MLB: ***Official 2016 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION Chicago Cubs Season Thread***

[Skyh13]

Monumental? Dude, back of the ledge. The 98 Yankees, arguably the greatest team in modern era, won Game 1, lost 2 and 3, and won 4, 5 and 6 of the ALCS. They scored 1 run in each of games 2 and 3.

I think my ledge is justified. To this point the only pitching the cubs have hit in any way were Samardzija and 1 inning of a terrible Giants bullpen (that same bullpen shut them down the game before).

5 of the Cubs regular starters are batting under 200, with 2 batting under 100. And you know who one of those isn't? Jason Heyward. Even if you ignore batting average and just look at OBP, 4 of their regular starters are at 200 or lower. Not quite as full-out panic inducing, but still terrible.

If the 98 Yankees couldn't hit the broad side of a barn any of the rest of their playoff games, then I'll accept the comparison. Otherwise, again, I think my ledge is reasonable.

 

[CyJack13]

Boston down 3-0 to the Yankees to come back and win was pretty improbable

Not more improbable than being down one game early in a seven game series like the Cubs are, plus it's Boston, it's not like they had any kind of past failures to deal with like the Cubs.

 

[Clonefan32]

I hope they get it figured out, I really do, but boy I can't remember feeling as depressed watching a sport event as I was last night.

 

[chuckd4735]

I think my ledge is justified. To this point the only pitching the cubs have hit in any way were Samardzija and 1 inning of a terrible Giants bullpen (that same bullpen shut them down the game before).

5 of the Cubs regular starters are batting under 200, with 2 batting under 100. And you know who one of those isn't? Jason Heyward. Even if you ignore batting average and just look at OBP, 4 of their regular starters are at 200 or lower. Not quite as full-out panic inducing, but still terrible.

If the 98 Yankees couldn't hit the broad side of a barn any of the rest of their playoff games, then I'll accept the comparison. Otherwise, again, I think my ledge is reasonable.

You said it would be a monumental collapse by the Dodgers which is extremely laughable. I get that the Cubs are struggling at the plate, thats undeniable. If the Dodgers win tonight, the Cubs winning the series still wouldn't be monumental, but it would be closer to monumental.

 

[ISUCubswin]

They lost one of the best one hitters in the game in the first week of the season . They have the second most wins when trailing in the 9th of any team in the majors this year, they just pulled off the biggest 9th inning comeback in playoff history one week ago. They had a 5-15 stretch before the all-star break and bounced back to have a great second half. Yep, no adversity faced whatsoever.

I love Schwarber as much as the next guy but he hit .246 last year and struck out nearly a third of his at bats. His postseason magic made him a hero but to consider him one of the best hitters in the game is kind of a stretch.

And I wouldn't look at the 5-15 stretch and bouncing back in the second half as facing adversity. They had a 7 game lead going into the All-Star break and were a staggering 48-20 before that bad stretch. I highly doubt they were even a little frazzled.

 

[CyJack13]

I love Schwarber as much as the next guy but he hit .246 last year and struck out nearly a third of his at bats. His postseason magic made him a hero but to consider him one of the best hitters in the game is kind of a stretch.

And I wouldn't look at the 5-15 stretch and bouncing back in the second half as facing adversity. They had a 7 game lead going into the All-Star break and were a staggering 48-20 before that bad stretch. I highly doubt they were even a little frazzled.

That should have said best young hitters, not best one hitter. So being down going into the 9th in SF last week facing an almost certain Game 5 wasn't adversity?

 

[ISUCubswin]

That should have said best young hitters, not best one hitter. So being down going into the 9th in SF last week facing an almost certain Game 5 wasn't adversity?

I'll give you that one, it most definitely was adversity and something to watch.

But even Joe Maddon said last night he has no idea how his guys are going to respond to adversity because they haven't experienced it enough to tell.

 

[Skyh13]

You said it would be a monumental collapse by the Dodgers which is extremely laughable. I get that the Cubs are struggling at the plate, thats undeniable. If the Dodgers win tonight, the Cubs winning the series still wouldn't be monumental, but it would be closer to monumental.

I say that in reference to the Dodgers pitching. In my mind, they would have to fall apart. As long as they don't completely suck, they'll win.

Urias has struggled against the Cubs, but it seems like the perfect time for him to dominate them when they are awful on offense, and game 5 I wouldn't be surprised to see Kershaw again, which is basically game over.

 

[ISUCubswin]

Maddon says he's looking for his guys to score early tonight.

I'm hoping we can put up 2-3 runs in the first 3-4 innings.

 

[ISUCubswin]

Had a good chuckle with some buddies on facebook.

Evidently Strop posted a story on instagram at 1 last night of him and Baez at a club in LA.

While it would be easy to be mad at them, those two are about the only two doing anything productive in the postseason

 

[theantiAIRBHG]

Maddon says he's looking for his guys to score early tonight.

I'm hoping we can put up 2-3 runs in the first 3-4 innings.

Maybe we should just start with runs.

 

[CTTB78]

Couldn't believe how many curve balls the Dodgers threw last night. I realize Hill is a breaking ball pitcher, but even Bert Blyleven never threw so many in a game.
Is this new tactic against Rizzo or is he just in a funk, curve ball or not?

 

[Clonefan32]

If Ross and Rizzo are half the leaders they a purported to be, it's time to rally the troops. It would be an absolute shame for this team to be remembered as the team that had a great regular season but forgot how to hit in the postseason.

 

[CyForPresident]

If the Dodgers get out to any kind of a lead, even 1-0, it's over. This team is pressing badly right now.

 

[NorthCyd]

Had a good chuckle with some buddies on facebook.

Evidently Strop posted a story on instagram at 1 last night of him and Baez at a club in LA.

While it would be easy to be mad at them, those two are about the only two doing anything productive in the postseason

Ehhh...it's not like they work a 9 to 5. Those guys probably don't get out of bed until 11 on days when they have a night game.

 

[madguy30]

It's a franchise known for doing the exact opposite of shaking adversity. That's why we're the loveable losers.

Not a lot of confidence, it seems.

Nope...not that dissimilar from ISU football. No matter how good it seems, there's always that lingering thing that comes out when it matters most.

Odd stuff. I'm not a Cubs fan, but think it'd be great if they pulled it out, and great for baseball in general.

 

[CycloneErik]

Down 2-1, we basically have to win at a clip like we did all season long to win the series.
That's not too far-fetched. Win tonight and we've got this thing.

 

[ISUCubswin]

Couldn't believe how many curve balls the Dodgers threw last night. I realize Hill is a breaking ball pitcher, but even Bert Blyleven never threw so many in a game.
Is this new tactic against Rizzo or is he just in a funk, curve ball or not?

The entire Cubs lineup is pretty awful against the curve. Bryant and Zobrist are probably the only two that can handle it. Rizzo did pretty well his first at bat as well.

That's why I wasn't so sure why Solar started. While the Cubs are awful against the curve, Soler is a whole new level of bad. Soler should only be starting against hard throwing lefties.

Urias' curve isn't that great. He's got a slurve that is almost a guarantee to strike out Rizzo at least once if Rizzo has two strikes on him. But for the most part, he's nothing like Kershaw and Hill.

 

[isu81]

They lost one of the best one hitters in the game in the first week of the season . They have the second most wins when trailing in the 9th of any team in the majors this year, they just pulled off the biggest 9th inning comeback in playoff history one week ago. They had a 5-15 stretch before the all-star break and bounced back to have a great second half. Yep, no adversity faced whatsoever.

Wait, Kyle Schwarber is one of the best hitters in baseball? Is it his career average of .242, his 16 career homers or his 43 career RBI? Or maybe that he has struck out more than 1/3 of his career at bats?

 

[CyJack13]

Wait, Kyle Schwarber is one of the best hitters in baseball? Is it his career average of .242, his 16 career homers or his 43 career RBI? Or maybe that he has struck out more than 1/3 of his career at bats?

As I already said, that should be one of the best young hitters and a 130 OPS+ as a rookie speaks for itself. Also a 28% k-rate is not more than 1/3.