DH over Contreras right now. Our guts might say, "horsefeathers it, just put Willson in the OF," but clearly this is a team that greatly values how fantastic their defense is, and it's questionable if they're going to potentially shake that up in the WS to make room for a guy who has been injured since the first week of the season. Basically if all he ends up being is a bench bat, that's still awesome and makes sense and is better than no Schwarber at all. First of all, this is a Schwarber thread....hence my assumption. Secondly, the rumor is he could be added to the roster to DH. There are no comments from Theo or Maddon that mention him as a bench bat. Third, if he IS a bench bat, then you basically shorten your roster by not only his spot, but for a 2nd spot for whoever is going to come in and play the field if A) he doesn't bat in the bottom of the 9th or B) if he doesn't bat for the pitcher at Wrigley. He's either going to DH in Cleveland (bench bat in Wrigley) or he's going to be with the team watching 25 other guys play. 0 doubt about it.

Don't care. Heyward was rated as being pretty bad by offensive metrics. Where did I say Heyward had to be out there? Just repeat the lineup from last night with Contreras at the DH and Ross or Montero catching. I'm operating under the assumption that if the Cubs activate Schwarber it will be for more than him taking 1 AB per game vs. a non-Andrew Miller reliever, which may not even be possible considering they only basically use 2 RHRPs, and only 1 of them comes into play if their starter goes less than 6.

Yeah, definitely take Jansen over Chapman, all things considered. But Chapman being LH is a pretty big factor in his favor. Him being a huge prick is a big factor the opposite way.

Ehhhhhhh...say what you will about defensive metrics, but wasn't Contreras rated as being pretty bad when he was out there? Basically just a good arm and not much else? Don't care. Heyward was rated as being pretty bad by offensive metrics.

I'm playing it by ear also. Probably a long-shot, but I could drive there Saturday morning and be there in plenty of time for the game (though I won't dream of getting a ticket). I also entered a drawing to win a trip for 4 to games 4 and 5.

Schwarber to DH, Contreras to LF, Zobrist to RF for the first 2 games.

He was randomly one of my favorite players when he was with the Cubs. Unconditionally loved the guy for some reason.

There was a double play groundball also with 5 outs to go.

You know what.....this is actually true. Hendricks- 12.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 4 BB, 11 K; 0.71 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 7.81 K/9 Lester- 13 IP, 9 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K; 1.38 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 6.23 K/9 Hendricks was better across the board. I think the difference here is Lester's team won both his games (he only had 1 win though) and Hendricks got an L in game 2. But considering Lester vs. Maeda x 2 and Hendricks got Kershaw both times, I definitely would have given the MVP to Hendricks. And honestly, as good as Javy was offensively and defensively in this series.....Rizzo was the Cubs best hitter. Started 0 for everything and ended with a 1.000+ OPS in this series. Also, Fowler led the team in hits, runs, and tied for 2nd in RBIs in this series. Basically what I'm saying, this was a real team effort as it has been all year.

THEY ARE TOO YOUNG TO FEAR THE MOMENT!!!!!

Where's the WORLD SERIES game thread? I can't believe I'm typing that!!!!