mk49

If the Cubs get Skubal, that would be great, as long as he stays. I just watched Imai for the first time. He had 17 K's. Looks like he has nasty slider, splitter and fastball that's not bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdfT6gHx_U8

I have never seen Imai pitches, but he's probably too expensive for the Cubs, although he won't make anywhere close to Yamamoto money.

It was a good series for sure. I wanted to see the Mariners finally make it to the World Series. Now, I'm rooting for the Blue Jays. I really want to see the Dodgers lose.

Thanks for the interesting info about Shota. His command was worse this year, too, and that's probably caused by those changes. I think he's going to be better next year, although I don't think he'll be as good as last year.

Very true. If I remember correctly, Shohei considered being a cub both time, coming from Japan and two years ago. When he came over from Japan, NL didn't have DH, so he picked the Angels. Two years ago, there was no way the Cubs could match the Dodgers' contract.

The Brewers finally scored a run. At least, one run per game.

Ohtani hit his 3rd HR. Unbelievable.

He's been pitching really well tonight, and he had two home runs. Crazy.

Yeah, they did. I thought the Mariners were going to lose tonight, when it was 2-1. Now, it's more interesting. The Jays have to win both at home.

Suarez just hit a grand slam.

I'll be really surprised, if he comes back. Never liked him much, but appreciated his offense, when he was good, though.

I was mostly thinking Mets. I think they need a good SP more than the Cubs, and they would most likely pay more than the Cubs. I don't agree with most of those you mentioned, though. They could be better (or worse) than Shota, but most likely, not significantly better. Out of your list, I want Suarez, King or maybe Cease. Maybe, Shota will pitch like he did last year or the 1st half of this year. I know it's my wishful thinking, but it could happen.

The Dodger is just an example, could be any team that is willing to pay big money. I know the Dodgers already have plenty of good/great SP's. I agree with you about Tucker. I have a feeling that the Cubs will offer something to Tucker, and the Dodgers will offer a much better contract.

To me, that's a big IF. I don't think the Cubs would be willing to "legitimately" pursue. If other teams like the Dodgers jack up the price, they just wouldn't want to compete with those teams. Honestly, I hope you're right, and the Cubs can sign somebody better than Shota. I just think it's not an easy task.

That's why I hate the Dodgers. Only good thing they did for the Cubs last winter was signing Tanner Scott. Maybe, he'll be better next year, but he was really bad this year, and the Cubs tried to get him.

Yeah, I'm sure you can, but what's the chance of the person actually signing with the Cubs? Probably, not much. Signing good free agent SP's isn't easy for the Cubs. Not that many available, either. I think trading should have better chance. Maybe, they can get lucky, and sign somebody like Boyd, Keller, Thielbar, Pomeranz or last year's version of Shota. They exceeded most people's expectation.

Unless Shaw improves next year, which he should, although it won't be like PCA.

I really hope Shota will stay, either way. He's been very good, except for Sept and Oct in 2025. My guess is it will be extremely hard to sign (trade or free agency) a SP who is significantly better than Shota. Alcantara and Cease probably won't be much better, and could be much worse. Michael King could be great, if he will pitch like last year, but Shota was great last year, too. Sure, Shota's command wasn't as good as last year, but I also questioned the pitch selection (like split, fastball or slider, inside/outside, high/low...) many times, which wasn't the case in 2024. That's not completely his fault. It's mostly the coaches' fault and somewhat catchers'. I even started thinking maybe, Amaya was better catcher for Shota. Anyway, I just hope he's going to come back next year, and pitch well.

Mariners vs Blue Jays are getting kind of weird. Neither of them could win at home.

I hate the Dodgers, so yeah, I'd love to see the Mariners with the World Series. The biggest difference between the Cubs and the Dodgers is the SP rotation. Snell pitched 8 innings last night, and Yamamoto 9 innings tonight. None of our SP can last that long for sure.

When healthy, Snell is extremely hard to hit. He was great tonight.

It did. I don't know what the yellow line is for, but to me, as long as the ball stays inside of the wall, it's not a home run. I could be wrong, though.

Super crazy double play by the Brewers.

I didn't think Seattle would win the first two for sure.

I didn't get why there were trade rumors about Nico and Seiya in the off season last year. I really hoped both of them would stay. Nico had a surgery, so I guess that was one of the reasons. Seiya was probably the best hitter we had last year, and he shouldn't be the best. He's really good as a #2 or 3 hitter. I really don't think the team needs Tucker in 2026. I don't know his actual average with RISP, but I think he wasn't very good. Let Seiya play the RF and Mo (or, somebody better) as a DH. If both Busch and Mo hit like the end of the season, they would be better than Seiya. That's the perfect spot for Seiya. Most likely, Nico will be a golden glover this year. He seems always hit .280 to .290 with really good/great defense, so he's all good. Don't trade him, just give him an extension. Honestly, I don't worry much about Shota. He should be fine next year, although not as good as the last year. With Shota, Boyd, Steele, Jamo, Horton, Assad... We have plenty of good/decent SP's. We just need to pick a better batter who can play decent defense. Only spot available would be the 3B, Matt Shaw, unless somehow, the Cubs trade somebody like Happ or Seiya. Shaw was a great defensively, especially after he came back from Iowa. But, he just doesn't hit well, although he was the best for a while towards the end of the season. He will/should improve, though. I'm feeling much better now than a year ago. That's for sure.