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5fouls

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OK.  Cubs not playing today, and I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms.

The Cubs v. Cards on this week-end in St. Louis.  Can the Cubs put another nail in the coffin of a Cards team that is struggling and has several holes due to COVID-19? Or can the Cards put it together at home and bring the Cubs down to earth?

As mentioned above the Cubs starters have been historically dominant.  The Cubs starters were seen as questionable pre-season.  Will they come back to earth?  The hitting has been erratic.  Bryant has sucked and is  still below the Mendoza line.  Rizzo, Schwarber, and Baez having their moments but not hitting at the level that they can.  Cubs getting a lot from bottom of line-up.  The BP is still pretty hopeless.

It's only 12 games, but that's 20% of the regular season schedule.  Brewers and Reds only middling teams so far.  Cards are sinking fast.  They have injuries and COVID victims to important players, and they will have to play a lot of games in a few days just to catch up schedule wise.

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2 hours ago, slojoe said:

OK.  Cubs not playing today, and I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms.

The Cubs v. Cards on this week-end in St. Louis.  Can the Cubs put another nail in the coffin of a Cards team that is struggling and has several holes due to COVID-19? Or can the Cards put it together at home and bring the Cubs down to earth?

As mentioned above the Cubs starters have been historically dominant.  The Cubs starters were seen as questionable pre-season.  Will they come back to earth?  The hitting has been erratic.  Bryant has sucked and is  still below the Mendoza line.  Rizzo, Schwarber, and Baez having their moments but not hitting at the level that they can.  Cubs getting a lot from bottom of line-up.  The BP is still pretty hopeless.

It's only 12 games, but that's 20% of the regular season schedule.  Brewers and Reds only middling teams so far.  Cards are sinking fast.  They have injuries and COVID victims to important players, and they will have to play a lot of games in a few days just to catch up schedule wise.

Nothing like a Cubs Cards matchup in either place. Been many times in both old Busch Stadium and Wrigley. 

And I think it's about time to dispense with the Bryant leading off nonsense. .194 BA and .310 OBP ain't gonna cut it...

Kipnis has been a nice surprise so far...

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Watching some of the Cubs and Royals game last night.  Everyone knows how I hate the shift and last night it cost the Royals two runs.  Cubs up 2-1 and the Cubs had a runner on 1st and Rizzo was up.  They had 3 defenders on the right side and of course Rizzo hit a routine ground ball right where the SS should have been and a easy DP.  Instead ha runners on 1st and 3rd and now Baez was up.  Another shift but to the other side and Baez hit another ground ball right where the 2nd basemen should have been for another DP.

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16 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

Watching some of the Cubs and Royals game last night.  Everyone knows how I hate the shift and last night it cost the Royals two runs.  Cubs up 2-1 and the Cubs had a runner on 1st and Rizzo was up.  They had 3 defenders on the right side and of course Rizzo hit a routine ground ball right where the SS should have been and a easy DP.  Instead ha runners on 1st and 3rd and now Baez was up.  Another shift but to the other side and Baez hit another ground ball right where the 2nd basemen should have been for another DP.

Couldn't  what Baez and Rizzo did (the old "hit em where they ain't") possibly lead to the end to these radical shifts?

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20 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

Couldn't  what Baez and Rizzo did (the old "hit em where they ain't") possibly lead to the end to these radical shifts?

Probably should blame the pitchers because if you are playing them to pull the ball you better be pitching inside.  I know the stats won't say it but to me when I am watching the games it seems like the shift allows as many runs as they stop runs from scoring.

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1 hour ago, IU Scott said:

Probably should blame the pitchers because if you are playing them to pull the ball you better be pitching inside.  I know the stats won't say it but to me when I am watching the games it seems like the shift allows as many runs as they stop runs from scoring.

The shifts have been around since the 20s. 1920s, that is...

Lou Boudreau used it against Ted Williams (nothing worked against The Splinter)...

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Cubs on national TV tonight on Fox going for 7th in a row. Schedule is going to pick up a bit in coming weeks but we've played the Reds and Brewers. Can't help that they are under .500. 

Cubs on Fox, PGA on Laptop. Beer cold and windows open enjoying this phenomenal weather here this week. Hopefully the Cubs get the sweep before heading to the the STL for a little fun this weekend.

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6 hours ago, slojoe said:

OK.  Cubs not playing today, and I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms.

The Cubs v. Cards on this week-end in St. Louis.  Can the Cubs put another nail in the coffin of a Cards team that is struggling and has several holes due to COVID-19? Or can the Cards put it together at home and bring the Cubs down to earth?

As mentioned above the Cubs starters have been historically dominant.  The Cubs starters were seen as questionable pre-season.  Will they come back to earth?  The hitting has been erratic.  Bryant has sucked and is  still below the Mendoza line.  Rizzo, Schwarber, and Baez having their moments but not hitting at the level that they can.  Cubs getting a lot from bottom of line-up.  The BP is still pretty hopeless.

It's only 12 games, but that's 20% of the regular season schedule.  Brewers and Reds only middling teams so far.  Cards are sinking fast.  They have injuries and COVID victims to important players, and they will have to play a lot of games in a few days just to catch up schedule wise.

Didn't want to be correction guy but Cubs on Fox at 7pm EST. 

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I'm not sure why there's so much angst over defensive shifts...isn't a manager just playing the odds just as he would with a left handed pinch hitter against a right handed pitcher? Baseball is a game of percentages, and stacking as many as you can in your favor leads to more wins.

My problem with baseball is that through the DH mainly, they've taken all the strategy out of the game. A zombie can manage it now.

I liked the Whitey Herzogs and Leo Durochers putting 5 guys in the infield, or 4 guys in the outfield in certain situations. I liked them replacing a pitcher but keeping him in the game in the outfield so he could choose the matchup he wanted. That's what made the game fun and interesting to me.

My oldest daughter loved going to Cub games with me. I'd tell her what I thought the strategy was going to be, and most of the time, I was right. Good way to makes kids believe you do know a little bit.

We went to a White Sox game and she asked me why I wasn't guessing along with the managers on the strategy.

Showed her my scorecard with the lineups made out and said, "That's about it." 

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Reds need to get Moustakas back in the lineup because they are 5-2 with him but 0-5 without him.  He is out of the lineup tonight and Reds already down 1-0 in the third.  They are wasting their great starting pitching which is on of the best rotations in baseball.

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Can't believe just how fast an inning can just fall apart.  Reds were down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth and Costillo got the first two batters out.  Was ahead in the count 0-2 but then walked the batter and a triple and single later it is 3-0.  With how the Reds are hitting this game is all but over.

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Just looked at the Reds lineup for tonight's game where after 7 innings we have 1 hit. 6 of the 9 hitters are batting below .200 and 2 under .100.  Costellanos is hitting .346, Senzel .250 and Votto .235.  You can have the best starting 5 in baseball but you hit like this you have no chance.

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5 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

I have a tryout for a bullpen spot with the Reds tomorrow.  Pretty confident I can make the cut.  

You will be the closer but lately it is just not the relief pitching that has been the problem.  when you get shutout 2 straight games and only get 7 hits in those games that is a problem.  Moustakas has to get back into the lineup since we are 0-6 without him.

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7 minutes ago, rico said:

Have any idea as to how much money he is making?

I don't. We were in Florida with his aunt and uncle when my son was playing in March.  When spring got shut down they were upset because they thought he had a real chance of making the team.

 

The other night when he was struggling I said to my son this guy sucks and Oakley said yeah thats Bradys cousin. 

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