I'm sure Cubs won't come out and say this, but this probably means no more Schwarber vs LHP. He's struck out in half of his ABs vs LHP.

 

Dont let Robin know that you are allowed to sit LH bats against LHP

Cubs acquire Austin Jackson from Mariners.

 

More Cubs brilliance. They add solid pieces without dipping into their farm system cache.

ESPN Chicago poll of best pitcher in Chicago (as of 2 minutes ago):

Jake Arrietta - 62%

Chris Sale - 38%

 

Not sure I agree with that.

More Cubs brilliance. They add solid pieces without dipping into their farm system cache.

 

They certainly have taken full advantage of international signing loopholes.

ESPN Chicago poll of best pitcher in Chicago (as of 2 minutes ago):

Jake Arrietta - 62%

Chris Sale - 38%

 

Not sure I agree with that.

 

Don't sweat this.

It's amazing how awful the pitching is in the NL for these bottom 6 teams. Blue Jays might average 10 runs a game vs them

ESPN Chicago poll of best pitcher in Chicago (as of 2 minutes ago):

Jake Arrietta - 62%

Chris Sale - 38%

 

Not sure I agree with that.

yet another pitcher that couldn't hack it in the AL and is now dominating the minor leagues, I mean National League

The M's weren't planning to keep Jackson after this season, despite the fact that they don't have a ready replacement for him in their system.

 

Basically, the Cubs should be the subject of Moneyball 2, with the "niche" being the ability to bring in youngish veterans like Arrieta, Montero, Coghlan, Strop, Grimm, Edwards, Ramirez, etc.

 

For all the hype around Bryant, Schwarber, Soler, Russell, Baez, Almora, etc., none of them have quite lived up to the expectations 100%. We've seen a very solid season out of Bryant, but the White Sox have had hitters like Quentin, Beckham and Viciedo never reach their full potential. There's no guarantee Schwarber will be a superstar, look at what Soler did last year and compare it to his Avi Garcia impression (albeit better defense) this year.

 

They've had misfires with players like Olt, Edwin Jackson, Baez, Almora, Soler, Alcantara, Lake, etc.

 

Just like with Mulder/Zito/Hudson, their starting pitching and bullpen have carried them more than the offense. They've also won more one run games (I think) than any team in baseball.

 

For now, with Arrieta on a Jose Contreras/Bumgarner-like run, anything is possible, but for all that strength up front, there's questions about Lester holding runners, the back end of the rotation, how the bullpen will hold up under playoff pressure, etc.

 

The Pirates are a playoff experienced-team, they'll undoubtedly be starting Cole at home, where they have a huge homefield advantage. It should be a good game, but all those Cubs' future "superstar" hitters like Bryant, Schwarber and Russell will look increasingly human in the playoffs. Remember how good the White Sox offense was in 2000? This Cubs' team isn't even close, and they were absolutely shut down by the Mariners that post-season.

 

 

Nice to see Grimm implode

Grimm is yet another guy that sucked in the AL and has being doing his best wade davis impersonation since joining the cubs in 2013

Don't sweat this.

I don't. I'm pretty sure the 62% - 38% is close to the breakdown of Cubs fans and Sox fans in the city. Just voting the party line.

More Cubs brilliance. They add solid pieces without dipping into their farm system cache.

I'm pretty sure you're incapable of posting without talking about how something is "genius", "brilliant", or "the greatest thing ever".

 

ESPN Chicago poll of best pitcher in Chicago (as of 2 minutes ago):

Jake Arrietta - 62%

Chris Sale - 38%

 

Not sure I agree with that.

Arrieta has certainly made this race a lot closer than it was at the beginning of the year, but Sale is still the clear winner right now. Those same voters would probably (incorrectly) vote Greinke over Kershaw too.

Edited September 1, 201510 yr by OmarComing25

This is like the opposite of last night

Cubs have now lost 5 of 6 and starting next Monday begin a brutal stretch in which they play the Cards, Pirates, and Royals 14 of 21 games. They better hope Arrieta doesn't lose his mojo in September otherwise things could get very interesting. Outside of 6 games with the Dodgers, Giants schedule the rest of the way is extremely soft. I could see them putting together a run of something like 20-11 over their last 31 games.

The M's weren't planning to keep Jackson after this season, despite the fact that they don't have a ready replacement for him in their system.

 

Basically, the Cubs should be the subject of Moneyball 2, with the "niche" being the ability to bring in youngish veterans like Arrieta, Montero, Coghlan, Strop, Grimm, Edwards, Ramirez, etc.

 

For all the hype around Bryant, Schwarber, Soler, Russell, Baez, Almora, etc., none of them have quite lived up to the expectations 100%. We've seen a very solid season out of Bryant, but the White Sox have had hitters like Quentin, Beckham and Viciedo never reach their full potential. There's no guarantee Schwarber will be a superstar, look at what Soler did last year and compare it to his Avi Garcia impression (albeit better defense) this year.

 

They've had misfires with players like Olt, Edwin Jackson, Baez, Almora, Soler, Alcantara, Lake, etc.

 

Just like with Mulder/Zito/Hudson, their starting pitching and bullpen have carried them more than the offense. They've also won more one run games (I think) than any team in baseball.

 

For now, with Arrieta on a Jose Contreras/Bumgarner-like run, anything is possible, but for all that strength up front, there's questions about Lester holding runners, the back end of the rotation, how the bullpen will hold up under playoff pressure, etc.

 

The Pirates are a playoff experienced-team, they'll undoubtedly be starting Cole at home, where they have a huge homefield advantage. It should be a good game, but all those Cubs' future "superstar" hitters like Bryant, Schwarber and Russell will look increasingly human in the playoffs. Remember how good the White Sox offense was in 2000? This Cubs' team isn't even close, and they were absolutely shut down by the Mariners that post-season.

 

 

Bryant is putting up a 5+ WAR season in his rookie year. What are you talking about?

Bryant is putting up a 5+ WAR season in his rookie year. What are you talking about?

People look at his batting average, but fail to recognize he's a plus fielder, baserunner, and hitter. I'm pretty sure he has completely lived up to the hype.

People look at his batting average, but fail to recognize he's a plus fielder, baserunner, and hitter. I'm pretty sure he has completely lived up to the hype.

 

The hype was near Ruthian.

 

Despite that, he's been great. We'll see if he gets hit by a sophomore slump like Abreu.

The hype was near Ruthian.

 

Despite that, he's been great. We'll see if he gets hit by a sophomore slump like Abreu.

I don't know what sophomore slump you're referring to.

People look at his batting average, but fail to recognize he's a plus fielder, baserunner, and hitter. I'm pretty sure he has completely lived up to the hype.

 

Plus defender? No, no he's not. No metric says he is.

Edited September 1, 201510 yr by Dunt

I don't know what sophomore slump you're referring to.

 

From Zeus to Hercules.

People look at his batting average, but fail to recognize he's a plus fielder, baserunner, and hitter. I'm pretty sure he has completely lived up to the hype.

I wouldn't call him a plus fielder. And I think it's his strikeouts that turn people off more than his average.

From Zeus to Hercules.

I suppose you could call it a slump since he, statistically, is having a worse season than 2014, but he is still having a very strong season

Plus defender? No, no he's not. No metric says he is.

Misread the stat. He's runs above a replacement, and that's mostly due to his position. In left he would be below, but still worth it overall, obviously.

I suppose you could call it a slump since he, statistically, is having a worse season than 2014, but he is still having a very strong season

He had a rough stretch when the Sox weren't hitting, but he's still having a strong season.

The hype was near Ruthian.

 

Despite that, he's been great. We'll see if he gets hit by a sophomore slump like Abreu.

 

If Abreu is in a slump now, that would be awesome. I think he leveled out after the league had more experience with him, but we will see. It's the difference between potentially being a top 5 hitter in baseball or just a top 5 hitter in the divsion.