When considering the Astros are better than their record suggests while the Cubs are essentially playing shorthanded, it’s been an impressive series so far
If the Cubs can keep banking wins against good teams while playing shorthanded, I like their chances later in the season when the schedule lightens up and theyโre closer to full strength.
I was arguing with some Bears fan coworkers that if the bears pick anyone at 9 instead of trading down, it’s a big win for the Packers. But we all agreed that if the Vikings end up drafting JJ McCarthy it’s a win for all of us (dying laughing)
I did not see the play but it appears the RF may have been able to catch the ball on the fly, so he might have been in no-man’s land, plus the little stumpy legs don’t help
It was a tough ball placement, but the fielder got there, and also likely shielded the ball from Madrigal at first so he couldn’t see that he missed it right away.
I also am (dying laughing) at the Trevor Bauer brigade who jumped out of the gates demanding teams sign him when the first few big-name pitchers went down with injuries but have since shut their stupid faces now that theyโve seen that not even a pitcher-injury pandemic is enough to make teams consider administering the human equivalent of horse dewormer.
What warms my heart is that Iโm positive all thirty front offices have a valuation model showing heโs expected to be worth less than the league minimum when factoring in the negative value of press, clubhouse impact, his Twitter beefing/bullying, and his generally being a human landfill.
As opposed to 2008 when baseball analytics was in its relative infancy and I was sure of collusion to keep Barry Bonds out, I think thereโs real and independent statistical rigor here and itโs hilarious.
Series Mini-Preview: Chicago Cubs (16-9) at Boston Red Sox (14-12)
The Sox started off hot but have been kind of bodied by injuries. Sounds familiar.
Matchups
Friday: Shota vs Kutter Crawford, 6:10 PM CT
Saturday: Probably A Bullpen Day vs Josh Wicknowski, 3:10 PM CT
Sunday: Jordan Wicks vs Tanner Houck, 6:10 PM CT (ESPN)
If I were a bears fan I would have wanted them to trade down to get more bodies, but they should definitely be much more fun than they’ve been recently. The big question will be if the bears fanbase gets high on its own supply and blames Caleb Williams if he isn’t CJ Stroud 2.0 right out of the gate (dying laughing). Should be a fun couple of years.
I think the Sox are also having a weird thing where they’re no longer playing Yoshida in the OF so he DHs exclusively or sits when Devers has to DH, it’s probably not very comfortable for them right now.
The writing on the wall in free agency was they were going to add depth that way and go for elite skills in the draft. And Iโve long been a huge fan of overkill at one position (peak Burrow-era Bengals are the avatar) if it can make life difficult on the opposition. I just donโt know how you defend this WR group.
Vikings trading up for JJ McCarthy is a big win for both of us
Iโm not sure. Having watched all of McCarthyโs games, heโs basically Kirk Cousins Jr. imho. I thought the Rams, Vikings, or Falcons would try hard to get him though I didnโt think Minnesota needed to trade up again last night to get him. Iโm certainly glad theyโve shedded so many picks, but I think heโll work well in that system.
McCarthy is the guy Atlanta should have taken if they wanted a QB because heโs 15 years younger than Penix, he could benefit greatly from a year or three of development (he simply rarely needed to throw very much at Michigan), and Cousins is the freaking ideal mentor for him.
We were attempting to watch old school Total Recall but I guess we have to reset our router, anyway was watching the Cubs game on very low volume so assuming the broadcasters were behaving themselves
Comments
When considering the Astros are better than their record suggests while the Cubs are essentially playing shorthanded, it’s been an impressive series so far
Rice CubeQuote Reply
If the Cubs can keep banking wins against good teams while playing shorthanded, I like their chances later in the season when the schedule lightens up and theyโre closer to full strength.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Shota All-Star dude
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Ha!
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
OK fine I get it I’m old
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Damn Peavy.
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PerkinsQuote Reply
Awesome, NFL draft coverage is almost over.
I was arguing with some Bears fan coworkers that if the bears pick anyone at 9 instead of trading down, it’s a big win for the Packers. But we all agreed that if the Vikings end up drafting JJ McCarthy it’s a win for all of us (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
Can’t really rely on the Pirates for anything I’m afraid
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I watch this once every couple days now because it’s just so off the wall (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Looks like Pat Hugh is shunning the Astros entirely.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I don’t hate on Zaidman as much as others but it would be great if Elise could Wally Pipp him in the peanut gallery (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
NOBL, let’s go Busch
berseliusQuote Reply
NOBLETIGER ftl
berseliusQuote Reply
Making Verlander work is good, not scoring is bad
Rice CubeQuote Reply
If Pat Hughes is going to miss this many games, the Cubs need a legitimate play-by-play back up that isnโt human Covid.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Hire Len back
Rice CubeQuote Reply
andcounting,
They’ll probably just bring back Judd Sirott (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
I know Verlander is good, but the Cubs really need to start cashing in on these opportunities.
PerkinsQuote Reply
berselius,
I would settle for that a million times out of a million if it meant Zaidman would be gone.
andcountingQuote Reply
Perkins,
JV getting strikes called three inches outside the zone isn’t helping either (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
andcounting,
I guess at least with Sirott we got the entertainment of how bad Santo was at disguising how much he despised him (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
(dying laughing), that skill was definitely left out of Santoโs toolbox. (dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
Hell of an AB by Amaya, even though he struck out.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Probably cost Verlander the win.
andcountingQuote Reply
Love seeing the Cubs chase JV early.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Now let’s score please
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Pirates were useless, Reds lost, hoping for these runs please
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Sigh
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Cubs rising to the Strand The Most Baserunners challenge
berseliusQuote Reply
This would be the first shutout of the year for the Cubs and I am going to be annoyed about it (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Very annoying that call isnโt reviewable.
andcountingQuote Reply
Very much appreciate what Assad did today
Rice CubeQuote Reply
BABIP dragon giving some love back to the Cubs
berseliusQuote Reply
E-stros
berseliusQuote Reply
Run(s)?!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Tough break for Madrigal
berseliusQuote Reply
Madrigal is dumb.
andcountingQuote Reply
PCA!!!!
berseliusQuote Reply
Fuck yeah, PCA
PerkinsQuote Reply
As the Crow flies!
andcountingQuote Reply
berseliusQuote Reply
Enjoyable
Rice CubeQuote Reply
berselius,
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I did not see the play but it appears the RF may have been able to catch the ball on the fly, so he might have been in no-man’s land, plus the little stumpy legs don’t help
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
That was my read while watching it – he may have gone too far back toward first, but it was a tough ball to make a decision on as a baserunner.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
It was a tough ball placement, but the fielder got there, and also likely shielded the ball from Madrigal at first so he couldn’t see that he missed it right away.
berseliusQuote Reply
Holy cow Wesneski with the elite PFP skills
berseliusQuote Reply
Wesneski!
andcountingQuote Reply
Let him finish the game!
berseliusQuote Reply
farts, Neris again
berseliusQuote Reply
Not sure Iโll ever have peace while Neris pitches.
andcountingQuote Reply
Jesus fucking Christ.
andcountingQuote Reply
berselius,
berseliusQuote Reply
berseliusQuote Reply
Fly the W(hew).
andcountingQuote Reply
No doubt about it
berseliusQuote Reply
PCA got his ball back in exchange for a signed bat, pretty cool day and story for everyone
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I’m happy with how the draft unfolded for the rest of the nfc north
berseliusQuote Reply
The play in question earlier suggests Madrigal was mostly a victim of circumstance but too bad he wasn’t faster
https://www.mlb.com/cubs/video/rafael-montero-in-play-run-s-to-miguel-amaya?t=t112-default-vtp
Rice CubeQuote Reply
The Wesneski play would probably earn him a Gold Glove
https://www.mlb.com/cubs/video/jose-altuve-bunt-grounds-out-softly-pitcher-hayden-wesneski-to-first-base?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
Rice CubeQuote Reply
berselius,
(dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
He was running too hard too early back to first. Dumbrigal.
andcountingQuote Reply
I also am (dying laughing) at the Trevor Bauer brigade who jumped out of the gates demanding teams sign him when the first few big-name pitchers went down with injuries but have since shut their stupid faces now that theyโve seen that not even a pitcher-injury pandemic is enough to make teams consider administering the human equivalent of horse dewormer.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
What warms my heart is that Iโm positive all thirty front offices have a valuation model showing heโs expected to be worth less than the league minimum when factoring in the negative value of press, clubhouse impact, his Twitter beefing/bullying, and his generally being a human landfill.
As opposed to 2008 when baseball analytics was in its relative infancy and I was sure of collusion to keep Barry Bonds out, I think thereโs real and independent statistical rigor here and itโs hilarious.
PerkinsQuote Reply
andcounting,
Vikings trading up for JJ McCarthy is a big win for both of us ๐ค
berseliusQuote Reply
Series Mini-Preview: Chicago Cubs (16-9) at Boston Red Sox (14-12)
The Sox started off hot but have been kind of bodied by injuries. Sounds familiar.
Matchups
Friday: Shota vs Kutter Crawford, 6:10 PM CT
Saturday: Probably A Bullpen Day vs Josh Wicknowski, 3:10 PM CT
Sunday: Jordan Wicks vs Tanner Houck, 6:10 PM CT (ESPN)
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
If I were a bears fan I would have wanted them to trade down to get more bodies, but they should definitely be much more fun than they’ve been recently. The big question will be if the bears fanbase gets high on its own supply and blames Caleb Williams if he isn’t CJ Stroud 2.0 right out of the gate (dying laughing). Should be a fun couple of years.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I think the Sox are also having a weird thing where they’re no longer playing Yoshida in the OF so he DHs exclusively or sits when Devers has to DH, it’s probably not very comfortable for them right now.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
andcounting,
I don’t think he saw the ball, I guess we can agree it was a dumb play (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
They were talking about Cubs whose first career hit was a home run, this one comes to mind…
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN201005070.shtml
That was around when I first hung out with this here website and it really is too bad he turned out to be a somewhat questionable character
Rice CubeQuote Reply
At least I got to use Joe Borowski
โพ๏ธ Immaculate Grid 390 9/9:
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PerkinsQuote Reply
berselius,
The writing on the wall in free agency was they were going to add depth that way and go for elite skills in the draft. And Iโve long been a huge fan of overkill at one position (peak Burrow-era Bengals are the avatar) if it can make life difficult on the opposition. I just donโt know how you defend this WR group.
andcountingQuote Reply
I am failure
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
Iโm not sure. Having watched all of McCarthyโs games, heโs basically Kirk Cousins Jr. imho. I thought the Rams, Vikings, or Falcons would try hard to get him though I didnโt think Minnesota needed to trade up again last night to get him. Iโm certainly glad theyโve shedded so many picks, but I think heโll work well in that system.
McCarthy is the guy Atlanta should have taken if they wanted a QB because heโs 15 years younger than Penix, he could benefit greatly from a year or three of development (he simply rarely needed to throw very much at Michigan), and Cousins is the freaking ideal mentor for him.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Cousins seems super enthused about having a different young qb to mentor (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Kirk Cousins yelling in tunnel dot gif
Rice CubeQuote Reply
They should’ve committed to the hashtag, oh well
Rice CubeQuote Reply
A wild lineup appears:
2B Hoerner
RF Tauchman
LF Happ
3B Morel
1B Busch
SS Swanson
DH Mervis
C Amaya
CF PCA
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Wade Miley —–> TJS
berseliusQuote Reply
Wade Miley –> TJS
I didn’t even think he threw hard enough but I guess that doesn’t matter
Rice CubeQuote Reply
berselius,
This is what I get for not reading every post
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Still no Pat Hughes – zaidman mentioned yesterday that Pat had to deal with a family issue, I hope everyone is okay.
berseliusQuote Reply
Here’s hoping Boog and JD are tolerable tonight then
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Shลta is ridiculously entertaining.
andcountingQuote Reply
I’m somehow getting the local ads instead of the MLB-inserted ones – miss u Woodman’s
berseliusQuote Reply
The Cubs offense seems so annoying to face. Theyโre pesky af.
andcountingQuote Reply
Pour it on fellas
berseliusQuote Reply
We were attempting to watch old school Total Recall but I guess we have to reset our router, anyway was watching the Cubs game on very low volume so assuming the broadcasters were behaving themselves
Rice CubeQuote Reply
M ——> inverted
berseliusQuote Reply
Dominant performance. One run, two pitchers.
andcountingQuote Reply
Imanaga ERA actually went up after that (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Bust, fire Theo
berseliusQuote Reply
Yankees so useless
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Yay Cubs, boo Yankees.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Feel like I could’ve done better
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
2B Morel
RF Tauchman
LF Happ
3B Morel
1B Busch
SS Swanson
DH Mervis
C Gomes
CF PCA
SP Brown
berseliusQuote Reply
Rockies get an extra roster spot today (for international game?), so they used their extra roster spot to call up…..a position player.
Gotta zag when people zig I guess (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Perhaps they figure their guys are gonna give up runs no matter what so they’ll just exhaust the arms they already have and option them afterwards?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
If they’re playing in Mexico City that’s akin to playing on the moon anyway so it doesn’t matter who pitches (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
New stuff –> https://www.obstructedview.net/random-thoughts-on-a-saturday/
Rice CubeQuote Reply