Berselius wrote a preview earlier today for this series that you all should read. Two former teammates get the start tonight and while John Lackey has enjoyed some success with the Cardinals, I'm still not all that impressed by him. The Cubs send Jon Lester to the mound. Lester's ERA and win/loss record weren't what a lot of people hoped for, but his peripherals were right in line with what he'd done in past years.
Lineups
Cubs
Dexter Fowler, CF
Kyle Schwarber, RF (moved to RF after initially set to start in LF)
Kris Bryant, 3B
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Starlin Castro, 2B
Chris Coghlan, LF (moved to LF after initial lineup)
Addison Russell, SS
David Ross, C
Jon Lester, P
Cardinals
Matt Carpenter, 3B
Stephen Piscotty, 1B
Matt Holliday, LF
Jason Heyward, CF
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Randal Grichuk, RF
Yadier Molina, C
Kolten Wong, 2B
John Lackey, P
I'm picking the Cubs 3-1 in this series and I think it starts tonight with a 7-3 win.
Comments
Cubs in 3.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Let’s go offense. I don’t see Lester blanking them. It’s be nice to get to the bullpen tonight in lieu of tomorrow’s game facing Jaime Garcia.
JonKneeVQuote Reply
The Astros or Rangers stumbling into the WS would be a gift to the NL.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
2 hrs 12 min
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Cubs in two because a giant meteor destroys the city of St Louis. It’s a horrific tragedy and all sports and civilization go into indefinite hiatus. The Cubs just escape, but there is no World Series this year what with ten years of winter and economic collapse.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Time to cry havoc and let slip the hogs of war.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Don’t tell me what to do.
berseliusQuote Reply
how is kolten wong defensively?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
UZR and DRS see him as above average. UZR has him below average in error runs and above average in range. Good, not great.
dmick89Quote Reply
https://twitter.com/SamMillerBP/status/652180759080337408
GWQuote Reply
“Whatever farm animal of war, Lana!”
PerkinsQuote Reply
LaTroy Hawkins sighting!
berseliusQuote Reply
I hate replay
GWQuote Reply
1 hr 12 min
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I hate Monday
umbraQuote Reply
I have four long suffering Jays fan friends so this implosion is saddening me. Two of them are young enough to have never seen a Jays postseason game. This really sucks for them.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I like this trend of home teams losing this postseason. I hope it continues.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
You hate how it’s implemented or you hate the idea?
dmick89Quote Reply
THE PREVIOUS COMMENT IS UNDER REVIEW
berseliusQuote Reply
I didn’t realize the Cards have been so good that they’ve reached the playoffs 12 times in the last 6 years. Damn.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Go Cubs go.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
berselius,
(dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
Apparently TBS is showing nothing but Mets highlights.
berseliusQuote Reply
Yeah, I thought I had the wrong channel at first.
dmick89Quote Reply
berselius,
And Pedro reading a grocery list.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Crap, I forgot to put together my leaflet of cheers to mess with Lackey.
MillertimeQuote Reply
So maybe the destroying I spoke of earlier might be a little delayed.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Millertime,
Didn’t figure Lester would be shutting them out. Lester is good, but he’s no Arrieta.
dmick89Quote Reply
Wow. That was a BS strikeout.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Ugh.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Hate when umps double down on the bad calls when someone rightly questions something.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
So if the TBS announcers are to be believed, 17 HR is a big power bat.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Suburban kidQuote Reply
It’s like they hired the worst umpires for the postseason.
dmick89Quote Reply
Shame Heyward made that play since Russell had already seen ball 4.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Sure seems like the Cubs are offensively giving away every third inning.
mylesQuote Reply
Lackey could throw 12 innings at this pace.
dmick89Quote Reply
Maybe those cats will get fed after all…
umbraQuote Reply
That could go either way.
EDIT: But fortunately, it went the right way. And by the right way, I mean the righteous and sacred way that our great nation was founded on.
ceruleanQuote Reply
#NoCatLeftBehind
mylesQuote Reply
Loved the circus play
WaLiQuote Reply
Nice AB by Schwarber. Best one so far for the Cubs.
dmick89Quote Reply
Going to take more than one run to beat the Cubs.
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
Implemented, I suppose, but it is seemingly unavoidable. In every sport, fans think replay will right obvious wrongs that have been bugging them for years, and it does that, but it always introduces a (seemingly) equal or greater number of reviews of things that weren’t even controversial previously. And it changes the game. Receptions in football are now a different thing than they used to be. In baseball, a stolen base is no longer just beating the throw, it’s the fielder holding the tag on in anticipation of that one camera frame in which the runner’s spikes detach a millimeter from the base.
Imagine you had a fly swatting competition. Occasionally a player gets credit for a dead drosophila that ends up living and flying away, and that’s annoying. So you bring in Robert Hooke and his fancy microscope to make sure you “get it right.” Pretty soon, all you are doing is debating ruptured thoraxes and broken tibias and when life ends, and you have a completely different competition. (Extreme analogy, but I think you get the point).
Then there’s the stoppage of play, which is a gigantic deal is timed sports like football and basketball that no one really even talks about (probably because it creates space for more commercials). Not as big a deal in baseball, but still extremely annoying.
GWQuote Reply
GW,
Thanks for explaining. I’m sure I’ve asked you before though. I will say that I don’t like the 2 challenges that you get in the playoffs. That seems unnecessary.
dmick89Quote Reply
Huh. Gameday just said Rizzo missed a bunt. Must be a bug in the system.
MillertimeQuote Reply
This game’s not as fun as the last one.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Some hits would be nice. Or even just one hit.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
It happened…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I’m gonna be pissed if the Cubs get no hit by John Fucking Lackey in the playoffs.
dmick89Quote Reply
At least Lester is keeping them in the game.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Lester is really sharp today, at least.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
This would be a fast game if not for the extra long commercial breaks.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Too slow.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I wish Gameday had an option so that I could toggle the setting to a night background, instead of the daytime background.
MillertimeQuote Reply
We need runs. Pinch-hit for Ross and Lester. Seriously.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
huh. There’s got to be some type of funny joke using the phrase “drag” and “bunt”, but I can’t think of anything right now.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Put in some real hitters. You have a few on the bench. This is dumb.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
3 innings of Cubs bullpen aren’t much worse than Lester the third time through the order anyway
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
+1. NAMBLA.
GWQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
I don’t know if they want to go to the bullpen this early though.
MillertimeQuote Reply
That’s not a strike!
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
ceruleanQuote Reply
Lackless has 7 things up his sleeve tonight.
GWQuote Reply
Millertime,
1. 6th isn’t that early.
2. That AB was very high leverage.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
So much for Maddon being a smart manager.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
ceruleanQuote Reply
I thought Fowler got enough of it.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
It’s the top of the 6th, so it would be 4 bullpen innings. That’s almost half the game. I think that’s too early to pull a pitcher like Lester, when it’s only a 1 run game.
MillertimeQuote Reply
I hate the cardinals.
mylesQuote Reply
I imagine Maddon thinks that Lester has two innings left. With four bottom halves to go, I’m fine with that.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Millertime,
It’s too high leverage to give away outs. It’s the third time through the order for Lester. The bullpen is well-rested.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
cerulean,
It’s not a matter of Lester having something left. They are behind. They need runs.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
But I only trust a portion of the bullpen, the portion that doesn’t come into the game in the sixth inning. And given the way the ball is flying out of here, this game may go into extras.
ceruleanQuote Reply
That bunt was fucking brilliant.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Schwarber bunt-single! I love this guy.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I wonder if Bryant is the last hitter Lackey faces. Would probably be a smart move by St. Louis.
MillertimeQuote Reply
1. Bullpen would have to be way worse than Lester to justify letting him hit.
2. Starters are much worse the third time through the order.
3. The wind if blowing in. The ball isn’t flying out at all.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
This must be what the Pirates fans felt like on Wed.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Big if true.
umbraQuote Reply
Millertime,
Yes. They really shouldn’t have let Cole hit that last time.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Nice play, Rizzo.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I’m with RtR on the pinch hitting thing. Both Ross and Lester should have been pinch hit for, but Maddon has been pretty poor at that sort of thing all year. Probably his entire career based on how much mgl complained about him. He does a lot of things well, but not that.
dmick89Quote Reply
Were the bfibs booing there?
uncle daveQuote Reply
This ump is a fucking chump.
mylesQuote Reply
Hmmm. I really hope the Cubs come back and pull this one out, because Garcia seems like a tough matchup. Lefty, low walk, high groundball seems like the winning recipe to neutralize the Cubs.
MillertimeQuote Reply
This strike zone is Carlos Marmol’s wet dream.
berseliusQuote Reply
Crap.
MillertimeQuote Reply
fahhh
GWQuote Reply
Fuck.
mylesQuote Reply
Lester still in to pitch against Carpenter? Ok…?
MillertimeQuote Reply
Im out.
mylesQuote Reply
https://mobile.twitter.com/mitchellichtman/status/652652727781183488
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Why was Lester out to pitch the 8th in the first place?
dmick89Quote Reply
Double dukes.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Maybe the ball is flying out, after all.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Jesus
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
I can see leaving him in to face Wong, since Wong is LH, but probably should have been taken out after that. His pitch count wasn’t exactly low.
MillertimeQuote Reply
When sorrows come, they come not single spies. But in battalions!
MillertimeQuote Reply
Bullshit.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Biggest winner of the game was Cuzzi’s bullshit strike zone. Honorable mention to easy Pedro Strop narratives.
Biggest loser was my dtv signal, which decided to be shitty tonight with all of two clouds in the sky.
berseliusQuote Reply
Schwarber and Lester did their jobs. They didn’t get any help.
dmick89Quote Reply
Yeah, that zone was awful.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
It’s one of those situations where the Cubs hitters’ great eye at the plate works against them. They know those weren’t strikes so it fucks up their approach all night.
berseliusQuote Reply
Both Cubs game have had awful strike zones. WTF. How do they pick umps in the playoffs?
WaLiQuote Reply
berselius,
Yep. I imagine when a known ball gets called a strike it fucks up your whole approach. You could see it on the Cubs faces all game. I would have loved Maddon to go out there and argue.
WaLiQuote Reply
Millertime,
Shaka when the walls fell, my frent.
berseliusQuote Reply
Well that sucked
joshQuote Reply
Having my dad here with me for a self-similar reaction of umpire related bitching did not help (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
I’d normally be excited to see Kershaw pitch, but I don’t think I can take any more baseball right now.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
berselius,
Yeah my uncle was over doing the same
WaLiQuote Reply
You’re pathetic.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Suburban kid,
No name calling. I’m watching you.
dmick89Quote Reply
I’m starting to think my Cubs in 3 might not happen.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Don’t give into the devil magic.
dmick89Quote Reply
Brett actually has a pretty good article talking about the strike zone last night. Sounds like while the zone was called incorrectly, it was in line with how the typical strike zone gets called. The bigger difference was Lackey was able to do a better job than Lester of taking advantage of it.
MillertimeQuote Reply
dmick89,
You gotta keep the devil/
Way down in the hole
Remember the time everyone was making baking jokes out of The Wire lines? Good times.
MillertimeQuote Reply
Indeed.
dmick89Quote Reply
Those charts do show quite a few balls out of the typical zone still being called strikes. Cuzzi did a terrible job last night, but from what I could tell, he was terrible for both teams. Lackey missed his spots multiple times last night. Lester did a pretty good job of hitting his spots with a couple exceptions. If Lackey did a better job, it was in part because he was luckier. Then again, to pitch as well as he did, he had to be lucky since, well, he’s John Fucking Lackey.
Still can’t figure out why Lester was out there in the 8th inning last night. Pretty much blew any hope I had of him coming back on short rest in game 4. There’s a good chance the Cubs will be down 2-1 now entering that 4th game and the Cubs have to rely on Jason Hammel. Funny how one game changes someone’s perspective. A win today will fix those things, but that’s going to be tough. I thought this was the toughest matchup in the series, but I also assumed Lester on short rest in game 4.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Yeah, that 8th inning was a head scratcher. I mean, obviously hindsight makes the move look even worse, but what an odd decision to leave him in for anything beyond the first batter. He was over 100 pitches, he was going to be pulled anyways, and the bullpen was as rested as could be.
MillertimeQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
Fowler
Soler
Bryant
Rizzo
Castro
Jackson
Montero
Hendricks
Russell
berseliusQuote Reply
I’d have to dustoff the ban hammer if he said he looked tired.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I take Hendricks’ hitting eighth to mean he has a very short leash. That’s encouraging, I guess.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
new game thread: http://obstructedview.net/nlds-cubs-cardinals-game-2/
dmick89Quote Reply