Cubs @ White Sox Game Thread

In Series Previews by dmick89121 Comments

Time: 6:10 PM CT
TV: CSN, ESPN, WGN (Sox)
Series Preview
Gameday

LINEUPS

Cubs logo

Dexter Fowler, CF
Kris Bryant, DH
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Ben Zobrist, LF
Addison Russell, SS
Jason Heyward, RF
Javier Baez, 2B
Miguel Montero, C
Tommy La Stella, 3B

Kyle Hendricks, P

Chicago_white_sox

Adam Eaton, RF
Tim Anderson, SS
Melky Cabrera, LF
Jose Abreu, 1B
Justin Morneau, DH
Todd Frazier, 3B
J.B. Shuck, CF
Dioner Navarro, C
Tyler Saladino, 2B

James Shields, P

Will the Cubs win? No, but it could go either way.

538 Forecast: 59% chance of winning

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Comments

  1. Rice Cube

    Aroldis Chapman may just be stupid. Here’s hoping he does well on the baseball field and then goes away as quickly as possible.

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  2. Bubblesdachimp

    I thought his comments about waking up from the nap were refreshing. I hardly remember anything someone asks me when I wake up from a nap

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  3. Smokestack Lightning

    Rice Cube:
    Aroldis Chapman may just be stupid. Here’s hoping he does well on the baseball field and then goes away as quickly as possible.

    Sounds like it was a language issue and Chapman made more sense when he interviewed with Pedro Gomez shortly after.

    Even so, definitely not the greatest start PR-wise. (dying laughing)

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  4. Smokestack Lightning

    Rizzo the Rat: James Shields is pitching against the Cubs. Then again, Miguel Gonzalez isn’t exactly a Cy Young contender.

    As mediocre as Gonzalez is, he’s actually put together a number of strong starts against good offenses this year. I wasn’t surprised by last night at all.

    And as bad as Shields has been, he’s been much better of late, results-wise anyway.

    Chances are we’ll need Chapman tonight.

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  5. Smokestack Lightning

    Rizzo the Rat: His career numbers against lefties are pretty good. If only there were a way to leverage that…

    I do not care. Every time he takes the mound, I am unhappy he is there and wish someone else were there instead.

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  6. Smokestack Lightning

    I’m really glad we got Chapman. He’ll really help shorten the game in these 3-0 losses.

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  7. Smokestack Lightning

    Shields has Kris Bryant voodoo magic. I don’t think Kris has ever even touched the ball against him.

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  8. Smokestack Lightning

    All right, kids, choose your 9th… Do the Cubs get some baserunners and tease a possible comeback before losing or do they not even bother?

    I say not even bother. It feels like that kind of game.

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  9. Smokestack Lightning

    Josh Reddick with a big fly against the great Nick Martinez. Go get ’em, Theo.

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  10. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89:
    Smokestack Lightning,

    One of these days he will hit one so deep that the outfielder will have to take a step back to catch it.

    I believe I read on the interwebs recently that Heyward’s swing is all jacked up but they won’t do anything to address it until after the year.

    To which I say, Why the fuck not? It can’t possibly get any worse.

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  11. Berdj Joseph Rassam

    This can be an interesting game – but the Cubbies are playing at a very high level.

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  12. Edwin

    I guess if the Cubs are never in a position to put Chapman into a game I won’t have to worry about cheering for him or not.

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  13. JonKneeV

    According to Fangraphs, James Shields is the 11 worst qualified starting pitcher in the MLB. The Cubs thought he was 11 best.

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  14. EnricoPallazzo

    so i realize that twitter/internet/etc is filled with psychopaths and the concentration of nutjobs are even higher when it relates to the cubs. but i’m trying to understand this…people are angry because aroldis chapman said that he had just woken up from a nap and was therefore kind of out of it when he got on the phone with theo? what am i missing here? this seems like the least offensive thing in history.

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  15. Author
    dmick89

    The Cubs playoff odds have gone from 99% on 538 down to 92%. Their WS odds have gone from 22% down to 12% and their win total has gone from 108 down to 95. Since their first 30 games, this just feels like a typical Cubs season. Downhill.

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  16. uncle dave

    The Cubs are 5-5 over their last ten games. Only two teams in all of MLB are better than 6-4 over that stretch.

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  17. umbra

    EnricoPallazzo:
    so i realize that twitter/internet/etc is filled with psychopaths and the concentration of nutjobs are even higher when it relates to the cubs. but i’m trying to understand this…people are angry because aroldis chapman said that he had just woken up from a nap and was therefore kind of out of it when he got on the phone with theo? what am i missing here? this seems like the least offensive thing in history.

    Here’s what happened:

    1. Aroldis Chapman cheated on his girlfriend.
    2. His girlfriend got his phone and found out about the affair.
    3. They got in a fight about it. Aroldis pushed her by the neck, and she fell down.
    4. Chapman was still angry later, so he decided some violence and intimidation would calm him down and blow off some steam. He fired a gun in a trash can in his garage.
    5. He was basically run out of town with one team and was suspended for 30 games because the MLB was scared of bad publicity and making less money.
    6. The Cubs ownership wanted him to come and play for them, but they were also scared of bad publicity and making less money, so they got Aroldis to write a statement (or at least sign one) which said that he ‘regretted that he did not exercise better judgment’ (‘Como ya he indicado anteriormente definitivamente debería haber ejercido mejor juicio y por eso, me siento de verdad y profundamente arrepentido.’).
    7. As another CYA move, Theo Epstein said that, “I guess the best evidence of how much we deliberated and how much thought we put into it is we weren’t willing to make this trade until we got a window from Major League Baseball with the Yankees’ permission to speak to Aroldis. We have that conversation and the trade was contingent on that conversation. If we had not been satisfied by what we heard from Aroldis, we would not have moved forward on those grounds. Aroldis was really heartfelt in that conversation and I think you can see from his statement that he’s taking responsibility.”
    8. At the first press conference, either the English answers Aroldis gave or the translations of his Spanish answers made it seem like Aroldis didn’t remember that heartfelt conversation, that conversation the trade was contingent on, that conversation which is THE BEST EVIDENCE that the Cubs take these issues Very Seriously.
    9. In talking with another reporter in Spanish later, it came to light that Aroldis really did remember the conversation, he was just kinda groggy about the details because he had just woken up from a nap.

    So, best case scenario, everything was lost in translation and everyone is upset about nothing. Worst case scenario, Theo and Aroldis never had the ‘character’ conversation, and Theo just lied to defend the character of a violent psycho so long as that psycho wins a world series and immortalizes Theo as the Greatest GM of All Time, having defeated the Curse in Boston and Chicago.

    Most likely scenario, Tom and Theo gave Aroldis a call which woke him up from the dream he was having about a boot stomping on a human face forever, and Ricketts told him to keep out of trouble until November 15, and Aroldis pwomised he’d twy his best.

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  18. JonKneeV

    Smokestack Lightning,

    This quote shows just how oblivious he is:

    “It is what it is,” Heyward said. “It’s too late to worry about numbers. That’s not to say I’m not going to try and finish strong. When you do it right and don’t get results, you keep doing it. I feel like I’ve done it but not gotten the results.

    “If you’re hitting the ball hard and not getting results, what else can you do?”

    Um, Jason. Here’s the thing. You aren’t hitting the ball hard.

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  19. Mucker

    Cubs are 32-31 since Gerrit Cole said the Cubs weren’t the best team in baseball. That guy is an asshole.

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  20. Author
    dmick89

    JonKneeV,

    Yeah, that quote is just silly. I’m also pretty fucking sure he isn’t going to spend his offseason correcting his swing either. I’m glad he can play defense. That contract would be even uglier if he couldn’t.

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  21. Rizzo the Rat

    JonKneeV,

    I think you’re being way too hard on him. For one, he has had games where he’s hit into hard outs. If the quote came from after, say, yesterday’s game, it would be different. He seems to have been interviewed after a game in Milwaukee in which he hit a liner to deep right field. For another, he’s well aware that he’s struggling, and I’ve heard he’s working hard off the field on his hitting.

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  22. Rizzo the Rat

    And the Cubs have triedtinkering with Heyward’s approach, e.g., by suggesting he move off the plate a bit.

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  23. Rizzo the Rat

    Heyward is getting taking early BP. Maddon says it’s to work on getting the ball in the air more.

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