Cubs Are Good At Avoiding the Sweep

By
Rice Cube
-
95

Speaks for itself! The Cubs haven’t been swept since the Tokyo series, and haven’t lost three in a row since over a week ago. So even as the Milwaukee Brewers have been channeling their devil magic and the Dodgers have been useless at the most inopportune time, the Cubs remain in first place and need to win just one game against the Yankees to guarantee they’ll stay there through the All-Star Break.

95 COMMENTS

  7. To-day’s hapless based ball squadron versing south paw Rodon

    2B Hoerner
    RF Tucker
    LF Suzuki
    C Kelly
    CF PCA
    SS Swandong
    DH Turner
    1B Busch
    3B Berti

    SP Johnny Wholestaff

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  10. Rice Cube,

    The list of people more beloved by the people they sincerely ripped to shreds must be pretty short.

    Unlike Don Rickles, there was nothing tongue in cheek about Elia. (Nate and RC, you’ll have to Google Rickles.)

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  14. The players in and adjacent to the Kyle Tucker trade have already hit 47 homers off the Cubs this year in 4 games.

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  16. BVS,

    berselius,

    Some no name, no option pitcher who I’ve already expunged from my memory and am too disgusted right now to look up.

    Good for Cody though. Cool dude. Hope he goes 0-fer the rest of the series.

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  17. Hm

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  18. That’s kind of terrible. I don’t care if all 5 starts were perfect games with 27 strikeouts. MLB needs to have some sort of reasonable playing time attached to season awards/ASG appearance.

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  23. BVS,

    berselius,

    dmick89,

    They should have named Cody Poteet an AllStar. After all, he’s responsible for 3.0WAR .285, .498, .838 slash and 16HR this year. The Yankees haven’t had that kind of Offensive production from a pitcher since the Babe.

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  24. B’oh

    Daily Walkoff ⚾️
    Cubs #316

    🟡🟡🟢🟡
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    🟡🟢🟢🟡⚫️
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    dailywalkoff.com

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  26. It’s a dumb exhibition game, not gonna sweat it too much. Hopefully he pitches and has his schedule fucked with.

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  31. My sources conflict, but that was either a 27- or 28-pitch first inning for Fried. (I suspect the gameday count has an extra in there, as they had to correct a pitch they erroneously counted as a strike.)

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  33. Y’all should check out Cody Bellinger’s home/away splits. His OPS at home is .957. On the road it’s .705. For context, Isaac Paredes’s same splits are .844/.807. If we relitigate the salary dump on the pod, it’s worth keeping in mind that his value as a Yankee is a unicorn, especially at his salary.

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  42. There’s nothing quite as enjoyable as the six seconds between Zach Zaidman telling us that something is happening, and Zach Zaidman deciding to tell us what that something was.

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  44. Rice Cube,

    I don’t know if you’ve noticed that his energy is particularly off in New York. He gets really excited when the Yankees or Mets hit homers and ridiculously subdued when the Cubs turn double plays or strike guys out.

    At some point I’m going to lose my capacity for hiding my disdain for that dude. (dying laughing)

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  53. andcounting,

    My record may be broken, but my axe is not yet sharp.

    I’d take Bellinger’s road OPS over, say, Justin Turner, who has played a lot of 1b. And I’d have Happ sit a little more often too, which would create other ABs for Bellinger. Plus we’d have a backup CF not named Brujan

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  58. BVS,

    I’d *rather* have Bellinger, but for $25 million? Or for $19 million more than what Turner costs? If they still wind up using that money on an upgrade at starter or 3B at the trade deadline it still looks good on the final ledger. (Evaluating this on the GM level; on the organizational level they could pay for literally anyone for any purpose without blinking.)

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  66. Like anyone remembers Berg and Beliveau (dying laughing)

    I knew of them, just not when they made their brief stints

    Daily Walkoff ⚾️
    Cubs #317

    “Draft Day”
    🟢🟡🟡🟢
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    dailywalkoff.com

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  81. The winning pitchers in this series collectively went 23 innings and gave up one run. Against these two offenses, that’s some damn impressive pitching.

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  85. BVS: Good for Cody though. Cool dude. Hope he goes 0-fer the rest of the series.

    Almost! 1-8, along for the ride on Judge’s HR yesterday. Acceptable.

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  87. Re: first round pick Ethan Roberts, Cubs don’t pick again for a while

    Seaver King landed in the first round after transferring from a small school to Wake Forest a year ago, and Conrad could be on the same path. He slashed .389/.467/.704 with nine homers and a NCAA Division I-leading 13 triples (including a record four in one game) at Marist last spring, then finished second in the Cape Cod League in batting (.385) and OPS (.919). He continued to rake this spring until injuring his throwing shoulder diving for a ball in March and having season-ending surgery a month later. Conrad makes repeated contact with a simple left-handed swing and gap-to-gap approach. He’s an aggressive hitter who chases all types of pitches out of the zone, yet his uncanny hand-eye coordination helps him compensate. A physical 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he has the strength and solid bat speed to provide at least average power, though there are some concerns that he doesn’t drive balls in the air to his pull side very often. Conrad is a threat to steal and will flash some plus run times, but his speed plays more as solid. Though he spent most of his sophomore season at first base, he covers plenty of ground on the outfield corners and is capable in center field. He has average arm strength and probably fits best in right field.

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  88. berselius,

    BVS,

    I was surprised to see them draft an OF. Oh well,, I don’t even remember who they drafted last year and I’m certainly not conflicted about having traded him.

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  90. Surface level observations…

    At the All-Star break, having played 96 games (66 remain), the Cubs are 57-39 with a one-game lead in the NL Central. They currently hold one of the bye positions (second seed because the Giants sucked today) and the best run differential in MLB at +119. Winning records at home and away, albeit a 27-28 record against “good” (.500+) teams though I guess that would no longer count the A’s and Diamondbacks who were above .500 earlier in the season.

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  93. Hmm, this is a weird pick…Kane Kepley

    Listed at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, Kepley received no NCAA Division I scholarship offers because of his small stature. He quickly claimed a starting job as a walk-on at Liberty in 2023 and broke out last season, when he led Conference USA with 53 walks and 25 steals before earning All-Star accolades in the Cape Cod League. After transferring to North Carolina, he has had a somewhat disappointing junior season while hitting the ball with little authority. Kepley is an on-base machine who executes quality swing decisions from the left side of the plate. He excels at putting the bat on the ball, especially within the strike zone, and rarely chases pitches. His lack of physicality and flat swing lead to worries about how much impact he’ll make at the plate, though he does have some sneaky bat speed and strength that could give him some modest pull power. Kepley plays with constant energy and looks to make things happen on the bases with his plus speed. He also will make highlight plays in center field, where his quickness and fine instincts give him plenty of range. His arm is below average but playable in center.

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  94. Oooh, Dominick Reid (and that’s it for day one)

    Reid pitched just 19 1/3 innings in two seasons at Oklahoma State, prompting his decision to transfer to Abilene Christian. He became the Wildcats’ Friday starter this spring and set the program’s NCAA Division I record with 112 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. After allowing one run in his final three starts, including seven shutout innings with 12 whiffs against Utah Valley in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, he should become Abilene Christian’s highest Draft pick since 1969 third-rounder Bill Gilbreth — the lone big leaguer in school history. Reid does a nice job of moving his running fastball around the strike zone, working at 91-94 mph and reaching 96 with the ability to get carry at the letters or sink at the knees. He throws his best pitch, an 82-84 mph changeup with fade and sink, nearly as much as his heater and will double and triple up on it, even against right-handers. He led all NCAA Division I pitchers with 66 strikeouts via the cambio. He doesn’t have nearly as much trust in a slurvy low-80s breaking ball that rarely fools hitters. With a strong 6-foot-3 frame and an athletic delivery that he repeats well, Reid provides consistent strikes. His fastball can catch too much of the plate at times, so he needs to command his heater to set up his changeup and find success. He’ll probably need to come up with a better breaker to remain in the rotation at the next level.

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