MLB: 2020 Chicago Cubs Season Thread

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ClonesTwenty1

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May 23, 2018
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They already had to do 55 games in 52 days I read. If they have to cancel this series, that’s a lot of games.
There has to come a point where it’s just not going to work out for them and they have to shut their season down. It’s out of hand for them.
 

1UNI2ISU

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Jan 30, 2013
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Waterloo
Cubs are flying home this afternoon. I'm guessing no games until Tuesday in Cleveland. St Louis is going to be lucky to get 45 in.
 

isucy86

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Apr 13, 2006
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Cubs are flying home this afternoon. I'm guessing no games until Tuesday in Cleveland. St Louis is going to be lucky to get 45 in.

IMO MLB probably needs to set it's policy for teams like the Cardinals and Marlins. Will division standings be based on wins or win %. Or require a certain # of games played to be considered division champ.

The other option is to push back playoffs 7 days and insert a 7 day break in the first week of September for teams like the Marlins and Cards to make up games.

I would hate to see an extended break between regular season and playoffs to get make-up games in.
 

tm3308

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Jun 13, 2010
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IMO MLB probably needs to set it's policy for teams like the Cardinals and Marlins. Will division standings be based on wins or win %. Or require a certain # of games played to be considered division champ.

The other option is to push back playoffs 7 days and insert a 7 day break in the first week of September for teams like the Marlins and Cards to make up games.

I would hate to see an extended break between regular season and playoffs to get make-up games in.

When there is an outbreak following players breaking protocols, those games need to be either cancelled and not counted, or they need to be forfeit. Personally, I favor forfeit. That's a very clear way to incentivize responsible behavior and encourage players and staff to hold each other accountable. That goes for teams like the Marlins and Cardinals, who broke off-field protocols, and potentially for the A's and Astros, should those teams suffer outbreaks as a result of today's brawl (although I sympathize more with the A's in that situation, neither side is innocent if an outbreak happens as a result).
 

CyPunch

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May 3, 2019
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The best case scenario has the Cardinals starting Thursday. That's 46 days until the end of the regular season and they have 55 games left to play to reach 60. Cancel that dumb organization.
 

CYdTracked

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Mar 23, 2006
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Grimes, IA
Curious to see what kinds of pros/cons come from teams having games postponed. The extra rest beneficial or for a team like the Cubs that are off to a hot start does it mess with their timing and momentum? It will allow them to reset their rotation so they can have their preferred starting pitcher matchups with the 4 game set with Milwaukee this week which for the standings getting 3 of those 4 would be huge.
 

CYdTracked

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Mar 23, 2006
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Lester seems to be recreating himself as a pitcher late in his career. I know it's just 3 starts in a weird season but he's getting outs without throwing a ton of pitches or having to strike guys out. I have been skeptical of Happ being a long term player on this team but Ross keeps putting him out there and he is producing so far.

What is crazy right now is the struggles of Bryant and Rizzo at the top of the order which are 2 of the best hitters on the team yet they are still scoring a lot of runs most nights.
 

tm3308

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Jun 13, 2010
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Lester seems to be recreating himself as a pitcher late in his career. I know it's just 3 starts in a weird season but he's getting outs without throwing a ton of pitches or having to strike guys out. I have been skeptical of Happ being a long term player on this team but Ross keeps putting him out there and he is producing so far.

What is crazy right now is the struggles of Bryant and Rizzo at the top of the order which are 2 of the best hitters on the team yet they are still scoring a lot of runs most nights.

The Cubs signed Lester with the belief that he would be able to age gracefully. 2015-16, they got the kind of ace-level performance they wanted. I think it's becoming clear that his relative struggles over the last few years were part of the process of adjusting to his new reality. He can't beat guys with pure stuff anymore, and it took awhile to figure out how to pitch well without that. Now he seems to have figured it out.

I'm definitely a believer in Happ, or at least a believer in his bat. His defense in CF is passable, but hopefully that improves as he gets more experience out there. Offensively, the tools have always been there, but now he's put it all together. His command on the strike zone is crazy. He's chasing out of the zone far less than ever before, and being more selectively aggressive in the zone. He's spitting pitcher's strikes that are tough to do much with, and attacking the strikes he can do something with. That started last season, and his contact rate on swings in the zone has skyrocketed as a result (77.9% and 70.2% in 2017 and 2018, and 82.1% last season and 84.1% so far this season).
 

GT25Ump

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Oct 24, 2009
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As an umpire, I'm totally okay with that check swing being judged an attempt. But I'm hoping that Contreras said something to go along with the bat slam because that was total ******** to dump a professional player on that. I'm pretty sure I would have done nothing more than warn the batter at most, at the small college/high school level I work nowadays. Honestly, I was disappointed that Ross didn't defend his catcher alittle more in that situation.