*** Official 2025 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter Cyforce
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Palencia may be turning into one of the trusted bullpen guys too. Him, Theilbar, and Keller came up big today when we used a lot of relievers yesterday and Brown threw a lot of pitches to get through 4. The solo home run with 2 outs was a bit of a fluke it sounded like. Was listening to the radio on the way home today and Pat and Ron were really pleased with his outing and talking about how the arm and stuff has never been the question it's been his control and he seems to finally figured that out.
Hoping this is the version of Busch we get going forward he seems locked in right now as does Tucker and Suzuki and that is the heart of the order right there. If we can get 3B figured out I am pleased with the offense so far. The pitching still worries me a bit over the course of the season but hopefully they'll address that when the time comes. As long as the guys in Iowa keep mashing the ball we have the prospect capital to acquire some top end pitching, hopefully some that is more than a rental too if they become available.
Hoping this is the version of Busch we get going forward he seems locked in right now as does Tucker and Suzuki and that is the heart of the order right there. If we can get 3B figured out I am pleased with the offense so far. The pitching still worries me a bit over the course of the season but hopefully they'll address that when the time comes. As long as the guys in Iowa keep mashing the ball we have the prospect capital to acquire some top end pitching, hopefully some that is more than a rental too if they become available.
Just absolutely zero reason to not win the Central this year. Hopefully Craig learned his lesson and remembers that games in May/June are just as important as the second half of the season this year
Need to build a nice lead while the offense is hot. Averaging almost 0.5 runs per game more than anyone else in baseball. The schedule in May is paper soft compared to April so it’s possible the division can be won with a strong May.
Will be interesting to see how long they keep Wicks up and give him anything more than mop up duty. Guessing he will go down when they bring Tyson Miller off the IL. Assad will probably make at least 2 more starts in Iowa since he missed spring training and as long as Rea keeps pitching well there is no need to rush him up. The one thing I hope we start to see are the starters going 6-7 innings deep soon as these 4-5 inning starts are going to tire out the bullpen quickly.
Here's the innings and pitch count so far for each starter not counting Steele
Imanaga: 4/69 7/91 7.1/91 5/76 5/93
Taillon: 4.1/80 6/94 6/85 5.1/89 5/87
Boyd: 5/92 6/85 6/98 5.1/97
Brown: 2.2/65 5/75 4/79 6/84 4/100
Rea: 3.2/68 4.2/69
Looks like most of the starts guys are on a roughly 90 pitch limit which is understandable early in the season but will be interesting to see when Craig lets some of these guys go an extra inning and into that 110+ pitch range if its a tight game.
Here's the innings and pitch count so far for each starter not counting Steele
Imanaga: 4/69 7/91 7.1/91 5/76 5/93
Taillon: 4.1/80 6/94 6/85 5.1/89 5/87
Boyd: 5/92 6/85 6/98 5.1/97
Brown: 2.2/65 5/75 4/79 6/84 4/100
Rea: 3.2/68 4.2/69
Looks like most of the starts guys are on a roughly 90 pitch limit which is understandable early in the season but will be interesting to see when Craig lets some of these guys go an extra inning and into that 110+ pitch range if its a tight game.
Hasn't pitched in the majors since 2021. Sounds exactly our type of bullpen guy.
The Ricketts and front office trying to assemble a bullpen the past several years:
This guy either will be lightning in a bottle or cut after a few poor outings probably.
This guy either will be lightning in a bottle or cut after a few poor outings probably.
In fairness to Pomeranz, it’s basically been all injury related for the last few years. Not expecting much out of him, but for his career he’s always been pretty elite out of the pen and very meh as a starter.
My guess is Wicks is sent back to Iowa with this move and Pomeranz maybe gets a handful of appearances to see what they have and if can't cut it they release him. They probably just traded cash for him so it's a lotto scratch ticket chance to see if he has anything left now that's he's healthy. I have no expectations and odds are he won't be around for long especially if he gets lit up a few times.
They have a 40 man spot to tinker with for now with Steele on the 60 day IL so could even see Chris Flexen added at some point as he probably has some kind of clause coming up too. He's 3-0 in 4 starts with a 0.40 ERA right now. Horton also is not on the 40 man but I think he is going to stay in Iowa for a bit and not be rushed up unless absolutely needed. Brandon Hughes is a lefty in the pen in Iowa that has been in Chicago before too his ERA is not too hot at the moment but 14 K's in 7.2 innings of work is not bad. Probably won't be until June until any big names become available and then it will be a matter of how big of a prospect ask will those guys costs especially if some are just 1/2 season rentals.
I can’t believe the Cubs are 14-10 with how difficult their schedule has been so far. That’s hopefully good news going forward.
And they're starting up yet another series with the Dodgers here tonight. I did a double take when I saw that....."again?!?"
