2023 MLB Baseball

[HOZER]

7-0 Braves in the 7th, ouch! Let’s start a RALLY!!!!!

[HOZER]

Blanked, ouch. The Professor struck out 9 in a row I believe then fell apart. Win some, lose some. 🤷‍♂️

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 hours ago, HOZER said:

Blanked, ouch. The Professor struck out 9 in a row I believe then fell apart. Win some, lose some. 🤷‍♂️

Yeah that was ugly after the 3rd inning. Great thing is, we didn't lose any ground. Brewers and Reds both lost. So today was a wash. I only had us winning 1 game in this set vs the Braves, they are easily the best team in Baseball. Maybe we can bounce back and get a win tomorrow. Still 2.5 out of 1st place.

[2006Coltsbestever]

On 8/3/2023 at 10:04 PM, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Cubs win Cubs win , took 3 out of 4 from the Reds. We have a fun 3 team race in the NL Central heading into August 4th.

 

Standings

1. Brewers 59-51

2. Reds 59-52 (.5 back)

3. Cubs 56-53 (2.5 back)

4. Pirates 48-60 (10 back)

5. Cardinals 48-62 (11 back)

 

MLB Network by % has, the Brewers winning the division at 34%, Reds at 33%, Cubs at 29%, Pirates at 2%, Cards at 2%. 

 

I was looking at the Cubs vs Cards rivalry since the beginning of the 2016 season. It is interesting from the 2016 season-2023 season as of now. Almost 8 seasons to go on:

 

Regular Season wins

Cubs 609, Cards 609 (same)

 

NL Central Division Championships

Cubs 3 = 2016, 2017, 2020 (3)

Cards 2 = 2019, 2022 (2)

 

NL Pennants

Cubs 1 = 2016 (1)

Cards 0 (0)

 

Worls Series Championships

Cubs 1 = 2016 (1)

Cards 0 (0)

 

-Great to be a Cubs fan now days because before 2016, the Cards dominated this rivalry. 8 seasons is a pretty large sample size though. What is funny is, we even spotted everyone in the division basically 2 seasons = 2021 and 2022 by getting rid of most of our main core that was great from 2016-2020. 

 

Fly the flag @HOZER, this is getting interesting now. I never expected this to begin the season but that is Baseball.

 

Updated:

Standings heading into August 5th

1. Brewers 59-52

2. Reds 59-53 (.5 back)

3. Cubs 56-54 (2.5 back)

4. Pirates 49-60 (9 back)

5. Cardinals 48-63 (11 back)

 

-Braves are going to be tough to beat. I am thinking as long as we get 1 win out of the 3 games (1-2)/1-1 starting today, that will be fine. If we can come out of this series only down 3.5 games of 1st place in the NL Central, I will be ok with it. After the Braves set, here is a look at the Cubs schedule through August 27th:

3 games at the Mets - we should win 2 of 3. (2-1)

 

3 games at the Blue Jays - those will be tough, we need to get 1 of 3 there. (1-2)

 

2 games vs the White Sox - we should win both. (2-0)

 

3 games vs the Royals - we should win all 3. (3-0)

 

3 games at the Tigers - we should win 2 of 3 . (2-1), we will probably drop 1 there because we will just be due for a loss at that point.

 

4 games at the Pirates - we should win 3 of 4. (3-1)

 

*If we can be 70-60 at the August 27th mark, we might be in 1st place by then in the NL Central? Starting today, over the next 20 games we need to go 14-6. That is doable as I laid out the schedule for everyone to see.

[HOZER]

Looking forward to Assad starting today, glad they’re giving him a shot, he seems to have “the stuff.”

[HOZER]

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 hours ago, HOZER said:

Fantastic win today! The Braves are really tough to beat. We stood toe to toe with the best team in Baseball and outscored them 8-6. Tomorrow is the rubber match. Cubs are now 57-54 on the season. Unfortunately, the Brewers won today but we are still only 2.5 games back in the NL Central. Reds lost again, we are 1 game behind them now. Like I posted earlier, our schedule becomes much easier coming up shortly. 

[RollerColt]

The Reds continue to slide downhill… losing the series to the lowly Nationals is bad.

[2006Coltsbestever]

We may have a chance to beat these guys 2 of 3 with Steele on the mound today. If we can pull this off today we will be ahead of schedule. Beating the Braves 2 of 3 would be pretty impressive.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, RollerColt said:

The Reds continue to slide downhill… losing the series to the lowly Nationals is bad.

Reds will win today, they won't lose 3 in a row to them. 

[RollerColt]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Reds will win today, they won't lose 3 in a row to them. 

I sure hope so! They’re throwing a rookie pitcher out there today as the starter so it’s not looking too promising. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, RollerColt said:

I sure hope so! They’re throwing a rookie pitcher out there today as the starter so it’s not looking too promising. 

I think your offense will come alive today. I can see the Reds putting up 8-10 runs today. They are due.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Pirates damn near beat the Brewers again last night - Brewers got lucky. It would be funny if the Pirates beat them today but I am not counting on it.

[2006Coltsbestever]

All I can say is this, this is fun when your favorite Baseball team is in contention for a Division Championship on August 6th. Many fans of teams can't say that. @RollerColt, you can say that too with the Reds. Maybe some good sports Karma has came my way again after the way the Colts and Cubs both have fizzled out the last 2 seasons. Before the season started, I had the Cubs at 81-81 but added, almost everything had to go right to even be .500. The Cubs are much better than I thought. I underestimated David Ross, if the Cubs win the NL Central he should get NL Manager of the Year IMO. Most expected the Dodgers and Braves to win their divisions. In our division, there were some in the media picking the Cubs last.

[HOZER]

2 hours ago, RollerColt said:

The Reds continue to slide downhill… losing the series to the lowly Nationals is bad.

Nationals are so streaky man they took 2 out of 3 from the Brewers before this series. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Holy Cow, Cubs got out of a bases loaded jam. Cubs lead going to the bottom of the 6th. 5-4. What a rubber match going on!

[2006Coltsbestever]

Hell yeah, 6 more outs to go. Still up 5-4. It would be nice to get some insurance.

[2006Coltsbestever]

6-4 now, Swanson with a huge RBI.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1-2-3 8th, 3 more outs to go. 6-4 Cubs.

[2006Coltsbestever]

- It's over 6-4, CUBS win, CUBS win! Brewers and Reds both lost, I really almost can't believe what is happening.

 

NL Central standings through August 6th:

1. Brewers 60-53

2. Cubs 58-54 (1.5 back) *ESPN showing Cubs in 2nd place now

3. Reds 59-55 (1.5 back)

 

Fly the Flag @HOZER

[RollerColt]

Reds lost again. Maybe I should stop following them again lol. Seems like when I stop caring that’s when they win.

[HOZER]

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, HOZER said:

Shout out to the Pirates for taking 2 of 3 at Milwaukee  . This is the best we have looked in a long time. I wonder when Stro will be back, Steele is now 13-3 on the season.

[HOZER]

52 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Shout out to the Pirates for taking 2 of 3 at Milwaukee  . This is the best we have looked in a long time. I wonder when Stro will be back, Steele is now 13-3 on the season.

He needs to take as much time as he needs, he was struggling big time, injury makes sense.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, HOZER said:

He needs to take as much time as he needs, he was struggling big time, injury makes sense.

Yeah he didn't look good at all in his last 3 starts. We need him though to do anything real big. Well, need him like he was early in the season 

[PuntersArePeopleToo]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

- It's over 6-4, CUBS win, CUBS win! Brewers and Reds both lost, I really almost can't believe what is happening.

 

NL Central standings through August 6th:

1. Brewers 60-53

2. Cubs 58-54 (1.5 back) *ESPN showing Cubs in 2nd place now

3. Reds 59-55 (1.5 back)

 

Fly the Flag @HOZER

Also, with Marlins loss, Cubs are percentage points up in WC spot over the Reds 

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 hours ago, PuntersArePeopleToo said:

Also, with Marlins loss, Cubs are percentage points up in WC spot over the Reds 

True, I keep forgetting 6 teams get in instead of 5. If the season ended today we would be in the playoffs as that 6th team. I have been so focused on winning the Division that I forgot about the final WC spot. We must have the tiebreaker over the Reds? Both teams are at .518 winning % but MLB and ESPN have the Cubs in 2nd place.

[2006Coltsbestever]

I really hope the Cubs and Reds will get in and the Brewers get knocked out of the playoff race. Brewers are a team I just can't stand. It stems from their fanbase. They have players that seem really cocky as well, like they have won something. Yelich is a very good player, he had a couple of great seasons but I have never been a fan of his either.

 

Cards are the Cards, they are our biggest rival. In general I have never had hate for them which seems weird I guess. I don't like them being a Cubs fan but I respect their history. How can you not? Even since 2006, they have won 2 WS = 2006 and 2011.

 

Pirates - I have never had a problem with them. It is probably because recently they have been bad every year  . 

 

Reds - I like the Reds, hard to root for them in full mode though simply because we are battling them for the division and a playoff spot. My uncle in Kentucky loves the Reds. He started watching baseball right when the Big Red Machine was winning World Series' in 1975 and 1976. He thinks the 1975 Reds are the greatest team of all-time, tough to argue that really. Although I think the 1998 Yankees are, also teams like the 1986 Mets and 2016 Cubs would have something to say about that as well. That Mets core only won 1 WS, just like the Cubs core with Jake, Lester, Chapman, Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist and Baez. Both the 1986 Mets and 2016 Cubs core's broke up pretty quickly after a few years, stunningly but they did. Regarding the Cards, the 2011 Cards was the best I have actually seen with my own 2 eyes since I was born. They had a great lineup. To me the Cards 1985 team would have been the best but they blew a 3-1 lead to the Royals in the 85 World Series. They actually got screwed in Game 6 by the UMPS unfortunately.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Looking back at history is always fun. I was born in 1971 and really started watching Baseball around 1979. I remember watching the Pirates come back from down 3-1 to beat the Orioles in the 1979 World Series. I have was too young to remember teams like the A's from 1972-1974 who 3-Peated and can't really remember the Reds in 1975 and 1976 as far as watching them live, my uncle talks about them all the time. I know the history and rosters of all the great teams pretty much though since I was born in 1971. If I had to do a list of greatest teams since 1971, it would look like this:

 

1. 1998 Yankees - That same core team 3-Peated from 1998-2000. Their 1998 team was so loaded that it wasn't fair. That team went 114-48 during the Regular Season and dominated during the Postseason. Starting Pitching wise they had Pettitte, Wells, Cone, and had the greatest Closer of all-time in Rivera. Their batting lineup consisted of Jeter, Martinez, O'Neill, and Williams - those 4 players could do it all.

 

2. 1973 A's - That same core team 3-Peated from 1972-1974. 1973 was their best team statistically. They had three 20 game winners in Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Ken Holtzman - all could throw in the mid 90's with ease. Catfish Hunter was recorded throwing a ball in a game at 103 MPH an hour. They also had a guy by the name of Reggie Jackson who was jacking a ton of Home Runs.

 

-I have the 2 teams that have 3-Peated in my lifetime as #1 and #2. 3-Peating in Baseball is damn near impossible to do!

 

3. 1986 Mets - That core team only won 1 World Series but that team was loaded going 108-54 during the Regular Season. They had 3 starting Pitchers that were dominant = Gooden, Ojeda, and Darling. They also had an incredible batting lineup featuring Strawberry, Hernandez, Carter, and Knight.

 

4. 1975 Reds - That same core team Repeated = 1975/1976. 1975 was their best team. They had a loaded batting lineup = Rose, Bench, Morgan, Foster, and Griffey Sr. They also had solid starting Pitching as in Nolan and Norman + Don Gullett was a good starter and great in Mid Relief for an inning or 2. In 1975, they were 108-54 during the Regular Season and went on to win the World Series.

 

5. 2016 Cubs - That same core team only won 1 World Series but that team had 3 starting Pitchers that were dominant = Jake, Lester, Hendricks, + arguably a top 3 Closer of all-time in Chapman that could throw 105 MPH at times. The Cubs had a very good young batting lineup as well sprinkled in with a few Vets = Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, and Baez. Bryant hit 39 HR's and Rizzo 32 HR's that season. That team was 103-58 during the Regular Season.

 

6. 1993 Blue Jays - That same core team Repeated = 1992/1993. This is a team that gets overlooked by many but they won Back to Back WS so they deserve this #6 spot IMO. They had a batting lineup where 3 players batted over .325 in Olerud, Molitor, and Alomar. Olerud batted .363! Then you had Joe Carter with his 33 HR's. Pitching wise, Guzman and Hentgen were very good and Ward was a great Closer.

 

-Those are just 6 teams that have really stood out to me since I have been born in 1971.

 

 

 

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

8 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Looking back at history is always fun. I was born in 1971 and really started watching Baseball around 1979. I remember watching the Pirates come back from down 3-1 to beat the Orioles in the 1979 World Series. I have was too young to remember teams like the A's from 1972-1974 who 3-Peated and can't really remember the Reds in 1975 and 1976 as far as watching them live, my uncle talks about them all the time. I know the history and rosters of all the great teams pretty much though since I was born in 1971. If I had to do a list of greatest teams since 1971, it would look like this:

 

1. 1998 Yankees - That same core team 3-Peated from 1998-2000. Their 1998 team was so loaded that it wasn't fair. That team went 114-48 during the Regular Season and dominated during the Postseason. Starting Pitching wise they had Pettitte, Wells, Cone, and had the greatest Closer of all-time in Rivera. Their batting lineup consisted of Jeter, Martinez, O'Neill, and Williams - those 4 players could do it all.

 

2. 1973 A's - That same core team 3-Peated from 1972-1974. 1973 was their best team statistically. They had three 20 game winners in Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Ken Holtzman - all could throw in the mid 90's with ease. Catfish Hunter was recorded throwing a ball in a game at 103 MPH an hour. They also had a guy by the name of Reggie Jackson who was jacking a ton of Home Runs.

 

-I have the 2 teams that have 3-Peated in my lifetime as #1 and #2. 3-Peating in Baseball is damn near impossible to do!

 

3. 1986 Mets - That core team only won 1 World Series but that team was loaded going 108-54 during the Regular Season. They had 3 starting Pitchers that were dominant = Gooden, Ojeda, and Darling. They also had an incredible batting lineup featuring Strawberry, Hernandez, Carter, and Knight.

 

4. 1975 Reds - That same core team Repeated = 1975/1976. 1975 was their best team. They had a loaded batting lineup = Rose, Bench, Morgan, Foster, and Griffey Sr. They also had solid starting Pitching as in Nolan and Norman + Don Gullett was a good starter and great in Mid Relief for an inning or 2. In 1975, they were 108-54 during the Regular Season and went on to win the World Series.

 

5. 2016 Cubs - That same core team only won 1 World Series but that team had 3 starting Pitchers that were dominant = Jake, Lester, Hendricks, + arguably a top 3 Closer of all-time in Chapman that could throw 105 MPH at times. The Cubs had a very good young batting lineup as well sprinkled in with a few Vets = Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, and Baez. Bryant hit 39 HR's and Rizzo 32 HR's that season. That team was 103-58 during the Regular Season.

 

6. 1993 Blue Jays - That same core team Repeated = 1992/1993. This is a team that gets overlooked by many but they won Back to Back WS so they deserve this #6 spot IMO. They had a batting lineup where 3 players batted over .325 in Olerud, Molitor, and Alomar. Olerud batted .363! Then you had Joe Carter with his 33 HR's. Pitching wise, Guzman and Hentgen were very good and Ward was a great Closer.

 

-Those are just 6 teams that have really stood out to me since I have been born in 1971.

 

 

 

 

I did make 1 error after re-reading this nice piece on history. Ooops  . I meant to say Vida Blue was once recorded throwing a ball in a game at 103 MPH. Both were great Pitchers for the 1973 A's. I said it was "Catfish Hunter" initially, it was Blue. I guess I was tired after that long post - even Homer makes mistakes. 

[NFLfan]

Mets play the Cubs @HOZER @2006Coltsbestever 

 

  Are you still a Cubs fan?@PuntersArePeopleToo

 

 

[PuntersArePeopleToo]

57 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

Mets play the Cubs @HOZER @2006Coltsbestever 

 

  Are you still a Cubs fan?@PuntersArePeopleToo

 

 

Very much so, I always stick with my teams, was at the Cubs/Cards game a couple weeks ago when they beat the cards and mikolas got ejected 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Ugly game tonight. What is funny is, when Alonso came up in the 1st inning, I said out loud - "Cubs need to watch this guy, he has 31 HR's and can knock one out at anytime". Right when I said that, BOOM. I called it and that set the tone for the whole game. That is 1 guy you pitch around in that lineup. SMH.

[HOZER]

11 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Ugly game tonight. What is funny is, when Alonso came up in the 1st inning, I said out loud - "Cubs need to watch this guy, he has 31 HR's and can knock one out at anytime". Right when I said that, BOOM. I called it and that set the tone for the whole game. That is 1 guy you pitch around in that lineup. SMH.

Yeah not a good outing, but hopefully just a blip. I fell asleep during the rain delay, was woke up 2 hours later to go on a fire run, and it was just starting back up! Got back and Barnhardt in pitching, so knew at that point they had waved the flag lol.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

On 8/7/2023 at 4:56 AM, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Looking back at history is always fun. I was born in 1971 and really started watching Baseball around 1979. I remember watching the Pirates come back from down 3-1 to beat the Orioles in the 1979 World Series. I have was too young to remember teams like the A's from 1972-1974 who 3-Peated and can't really remember the Reds in 1975 and 1976 as far as watching them live, my uncle talks about them all the time. I know the history and rosters of all the great teams pretty much though since I was born in 1971. If I had to do a list of greatest teams since 1971, it would look like this:

 

1. 1998 Yankees - That same core team 3-Peated from 1998-2000. Their 1998 team was so loaded that it wasn't fair. That team went 114-48 during the Regular Season and dominated during the Postseason. Starting Pitching wise they had Pettitte, Wells, Cone, and had the greatest Closer of all-time in Rivera. Their batting lineup consisted of Jeter, Martinez, O'Neill, and Williams - those 4 players could do it all.

 

2. 1973 A's - That same core team 3-Peated from 1972-1974. 1973 was their best team statistically. They had three 20 game winners in Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Ken Holtzman - all could throw in the mid 90's with ease. Catfish Hunter was recorded throwing a ball in a game at 103 MPH an hour. They also had a guy by the name of Reggie Jackson who was jacking a ton of Home Runs.

 

-I have the 2 teams that have 3-Peated in my lifetime as #1 and #2. 3-Peating in Baseball is damn near impossible to do!

 

3. 1986 Mets - That core team only won 1 World Series but that team was loaded going 108-54 during the Regular Season. They had 3 starting Pitchers that were dominant = Gooden, Ojeda, and Darling. They also had an incredible batting lineup featuring Strawberry, Hernandez, Carter, and Knight.

 

4. 1975 Reds - That same core team Repeated = 1975/1976. 1975 was their best team. They had a loaded batting lineup = Rose, Bench, Morgan, Foster, and Griffey Sr. They also had solid starting Pitching as in Nolan and Norman + Don Gullett was a good starter and great in Mid Relief for an inning or 2. In 1975, they were 108-54 during the Regular Season and went on to win the World Series.

 

5. 2016 Cubs - That same core team only won 1 World Series but that team had 3 starting Pitchers that were dominant = Jake, Lester, Hendricks, + arguably a top 3 Closer of all-time in Chapman that could throw 105 MPH at times. The Cubs had a very good young batting lineup as well sprinkled in with a few Vets = Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, and Baez. Bryant hit 39 HR's and Rizzo 32 HR's that season. That team was 103-58 during the Regular Season.

 

6. 1993 Blue Jays - That same core team Repeated = 1992/1993. This is a team that gets overlooked by many but they won Back to Back WS so they deserve this #6 spot IMO. They had a batting lineup where 3 players batted over .325 in Olerud, Molitor, and Alomar. Olerud batted .363! Then you had Joe Carter with his 33 HR's. Pitching wise, Guzman and Hentgen were very good and Ward was a great Closer.

 

-Those are just 6 teams that have really stood out to me since I have been born in 1971.

 

 

 

 

 

You left out.the 2023 Yankees. 

 

Speaking of, that is.a.hard team to watch.....but.I have the package and my Poppa always told me not to waste money lol.

 

We still have a shot at a wild.card and catching Blue Jays but not if.we keep losing games we should win and playing stupid.

I think in the long run Yankee fans would be possibly better off missing.the playoffs this year(instead of a.wild.card.and early exit) and hopefully Hal will want change and the team will start to live up better to the standards.of.Yankee tradition and his dad George. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Nice bounce back win over the Mets tonight 3-2. Much needed win. Rubber game tomorrow @NFLfan. Reds lost tonight so the Cubs at 59-55 are %points ahead of them for the final WC spot. It would be great if the Brewers would lose tonight. Last I looked, they are tied with the Rockies 3-3 in the 7th. We are currently 2 games behind them in the NL Central for 1st place.

 

Fly the flag @HOZER

[HOZER]

Low scoring affair but the cubs pull it off…Tauchmam might be making a case for the Cubs to move on from Suzuki. Alzolay with the save! Love his personality/confidence!

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Brewers did lose indeed. The Rockies took them out at Milwaukee. Here are the standings in the NL Central heading into August 9th:

1. Brewers 61-54

2. Cubs 59-55 (1.5 back)

3. Reds 60-56 (1.5 back)

4. Pirates 51-62 (9 back)

5. Cardinals 49-65 (11.5 back)

 

Cubs currently hold the final playoff spot = final WC spot by %points over the Reds. Cubs are just 1.5 games out of 1st place in the NL Central.

[2006Coltsbestever]

The Cubs FO have redeemed themselves by not selling at the trade deadline like they did in 2021. Like @Jay Kirkused to say, baseball is a marathon not a sprint. Baseball is a game of patience. Nobody should ever give up on their team after June unless their team really stinks and are way out of it. Let July and August play out.

[RollerColt]

8 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

The Cubs FO have redeemed themselves by not selling at the trade deadline like they did in 2021. Like @Jay Kirkused to say, baseball is a marathon not a sprint. Baseball is a game of patience. Nobody should ever give up on their team after June unless their team really stinks and are way out of it. Let July and August play out.

And if you're a Reds fan, it's usually "never get too high on the team and winning streaks because August hasn't happened yet..."

 

The rookies all remembered they are rookies I guess.