Cubs 2017 Let's Win Two!

[Saul Goodman]

Joe's one of those types who only likes the chase, which is why he puts Justin Fucking Grimm into a tied slugfest to shit all over it.

Grimm's allowed 11 fucking homers as a reliever who has spent half the year in Iowa. Ridiculous.

I hope he kept his lease in Des Moines.

[Saul Goodman]

Well then.

[Saul Goodman]

D-d-d-DOOM!!!

[SKO]

Saw last night that the Cubs are the first team to have five guys under 25 hit 20+ HR. First Cubs team to have six 20 homer dudes. Considering the "old man" is 28 year old Rizzo, Jesus Christ.

[Oleg]

Saw last night that the Cubs are the first team to have five guys under 25 hit 20+ HR. First Cubs team to have six 20 homer dudes. Considering the "old man" is 28 year old Rizzo, Jesus Christ.

But, PROSPECTS!!!

[Brownie]

Saw last night that the Cubs are the first team to have five guys under 25 hit 20+ HR. First Cubs team to have six 20 homer dudes. Considering the "old man" is 28 year old Rizzo, Jesus Christ.

But, PROSPECTS!!!

They never pan out. What's Prince Fielder doing these days?

[Canadouche]

Saw last night that the Cubs are the first team to have five guys under 25 hit 20+ HR. First Cubs team to have six 20 homer dudes. Considering the "old man" is 28 year old Rizzo, Jesus Christ.

But, PROSPECTS!!!

They never pan out. What's Prince Fielder doing these days?

Trying desperately to turn his head.

[Canadouche]

Good news and bad news:

The Good: the Cubs have been playing at a .667 clip since the All Star Break.

The Bad:the Nationals winning % is .644 in that time, without Harper for a lot of it.

The Worst: the Dodgers are at .714 in that time.

But I'm actually ok with the Cubs being an underdog this year. Joe Buck reminded us repeatedly last year that the best team rarely actually wins it all.

[SKO]

Good news and bad news:

The Good: the Cubs have been playing at a .667 clip since the All Star Break.

The Bad:the Nationals winning % is .644 in that time, without Harper for a lot of it.

The Worst: the Dodgers are at .714 in that time.

But I'm actually ok with the Cubs being an underdog this year. Joe Buck reminded us repeatedly last year that the best team rarely actually wins it all.

Run differentials in the second half: Cubs +94, Nats +57, Dodgers +46. Cubs are also scoring far more runs in the second half than both.

Dodgers will get Kershaw back, but just like last year there's no telling how well he can hold up to the postseason demands with a bad back, and many of their other starters who were pitching over their heads have come back to earth. Alex Wood had a 1.67 ERA in the first half which jumped to 3.80 in the second and now he's on the DL. Maeda has hit the wall after 100 innings just like he did last year (3.06 first half ERA, 5.46 second half). Rich Hill has been up and down. Darvish has been OK this year but not excellent and has a 4.35 FIP in LA.

They're still a better run prevention team overall than the Cubs but the gap is narrowing. If we get that NLCS it'll probably be like a 91 win Cubs team vs a 109 win Dodgers team but the true talent levels won't be that far apart. They can be beaten.

[SKO]

DPD, but possible NLCS rotations with 2nd half ERAs:

Kershaw (2.04 ERA overall) vs Arrieta (1.59 2nd half)
Hill (3.74) vs Hendricks (2.31)
Darvish (5.01) vs Lester (4.69)
Wood (3.80) vs Quintana (4.50).

Factor in the Cubs offense being markedly better in the second half and I think it'd be one hell of a series, at least.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

DPD, but possible NLCS rotations with 2nd half ERAs:

Kershaw (2.04 ERA overall) vs Arrieta (1.59 2nd half)
Hill (3.74) vs Hendricks (2.31)
Darvish (5.01) vs Lester (4.69)
Wood (3.80) vs Quintana (4.50).

Factor in the Cubs offense being markedly better in the second half and I think it'd be one hell of a series, at least.

Washington might actually prove to be the tougher series.

[SKO]

DPD, but possible NLCS rotations with 2nd half ERAs:

Kershaw (2.04 ERA overall) vs Arrieta (1.59 2nd half)
Hill (3.74) vs Hendricks (2.31)
Darvish (5.01) vs Lester (4.69)
Wood (3.80) vs Quintana (4.50).

Factor in the Cubs offense being markedly better in the second half and I think it'd be one hell of a series, at least.

Washington might actually prove to be the tougher series.

I don't know if I'd say that, but yeah I think overlooking the Nats in favor of a Cubs/Dodgers NLCS is something we're all guilty of and should probably stop doing. If Strasburg is healthy then yeah, he and Scherzer are tough. I don't buy Gio Gonzalez' sparkling ERA. FIP is much higher and his stuff is just meh these days. Their lineup is deep, although Ryan Zimmerman's .913 OPS is especially misleading. He went on a homer binge in April that made his #s look Bonds-ian and his regression to the mean still hasn't brought them all the way back down to earth. Since May 8th he's got an OPS of just .762.

[Oleg]

Good news and bad news:

The Good: the Cubs have been playing at a .667 clip since the All Star Break.

The Bad:the Nationals winning % is .644 in that time, without Harper for a lot of it.

The Worst: the Dodgers are at .714 in that time.

But I'm actually ok with the Cubs being an underdog this year. Joe Buck reminded us repeatedly last year that the best team rarely actually wins it all.

Why is any of this bad news?  Did they realign the divisions in the middle of the season?

[Quality Start Machine]

DPD, but possible NLCS rotations with 2nd half ERAs:

Kershaw (2.04 ERA overall) vs Arrieta (1.59 2nd half)
Hill (3.74) vs Hendricks (2.31)
Darvish (5.01) vs Lester (4.69)
Wood (3.80) vs Quintana (4.50).

Factor in the Cubs offense being markedly better in the second half and I think it'd be one hell of a series, at least.

Washington might actually prove to be the tougher series.

only if they get a new manager.

[Saul Goodman]

What blown call?