Cubs 6, Sox 3

In Postgame by berselius116 Comments

OSS: If you can draw five walks in one inning, chances are you’re going to win that game.

Three up:

  1. Eight straight Cubs reached base against Sox ace Lucas Giolito and reliever Evan Marshall in the Cubs five run fifth inning. Giolito walked the bases loaded, then gave up back to back doubles to War Bear and Baez. Giolito struggled against the Cubs when he faced them earlier this year as well, so I guess the Cubs just have his number. Given that his ERA on the season was 2.72 going into this game, the Cubs seem to be the only team with said number.
  2. Jon Lester was solid, going 6.1 innings and allowing just one earned run. He was chased in the seventh, but probably would have finished the inning if not for some sloppy defense behind him.
  3. The Brewers were obliterated by the Pirates, 12-2. Gotta be a kick in the nuts after also blowing a five run lead the night before, though the Crew did win that one in extras. The Cubs have sole possession of first place once again.

Three down:

  1. A rough day for Jason Heyward, who broke the Cubs streak in the fifth inning with a strikeout and went 0-4 on the day. He was on a hot streak but now seems to be a bit banged up.
  2. Robel Garcia quickly ended the rally with a double play, in his second PA of the inning. I guess it’s hard to complain about an offense that bats around though.
  3. Kimbrel’s velocity was back up today, but his save was a little more tightropey than one would like. He struck out the side, but also hit a batter, walked another, and got the final strikeout on a wild pitch/passed ball.

Next up: Cyle takes on Ivan Nova at 1:10 PM CT to cap off the first ‘half’ of the season.

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  1. Author
    berselius

    To-day’s base ball squadron

    LF War Bear
    SS Baez
    3B Bryant
    1B Rizzo
    DH Contreras
    RF Heyward
    C Caratini
    2B Garcia
    CF Almora

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  2. andcounting

    Nova is inducing a ton of swings at pitches waaaaaay off the plate, and they’re fastballs. Rizzo just swung at a four seamer that actually hit him. WTF?

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  3. andcounting

    43, 44, 45, 46.

    Those are the loss totals of the teams in the NL Central at the All Star break. It’s pretty hilarious.

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  4. Smokestack Lightning

    Theo sez Cubs are going to be proactive in the midseason trade bonanza this year. I don’t know what means exactly, but I’d be fine with the result of that meaning very few second-half PAs for Almora, Russell, and Descalso. Or lots of PAs for them… on other teams.

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  5. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89,

    I’d prefer the same, but half measures are part of the reason this team has fallen back to the pack and stuck it in neutral. As is, barring variance and playoff weirdness, best case scenario appears to be this team squeaking out a division title and getting run off the field in the postseason. Maybe I’m spoiled by the one championship in 110 years, but that scenario just isn’t good enough for me anymore.

    I’m of a mind to either say the hell with it and do everything that’s necessary to win an extremely winnable division and build a team that can maybe sneak past the Dodgers and whatever monster comes out of the AL, or fire sale right out of the break. Restock the farm. Take 1-2 years to clear out the non-Heyward contracts, and come back in 2021-22 ready to be what this current team should have been for longer than 18 months.

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  6. dmick89

    Smokestack Lightning: or fire sale right out of the break.

    This is probably the side I’d come down on if it’s one or the other. I’ve been thinking for awhile that the Cubs should maybe take another shot at signing Bryant to an extension and if they can’t get him to sign a semi-reasonable contract then maybe they should look to trade him. They could get a hell of a lot in return for him.

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  7. Myles

    I’m a crazy person, but if I’m the Cubs, I just unload everyone. The easiest way to accelerate a rebuild is to trade Bryant, Baez, Contreras, Hendricks, and Rizzo for 8-10 of the top 50 prospects in baseball.

    What I DON’T want the Cubs to do is a half-measure. If we trade Bryant, we pretty much close the door on winning a WS with the rest of this core. If that’s the case, why would they still be on the team?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUuHdACg83E

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  8. dmick89

    Myles,

    I agree with you except I’d keep Contreras if he’s someone the Cubs want to have work with the pitchers. If he’s someone the Cubs use only because of his offense then I’d deal him. I don’t know enough about that to say one way or the other and I imagine it’s something the Cubs would have to honestly ask a bunch of pitchers about.

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  9. BVS

    So the Yankees did some “half measures” the year they traded Chapman to us for Torres. They are in pretty good shape now. Finances should be better in upcoming years with the new media contract.

    I’m for trading Schwarber for something good. I think he has rebuilt trade value and looks good on an AL team. Heyward is doing better this year too, so I’d see what I could get for him. He’s the adult in the room though, so if leadership really is an issue, that could be a loss. But for little cost you could probably trade to get John Jay back and refill the leadership tank.

    I think trading someone from the lineup we’ve been trotting out for the last 3 years would be a good thing to shake things up. Schwarber is the most expendable in my opinion, though if Rizzo can’t figure out the shift soon, he might be my next option. Trading Russell and Almora are fine too, but what value do they have?

    I’d keep the core 4 and I assume that none of our pitching is really tradable except Hendricks and there is little point in trading him.

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  10. Author
    berselius

    BVS,

    I’m not super excited at the idea of a fire sale, but I think you’re discounting the possibility of the Cubs eating some money to move some guys, especially the pitchers. Quintana, for example, hasn’t lived up to the expectations we had but he’s still a solid pitcher and is only making $10m or so, plus a club option for next year.

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  11. andcounting

    Nice showing by Vlad Jr in the batting practice contest.

    Oh, and the idea of a fire sale can go fuck itself. No way.

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  12. North Side Pat

    andcounting,

    andcounting:
    Nice showing by Vlad Jr in the batting practice contest.

    Oh, and the idea of a fire sale can go fuck itself. No way.

    A fire sale while being in first place is the new market inefficiency…

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  13. BVS

    Burning Sensation,

    Aww. Sorry to hear that, man.

    Some folks around here will tell you that you aren’t recognizing all the virtues of Fire Sale. I think Fire Sale is vastly overrated, despite some some good traits.

    Anyway, I hope you can rekindle your spark.

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  14. Ryno

    Mick Gillispie @BroadcasterMick
    “Put me in coach…”. #Cubs Top Prospect @nico_hoerner in Centerfield today! Catch today’s @smokiesbaseball 12/ct 1/et @tunein @TalkRadio923 #Everybodyin

    🤔

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  15. dmick89

    Ryno,

    Could be to maybe increase his value at the deadline or maybe the Cubs are looking into trading Schwarber and want to put Hoerner in CF. My guess is they’d trade Hoerner because he’s more valuable.

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  16. WaLi

    North Side Pat:
    andcounting,

    A fire sale while being in first place is the new market inefficiency…

    Seriously I’m so fucking confused right now (dying laughing) .The Cubs have had pretty much two bad skids this year (one of the beginning of the season, the other just recently) but outside of that have played pretty good baseball against good teams. They’ve had some injuries lately but also plugged their biggest hole by signing Kimbrel. The Cubs have played a shit ton of games lately too which contributed to their skid.

    Cubs are in a good position to win the division. They are in first place (although barely) and anything can happen in the playoffs. If you want to watch a non-competitive consistently rebuilding team, watch the Marlins.

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  17. WaLi

    WaLi,

    When the season started, per BREF the Cubs had a 34% chance of making the postseason, 4% chance of pennant, and 2% chance of winning the WS. Halfway through the season, they have a 69% (nice) of making the postseason, 12% chance of pennant, and 6% chance of WS.

    It’s hardly the time for a fire sale.

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  18. dmick89

    I’m not sure anyone has really called for an all out fire sale. I think some comments are being taken out of context. I said if the options are trading prospects and going all in with buying more talent at the deadline or a fire sale that I’d prefer a fire sale. My preference would be the Cubs do nothing at all. My second preference would be the Cubs try to extend Bryant to a reasonable contract extension and if they can’t then trade him for a bunch of prospects (at least one of which is MLB ready). Next I’d go with all out fire sale. At no point would I consider trading a player like Nico Hoerner for bullpen help, which is in all likelihood exactly what the Cubs are going to do. This bullpen is fucked. It sucks ass and there’s literally nothing that the Cubs can do to fix it during the season. The Cubs can make a few trades and get slightly better and have only a tiny bit better chance of winning in the postseason or they can just stand pat and hope they get lucky. I’d rather they do that.

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  19. andcounting

    dmick89,

    I think this all makes sense and more or less agree with it. My main objection overall is a mindset that it’s ok for the Cubs to have a season or more in which they are not competitive and expecting to make the playoffs. I find that to be inexcusable for a team with these resources.

    It’s funny, if you think back to what we’d listed as the things that needed to happen for the Cubs to be really good this year (aside from signing a FA generational talent), so much from our collective wishlist has come to fruition. Willson Contreras returning to form? Hell yeah. Bryant coming back strong? Yeah. Rizzo not being terrible, Baez staying hot. A Heyward resurgence? Amazingly, all that has happened. Upgrading the bullpen? Kinda, finally. Schwarber improving a little, the rotation not being a total disaster. . . I think the Cubs have just about checked all the boxes. Much of the NL Central parity has less to do with the Cubs sucking and more to do with every other team in the division taking significant steps to improve.

    But above all, this franchise has enough assets at this point I just don’t think there’s an excuse for them ever falling very short of the postseason.

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  20. Ryno

    dmick89:
    I think some comments are being taken out of context. I said…I’d prefer a…fucked…ass and…the Cubs…hope they get lucky. I’d rather they do that.

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  21. BVS

    dmick89: I’m not sure anyone has really called for an all out fire sale

    I think Myles was. But he prefaced it by saying he was crazy, so at least he was half right. (dying laughing)

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  22. Smokestack Lightning

    I probably came the closest to endorsing a fire sale, but only because I wouldn’t mind seeing something bold done to reshuffle a team that as-is looks DOA come the postseason—and that’s if it manages to muster the modest number of wins the Central will require for postseason passage to begin with. Barely escaping the kids’ table division and then getting slaughtered by far-superior teams in the playoffs just doesn’t sound like much fun to me. And it’s getting more difficult for me to see how this gets better anytime soon. So yeah, fire sale does hold some appeal.

    That said, my first choice is the Cubs find better players to put around the very good ones they already have and maybe win another World Series this year.

    Or at least seriously threaten to do so.

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  23. andcounting

    berselius,

    The single biggest reason the Cubs are so popular is that most of the country could watch their games for free when no other games were available.

    MLB has gone to such great lengths to collect subscriptions from converted fans and sell exclusivity to networks it has forgotten to market to the casual fan or non fan. There are no stars outside of die-hard fandom because no one but a die-hard fan can watch. That’s kind of the whole idea of a star—anybody and everybody can see them. How the fuck is anyone supposed to see Mookie Betts? I LOVE baseball, and I can’t ever see him play. Trout either. I have to put in a lot of effort, time, and money to see these guys.

    This is not rocket science.

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  24. dmick89

    andcounting: The single biggest reason the Cubs are so popular is that most of the country could watch their games for free when no other games were available.

    Would that be true with the younger generation today? I just don’t think baseball appeals to younger people like it did several decades ago.

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  25. andcounting

    dmick89,

    If they made streaming options more available I think it definitely would. I’d partially blame the restricted nature of MLB broadcasting for some of the lack of interest. There’s just way too much to watch either on demand or free.

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  26. dmick89

    andcounting,

    Maybe, but I think people become interested in watching baseball after playing it and it’s an expensive sport to play. It’s not like basketball where one basketball can entertain a bunch of kids. It’s not like football where the same is true or where both are school sponsored sports so all the uniforms and padding are paid for. I think that’s the big problem for baseball IMO. It’s not surprising that the best players in high school often come from upper middle class or wealthy families who can fork out a ton of money over the years.

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  27. andcounting

    dmick89,

    I agree, it has become expensive and that is a big deterrent. But the expense of it is so strange. It didn’t use to be that expensive and doesn’t have to be.

    I’ve put a few rounds of kids through the beginnings of little league and found they changed the regulations for bats since our older kids started. So we had to buy all new bats. The cheapest ones were $40. Average price was probably $60-80. It makes me want to start a line of Sandlot equipment. $5 bases. $10 bats. $20 gloves. Letting non-rich kids play is the new market inefficiency.

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  28. dmick89

    andcounting: Letting non-rich kids play is the new market inefficiency.

    This is what will matter longterm in my opinion. Considering how much less wealth the majority of people have today and how it’s shrinking, I don’t see this problem for baseball getting any better. Baseball treats it as if it’s only an inner city (black) problem that they’re having, but it’s also class. But the reality is that there’s little MLB can do to address this. It’s going to have to be addressed by the government at some point. Maybe then kids will start playing baseball in larger numbers again.

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  29. EnricoPallazzo

    shout out to whoever gave me the locke lamora book recommendation (i think it was b?)

    solid rec, just finished the first one and gonna move on to #2. many thanks.

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  30. Author
    berselius

    EnricoPallazzo,

    I think the Sanzas are my favorite characters in the series. There’s some great stuff with them as teenagers in book three. They’re such delightfully cheeky little shits.

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  31. andcounting

    dmick89,

    I do think MLB teams could invest in parks and academies at least. There are things they could do to encourage more playing, but again I’d go back to making games easier to watch. I wanted to play as a kid because of watching the Cubs. Easier to watch the game, easier to fall in love with the game. And if kids love the game, they’ll play it.

    Oh, and more day games.

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  32. BVS

    andcounting,

    Well, you know, it’s a little bit Holden Caulfield, a little bit Stephen Ambrose, a little bit Bill Bryson, a little bit Bob Woodward, and a lot of Jim Bouton.

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  33. andcounting

    There are about 57 articles about Ben Zobrist in the news today but nary a one has any details or speculation about his divorce. I suppose that’s good, but it’s a bit surprising for some reason. I mean, it’s none of anyone’s business outside how it affects his ability to play for the Cubs, it just seems out of the ordinary for someone with a high profile (who kind of made his marriage a pretty public part of that profile) be treated with such great respect for boundaries.

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  34. WaLi

    Huh?? Baseball is played in 3rd world countries. Look at where many players come from. Yes teams have invested in these countries but that’s because there’s a high proximity of kids with a willingness to play without other options.

    Costs have very little to do with kids wanting to play baseball. Kids who want to play can get scholarships to play little league. Play it again sports has dirt cheap equipment if a kid really wants to play.

    The biggest deterrents in my opinion are the fact you need a large field, 18 fucking people (unless you have ghost runners, even then at least 8-10), but the biggest deterrent is that it’s boring as fuck for little kids to do anything but bat. Little Johnny is in the outfield picking daisies when most kids can’t hit to him. Shoot even major and minor league players get bored fielding. There are only two players guaranteed to be involved on every pitch, the pitcher and catcher.

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  35. andcounting

    WaLi,

    Seriously, though, that’s why I say it’s kind of weird that expense is an issue and that it doesn’t have to be, but it definitely is. There are a lot of contributing cultural factors. Parents don’t let kids leave their yards anymore. Kids don’t often play sports outside of organized leagues. Basketball is probably the big exception. It doesn’t have to be that way, but it is.

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  36. dmick89

    andcounting: Parents don’t let kids leave their yards anymore.

    That’s a huge factor too. I remember when I was 8 or 9 I could go up to the elementary school on my own and meet friends and we’d play baseball up there all the time. That would never happen these days. You’d have to be fucking nuts as a parent to do that.

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  37. WaLi

    andcounting:
    WaLi,

    Someone has never played rundown.

    *proceeds to look up definition of rundown in Urban Dictionary*

    1. a play in baseball *nope never played that*
    2. relates to call of duty streamer *nope*
    3. Find. locate. Seek out. *nah*
    4. 2 b gettn ur hustle on huntin 4 heads *wut*
    5. beating up your friend but all in fun and games *don’t thinks so*
    6. Rundown is the jizz that runs, or flows down the shaft of an erected penis upon ejaculation. It refers to all jizz that makes its way down the shaft, wheter from sex with a tight vagina or from masturbation.

    I have played rundown!

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  38. WaLi

    andcounting:
    WaLi,

    Seriously, though, that’s why I say it’s kind of weird that expense is an issue and that it doesn’t have to be, but it definitely is. There are a lot of contributing cultural factors. Parents don’t let kids leave their yards anymore. Kids don’t often play sports outside of organized leagues. Basketball is probably the big exception. It doesn’t have to be that way, but it is.

    I can’t remember that last time I saw kids playing catch/hitting balls in the street. I wonder if it’s because there hasn’t been a good kid relatable movie either that came out for baseball in 20+ years. Growing up I had Sandlot, Field of Dreams, Rookie of the Year, Major League, Bull Durham, A League of Their Own, Bad News Bears, Brewster’s Millions, The Babe, Angels in the outfield.

    What is the last famous baseball movie that hit theaters, Fever Pitch? Clearly Jimmy Fallon killed kid’s interest in baseball.

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  39. Author
    berselius

    To-day’s base ball squadron

    LF Schwarber
    SS Baez
    3B Bryant
    1B Rizzo
    C Caratini
    RF Heyward
    2B Garcia
    CF Almora
    P Darvish

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  40. Rizzo the Rat

    It’s amazing that Ian Happ has almost the exact same slash line in AAA this year as he had in the majors last year.

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  41. EnricoPallazzo

    Rizzo the Rat,

    Is it too optimistic to think that his numbers are down because he’s legitimately WILLSON!!!

    Where was I…because he’s legitimately working on a bunch of different things? Or just much more likely that last year was a fluke?

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  42. dmick89

    Did I hear Joe right before the game when he said the bullpen was in good shape? I mean, I think it’s great he thinks that so maybe they don’t trade a prospect for a reliever who will end up sucking on this team, but really? This bullpen sucks.

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