Jay Kirk Baseball Thread since 2017: The 2021 season, Dodgers Repeat?

[PrincetonTiger]

@2006Coltsbestever  

   Football is life for me and I bleed Tiger Red

      Athletes(Kids)  and a Sport That I lived for the first 30+ years of my life always takes priority 

 

3 hours ago, NFLfan said:

 

Wut??

 Baseball has always been a filler sport for me

 

   By no way does this mean that I will not follow the Cubs but that PCHS football and other sports, NCAA, and NFL takes priority in my life

[Jay Kirk]

17 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

The Cubs are pretty mentally tough with guys like Rizzo, Zobrist, Lester, and Bryant when healthy. Maddon has instilled that in this team. I agree it's far from over, we need at least a split vs the Brewers so they gain no ground. 

You also need my Cards to lose a game or two in this series with the Nats or they will be breathing down your neck. Very exciting game between the two last night. Won by a DeJong walk off.

[Jay Kirk]

14 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yes they are. They are a team that looks like they will not make the Playoffs and needs a new Manager. On paper they have one of the best teams in the league. Their starting Pitching is Great on paper. Snake bit no doubt!

Yes it seems like every batter coming to plate last night was hitting around .300

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 hours ago, PrincetonTiger said:

@2006Coltsbestever  

   Football is life for me and I bleed Tiger Red

      Athletes(Kids)  and a Sport That I lived for the first 30+ years of my life always takes priority 

 

 Baseball has always been a filler sport for me

 

   By no way does this mean that I will not follow the Cubs but that PCHS football and other sports, NCAA, and NFL takes priority in my life

Fair enough, your comment just confused me when you said you were done with the MLB. The Playoffs are right around the corner and I know you like the Cubs.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Cubs down 6-0, it doesn't surprise me. It really doesn't, we have been up and down all season against the Good teams. Ryan Braun has killed us today  with 2 HR's. Quintana scares me everytime he starts. Cubs will still be 2 games ahead but need to get a win tomorrow against the Brewers. Cards are lurking as well. 

[HOZER]

[2006Coltsbestever]

8 minutes ago, HOZER said:

Yep, remember last night I sort of called it. Quintana out there throwing meatballs and we can't even score which made it worse  

[2006Coltsbestever]

No comeback today! Cubs lose 7-0.

[HOZER]

42 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

No comeback today! Cubs lose 7-0.

Cubs just can’t wait for someone like Bote to save the day, if he wouldn’t have hit the grand slam on Sunday we’d be looking at 2 shutouts in a row. What the heck gives??? I am really getting tired of seeing guys swing for the fences, we need more base hits and walks!!!! 

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, HOZER said:

Cubs just can’t wait for someone like Bote to save the day, if he wouldn’t have hit the grand slam on Sunday we’d be looking at 2 shutouts in a row. What the heck gives??? I am really getting tired of seeing guys swing for the fences, we need more base hits and walks!!!! 

We need Kris Bryant back as well. I know Bote has filled in nicely for him but with Bryant back, you can have them both in the lineup or always have Bote available to Pinch Hit. The word I am hearing is Kris Bryant is 100% and has full extension on his swing but the Cubs FO and Joe are being cautious with him. They want to make sure he is 100% come September.

[2006Coltsbestever]

I am thinking our best hitting lineup would be (with still Good Defense)

1B - Rizzo leading off. He seems to be very successful leading off. He draws alot of Walks and is a Good Hitter. + he gets HBP alot so he gets on base.

 

RF - Jason Heyward - Need his Defense in RF

 

3B - Kris Bryant

 

2B - David Bote batting cleanup. Question is can he play Good Defense at 2B?

 

SS - Javier Baez - He can play SS well, has in the past.

 

CF - Ben Zobrist - He can play CF and has, he can play alot of positions.

 

LF - Kyle Schwarber

 

C - Wilson Contreras

 

P - Right now I trust Cole Hamels as our best Pitcher.

 

 

 

 

[Jay Kirk]

5 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Cubs down 6-0, it doesn't surprise me. It really doesn't, we have been up and down all season against the Good teams. Ryan Braun has killed us today  with 2 HR's. Quintana scares me everytime he starts. Cubs will still be 2 games ahead but need to get a win tomorrow against the Brewers. Cards are lurking as well. 

Cards are up 5-0 in the 5th 

[Jay Kirk]

3 hours ago, HOZER said:

Cubs just can’t wait for someone like Bote to save the day, if he wouldn’t have hit the grand slam on Sunday we’d be looking at 2 shutouts in a row. What the heck gives??? I am really getting tired of seeing guys swing for the fences, we need more base hits and walks!!!! 

I agree just try to square the barrel on the pitch , the HR's will come with the hits . When you swing for the fence your out of control . The Cards homers are not from swinging for the fence. You must first hit it to knock it out. They have cut down on strikeouts tremendously. That in itself tells you the ball is in play much more often.

[Jay Kirk]

5 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Cubs down 6-0, it doesn't surprise me. It really doesn't, we have been up and down all season against the Good teams. Ryan Braun has killed us today  with 2 HR's. Quintana scares me everytime he starts. Cubs will still be 2 games ahead but need to get a win tomorrow against the Brewers. Cards are lurking as well. 

It may be time to turn to some youngsters for pitching. Anything at AAA ?

[2006Coltsbestever]

14 minutes ago, Jay Kirk said:

It may be time to turn to some youngsters for pitching. Anything at AAA ?

None that I can think of right off hand. Lester is still very capable of having dominating games, Hendricks is too. Hamels has been Great so far but our Pitching is shaky as a whole. Maybe Darvish will earn his money in September? Cards will only be 4.5 back after tonight, they are killing the Nats.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Astros are down 3-1 to the Rockies. If they lose tonight that will be 5 losses in a row by them. A's are only 2 games out of 1st in the AL West. I just now noticed that! If the A's win tonight and Astros do lose, they would only be 1 game out of 1st. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

All I know is this, it's time for the Cubs to be Smokey the Bear and put the fire out tomorrow!

[NFLfan]

31 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Astros are down 3-1 to the Rockies. If they lose tonight that will be 5 losses in a row by them. A's are only 2 games out of 1st in the AL West. I just now noticed that! If the A's win tonight and Astros do lose, they would only be 1 game out of 1st. 

 

How has Familia done for the A's?

[dgambill]

ALmost every division is setting up for an epic finish...and the wild cards...tight races across the board.

[dgambill]

So how does that Cubs lineup only have 3 hits? I mean we a riches of hitting talent at the big league level. So hard to understand. I know it sucks to get down early but they have to pick up our pitchers until they straighten it out.

[2006Coltsbestever]

11 minutes ago, dgambill said:

So how does that Cubs lineup only have 3 hits? I mean we a riches of hitting talent at the big league level. So hard to understand. I know it sucks to get down early but they have to pick up our pitchers until they straighten it out.

I have no idea. Some days we look like we can win the WS, other days we can't get a hit to save our lives. A win tomorrow would really be nice and help us breathe a little better.

[HOZER]

10 hours ago, NFLfan said:

 

How has Familia done for the A's?

I hadn’t heard much, but also don’t pay much attention to the A’s. According to this article he’s been showing some good “stuff.”

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.beyondtheboxscore.com/platform/amp/2018/8/11/17677280/jeurys-familia-oakland-athletics-new-york-mets-reliever-closer-sinker-slider-fastball

[PrincetonTiger]

The Cubs have just added OF Terrance Gore from KC 

   Gore has 21 SBs and no hits

[Jay Kirk]

16 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Astros are down 3-1 to the Rockies. If they lose tonight that will be 5 losses in a row by them. A's are only 2 games out of 1st in the AL West. I just now noticed that! If the A's win tonight and Astros do lose, they would only be 1 game out of 1st. 

The Cards are only one game out of the Wild Card starting to feel much better about their chances , 4 games back in the division . Took first to from the Nats , but I do not expect a sweep. If we take series , I will be happy . It will make 6 or 7 in a row. Doesn't get easier as we face the Brewers when your done with them.

[Jay Kirk]

15 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I have no idea. Some days we look like we can win the WS, other days we can't get a hit to save our lives. A win tomorrow would really be nice and help us breathe a little better.

Its very frustrating knowing there's the talent there , but not putting things together at the same time. 

[Jay Kirk]

15 hours ago, dgambill said:

ALmost every division is setting up for an epic finish...and the wild cards...tight races across the board.

This my friend is what makes baseball great . The suspense of the race down the stretch .

[2006Coltsbestever]

This is more like it! Nice to wake up to a 7-2 lead. This wasn't a must win but very much needed to stop the bleeding against a Division opponent. The difference between being up 1 game and 3 games means breathing room in the Division. I work nights, yesterday when I woke up the Brewers were up 5-0. It's a reversal today. Cubs just need to maintain it because it's still only the 5th Inning. Cards are only 4 games back as well, so a win here puts the Cubs back ahead of them by 4.5. They play the Nats later tonight. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Good 5th Inning, still 7-2 Cubs to the Bottom of the 5th. Hey Jay, starting Friday Brewers travel to St. Louis for a 3 game series, talk about huge.

[Jay Kirk]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Good 5th Inning, still 7-2 Cubs to the Bottom of the 5th. Hey Jay, starting Friday Brewers travel to St. Louis for a 3 game series, talk about huge.

Yes  our schedule is following yours right now by one series . Would be great to take over the wildcard this weekend.

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, Jay Kirk said:

Yes  our schedule is following yours right now by one series . Would be great to take over the wildcard this weekend.

I would prefer the Cubs be 10 games  up but I have to admit the suspense of every day to see who is going to win or lose with the Division still in doubt is exciting. From here on out every game is pretty big. I think today's game for Chicago vs the Brewers is the biggest game of the year so far but they get bigger as they go. All Division games are obviously important from here on out, those can really determine who wins the Division and who makes the Playoffs. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Whew! Cubs just got out of a Bases Loaded jam, still up 7-4 to the Bottom of the 7th.

[2006Coltsbestever]

HR by Almora! 8-4 Cubs

[2006Coltsbestever]

8-4 Cubs lead to the Bottom of the 8th. 3 Outs to get now.

[2006Coltsbestever]

El Mago is truly the Magic man! His Base Running is unreal!

[2006Coltsbestever]

Cubs win 8-4 to improve to 69-50, huge win. Now up 3 games over the Screwers in the NL Central. 4.5 ahead as of now over the dangerous Cards. All things considering I will take it being we are half way through August. Fly the Flag Hozer and celebrate a huge win. Go Cubs!

[HOZER]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Cubs win 8-4 to improve to 69-50, huge win. Now up 3 games over the Screwers in the NL Central. 4.5 ahead as of now over the dangerous Cards. All things considering I will take it being we are half way through August. Fly the Flag Hozer and celebrate a huge win. Go Cubs!

I saw some more fundamental baseball today, maybe they’re reading our thread??? lol, anyway.........

 

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 minutes ago, HOZER said:

I saw some more fundamental baseball today, maybe they’re reading our thread??? lol, any .........

 

 

Yeah, the Defense made some Great catches in the late Innings. The Cubs are so fun to watch when they play like this. Hendricks has looked much better in his last 3 starts so that is promising. Bryant is basically 100% healthy as well and should be back soon. Maddon needs to find a way to play him and Bote like I Posted yesterday. If that means benching Russell I would do it until Bote struggles. Bote has been really Good lately.

[dgambill]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah, the Defense made some Great catches in the late Innings. The Cubs are so fun to watch when they play like this. Hendricks has looked much better in his last 3 starts so that is promising. Bryant is basically 100% healthy as well and should be back soon. Maddon needs to find a way to play him and Bote like I Posted yesterday. If that means benching Russell I would do it until Bote struggles. Bote has been really Good lately.

I wish I believed Bryant is healthy. I think there is something wrong with his shoulder. He hasn’t hit with power all season. Something is up. That said Bote should split time with Schwerber in Left (start against lefties) and keep Bryant fresh at third. Only issue is that likely sits Zobriest more than I like so maybe Baez plays some short. But I agree Bote needs to keep playing.

[Jay Kirk]

Cards up one to zip in 4th , Bader just made another outstanding catch to rob Harper .

[Jay Kirk]

The player or batter I fear more in the Nats line-up is Murphy . One tuff out.