*** Official 2025 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter Cyforce
- Start date
Feels like deja vu with this team. Hot hitting but bullpen issues to start the season followed by better bullpen outings but cold hitting. And to think that some of the better bullpen pitching lately has come from guys that were pulled off the scrap heap like Pomeranz, Flexen, Hollowell, Cosgrove, and Keller. Boyd and Rea were pretty economical pickups for the rotation too. My worry has always been we don't have enough quality pitching for the long season and any more key injuries to the rotation could expose that. Have to hope Boyd stays healthy and Rea keeps pitching well, get a healthy Shota back and go get a front end starter at the deadline to shore things up. Maybe Horton pitches well to stay in the rotation as I have my doubts Brown can make it through the entire season in the rotation, he needs to develop a 3rd pitch. He's gone 5+ innings his last 3 starts giving up 3 or less runs in each but pitch counts have been his problem sometimes as he didn't make it through 5 innings in 3 of 4 of his April starts. Maybe a bit nit picky for a rookie that is essentially the 4th or 5th starter in the rotation but I worry with just 2 pitches that batters are going to look for 1 and make him throw the other for strikes consistently and hammer the mistakes he makes with the other.
Hope they break out of the offensive funk as they have a favorable stretch of games now through June. I think the Cardinals are fools gold right now with their hot streak but we can't mess around and let this be a tight division race going into July.
Hope they break out of the offensive funk as they have a favorable stretch of games now through June. I think the Cardinals are fools gold right now with their hot streak but we can't mess around and let this be a tight division race going into July.
The HP ump didn't do the Cubs any favors. For some reason Seiya always gets bad calls. Also I would be curious to see opponents BA with 2 strikes the last 3-4 series. It's got to be .275+.
Additionally, the Cubs hitters are struggling the last couple weeks. Early in the season hitters were seeing a lot of pitches each at bat. Now they are chasing stuff out of the zone. Being aggressive is great, but don't help the pitcher out.
I was happy to see Counsell shake things up by batting Swanson leadoff. But IMO it's getting to the point where having the group of Berti (.222), Brujan (.200) and Lopez (.071) is a liability. Not only are they not hitting, but there is no slug among the group. Maybe it's time to bring up a guy like Long to platoon with Busch at 1B and platoon Turner & Berti at 3B. That group can also fill in for Seiya at DH. We could also be seeing Kelly's batting returning to a more historical norm.
Those roster moves would leave a void backing up PCA in CF, but maybe Happ, Suzuki or Tucker could be OK in a crunch.
The bench is a big issue, other than whichever catcher is not starting there really is no great late inning pinch hit option right now. Maybe Turner finally turned a corner and heats up but I have my doubts at age 40. Brujan and Lopez are basically this year's version of Mastrobuoni. I think Berti could be an ok backup infielder but right now he's basically the every day 3B. Having a productive Shaw in the lineup would solve a lot of things but he's not a sure thing yet. And as discussed here what is the best route to go with our best prospects - playing everyday in Iowa or getting sporadic time in Chicago? They have some thump to their bats but are they more valuable using as trade chips or bench players this year because once you expose them to the big leagues and they struggle you may lose some trade value.
Quite the night at Wrigley with the fog rolling in....I'm sure that was visible on the broadcast. Heading to the ballpark again on Saturday as I am hopeful to sing Go Cubs Go.....tonight was not the night, unfortunately.
Yes, very noticeable watching at home also. Looked like some hitters having issues seeing the ball.
The I-Cubs played a double header today and Shaw went:
I don't know where to find exit velocity for minors but, even his outs were scalded. The last few games he really seems to be working on good contact and driving the ball. I'd like to see the actual EV stats on today.
It was a fun day of baseball at Principal Park with the I-Cubs sweeping.
- 1-3 BB
- 2-4 2 HRs (Walk off in the bottom of the 8th in the second game.
- Played great defense at 3rd
It was a fun day of baseball at Principal Park with the I-Cubs sweeping.
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Gotta figure Shaw will be back up in the next week or two.
I'm not too worried about a PCA backup. one of those guys could cover a few innings or one game before Alcantara came up if needed.
Be a good feat to get the bats going again. Just about anything hit in the air is gonna go out
