2015: The Back To The Future Season

[InternetApex]

6 games in 5 days now, someone from the 'pen gets a start.

Who's it gonna be?

Dr. K

Klayton Rikhard.

[Quality Start Machine]

Just looking at the 162-game HR prorates (or averages) for guys...

Rizzo = 29 (avg)
Baez = 26 (prorate)
Bryant = 29 (prorate)
Schwarber = 49 (prorate)
Russell = 17 (prorate)
Soler = 17 (prorate)

The only guy who has leveled at all is Rizzo. Schwarber will regress. Everyone else could very well improve.

Lawdamussy.

[Tonker]

Just looking at the 162-game HR prorates (or averages) for guys...

Rizzo = 29 (avg)
Baez = 26 (prorate)
Bryant = 29 (prorate)
Schwarber = 49 (prorate)
Russell = 17 (prorate)
Soler = 17 (prorate)

The only guy who has leveled at all is Rizzo. Schwarber will regress. Everyone else could very well improve.

Lawdamussy.

Schwarber is probably not, as you say, going to hit 50 dingers a year.  That said, he's only 22 and I'd lay folding money he'll average more than 40 through his peak years.

[Chuck to Chuck]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

[Slaky]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

Meh.  It's going to be some fun shit; save your hurling for October. This team's going to the playoffs regardless and in the meantime I like the idea of them just scaring the hell out of these 2 teams....which I fully expect them to do.

[SKO]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

Meh.  It's going to be some fun shit; save your hurling for October. This team's going to the playoffs regardless and in the meantime I like the idea of them just scaring the hell out of these 2 teams....which I fully expect them to do.

Yeah, as long as they don't completely fall flat on their faces (and I don't have any reason to think they will), I'll be fine with whatever happens this week so long as it doesn't let the Giants back into the race. If they make up ground, awesome, if not, oh well, just keep the last few weeks of the season as stress free as possible.

[InternetApex]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

GONNA DRINKEN

[Chuck to Chuck]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

Meh.  It's going to be some fun shit; save your hurling for October. This team's going to the playoffs regardless and in the meantime I like the idea of them just scaring the hell out of these 2 teams....which I fully expect them to do.

Yeah, as long as they don't completely fall flat on their faces (and I don't have any reason to think they will), I'll be fine with whatever happens this week so long as it doesn't let the Giants back into the race. If they make up ground, awesome, if not, oh well, just keep the last few weeks of the season as stress free as possible.

Can we have some Soler doing this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wheRqzyHP4

[Quality Start Machine]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

Meh.  It's going to be some fun shit; save your hurling for October. This team's going to the playoffs regardless and in the meantime I like the idea of them just scaring the hell out of these 2 teams....which I fully expect them to do.

Not to mention, I know I had them penciled in for around 85 wins this year, so they're essentially playing with house money.

[SKO]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

Meh.  It's going to be some fun shit; save your hurling for October. This team's going to the playoffs regardless and in the meantime I like the idea of them just scaring the hell out of these 2 teams....which I fully expect them to do.

Not to mention, I know I had them penciled in for around 85 wins this year, so they're essentially playing with house money.

Hell yeah, why worry about anything when they're already ahead in WAFE (Wins Above Fork's Expectations)? When do we hang the banner?

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

7 games, 6 days against 1st and 2nd place. Let's see how this plays out.

Gonna hurl.

Meh.  It's going to be some fun shit; save your hurling for October. This team's going to the playoffs regardless and in the meantime I like the idea of them just scaring the hell out of these 2 teams....which I fully expect them to do.

Not to mention, I know I had them penciled in for around 85 wins this year, so they're essentially playing with house money.

Hell yeah, why worry about anything when they're already ahead in WAFE (Wins Above Fork's Expectations)? When do we hang the banner?

I laffed like an idjit at this.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

[SKO]

Seriously, though, nobody's expectations in April should have jack shit to do with what the Cubs do in the next 20 days.  Even for Fork, that seemed like a non-sequiter comment.   I think it was pretty clear by mid-August that this team was already going to exceed our preseason prognostications.

Yeah, things I am tired of hearing include "hey if you knew they'd have 82 wins by now in April you'd be super happy, so why be mad when Justin Grimm costs you a game in what had actually become a race for the division because he can't throw strikes to AAAA September callups on the worst team in the league?" and "this team is ahead of schedule"

They're good, they're young, they've certainly exceeded any reasonable expectation but by doing so they've placed themselves as one of the four best teams in baseball this year. Ignore their ages or what you thought they'd do, if you have one of the four best records in baseball you have a serious title contender, so that's the goal now.

Obviously if they lose in the playoffs the disappointment should be tempered by optimism for the future, but it'd still be disappointing. They're good enough to win the whole fuckin' thing. Let's do it.

[InternetApex]

Basketball season starts in November. The closer they can get me to that point, the better.