CentralChamps21

That was filthy Kopech.

Is that challengeable?

Is the runner allowed to go outside that line to avoid a tag?

Lynn will probably give up 1 or 2 more homers as well just needs to keep guys off base in front of them.

Judge didn't even try to get to that one.

Our offense is such that one bad inning from a starter makes it feel like the game is over.

I'd say that went about 399 ft

Regardless of how much you do or don't know, there's a winning strategy to picking clues and it amazes me how many people don't follow it. If you aren't Daily Double hunting against a really good player you have no chance.

Really? They're going to get a barely above .500 NL East Champ in the NLDS and then face whichever NL West team survived the battle royale in the other half. They're set up pretty well.

If the Cubs had been willing to take Crochet and Sheets for Kimbrel instead of Madrigal, that would have been the trade that happened. I really like Madrigal, but he's gone now so I'm going to focus on the team we have going forward.

Wow, man, it 100% sounds like James Earl Jones.

If they can drag him away from doing Arby's commercials for long enough.

Every starting pitcher on all 30 teams has a huge jump in innings this year given that nobody got more than 12 starts last year. He threw 141.1 innings in 2019 and 124 innings in 2018 so he should be as able to handle it as anybody else.

MLBN is doing special programming all day, and FOX has an hour-long pregame show starting at 5.

Last year's team had to start a guy with 34 career innings in Game 3 because there were no better options. This year's team has to choose between Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease for Game 3. As I said, I'm 100% for giving ReyLo some more starts to keep the starters fresh, but there's still no reason to have Ruiz pitching in a tie game when Kopech, Bummer and Tepera were all available, and there's no reason to sit TA, Moncada and Robert all on the same day, especially vs a pitcher that had recent success against the Sox. None of those guys I just mentioned are in danger of being dead for the playoffs from overuse.

Well, the manager leaving out 3 of the top hitters while facing a pitcher who had recent success against the Sox is just as bad of a decision as pitching Ruiz in the 6th.

No team has 8 relievers who are all good enough to be used in high leverage situations. Ruiz is who you put in when you're up or down by more than 5 runs. Also, they aren't "nothing games" Given the Sox home/road splits, home field advantage is really important. I get that you can't use your best guys 100% of the time, but you can use them in the 6th inning of a tie game and still find time to keep them plenty rested.

Except that they haven't thrown that many innnings. They're a long way from getting burned out. Plus, this was the 6th inning, where those guys wouldn't have been in anyway. Kopech, Bummer and Tepera were all available and better options.

This is going to kill the secondary market for Cubs tickets.

He's been getting on base too much and promptly demoted from the 2nd to the 8th spot in the lineup.

I think shelving Rodon for a while is a good idea, but the relievers aren't in danger of being overworked so there was really no reason to have Ruiz pitch in a 0-0 game, and no reason to sit all of TA, Moncada and Robert against a pitcher the Sox had trouble with recently. There needs to be a balance between trying to get home field advantage and keeping players healthy and right now the pendulum is way too far in one direction.

Tony has clearly prioritized resting his best players and giving the rest a chance to perform in high leverage situations over winning as many games as possible. Only time will tell how well that strategy plays out.

I think all the cars have to get in a miles long line, all with headlights on.

Having the Olympics events occurring almost entirely between 8pm and 10am EDT is going to produce very low ratings, especially in this electronic age where it's really hard not to find out results before they air in prime time. 2022 in China will have the same problem. 2024 in France will be better as the live window will be 3am to 5pm EDT.

Hypothetically speaking, someone who knew in advance that Rodon wasn't pitching today and that TA, Robert and Moncada were all sitting could have gotten really good value on MIN at +155 before it dropped to +130 after those items were made public.