Fri, Sep 25 1:20 PM, ABC-7
Lester (10-11) vs. Cole (17-8)

Sat, Sep 26 12:05 PM, FOX
Hammel (9-6) vs. Liriano (11-7)

Sun, Sep 27 7:00 PM, ESPN
Arrieta (20-6) vs. Burnett (9-5)

I hate noon FOX games.

Cubs salvage the Sunday game. Home wilcard hopes are OVAH.

We take the first two and celebrate a playoff berth in front of the Wrigley faithful.

Cardinal and Pirate have clinched, Cub soon, possibly before anyone in the other divisions. This division has been nuts

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

yar

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Three best records in baseball in one division as of this morning. Has this happened before?

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Yes. Like a few times in the past month.

Also, when there were no AL or NL Centrals.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

In the WC era, I would not think this has happened very often.

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I would think a better answer to his question would be "No, not in the 6 divisional era."

But ericmessedup17 rarely allows an opportunity to post like a pedantic Caller Bob go by the wayside

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Yikes.... I knew it was an open ended question but l guess you both answered my question. Wasn't sure
if it had happened when the Yankees and Red Sox were the big dogs. Just odd to see three ultra strong
teams in a division when they play each other so often. Kind of wish the Wild Card were 3 games in
case one team craps the bed but I guess one game makes it even more exciting.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I don't like the Pirates getting one more look at Arrieta when he has already shut them down all year but I get that they're trying to keep him in a regular rotation.

Damnit, now T-Bone found out my name is Eric! Egads! Why are you doing this to meeeee?!?!?! It is ruining my life!!

Though it is very possible he found that out when we became Facebook friends years ago. Or when I introduced myself to him as "Eric" at Katie O'Connors.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

So you're calling him out for gimmick infringement then?

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Well, this is pretty much what I would expect a playoff rotation to look like, after Arrieta pitches the wildcard game. But unless the Pirates rally to win the division, it will be the rotation for the Cardinals in the NLDS. Both sides have their best going in the series and the Pirates have won 5 straight, so they are at the top of their game again, as is Cole after a couple lackluster outings. I'm just looking forward to 3 great ballgames and hoping the Cubs can take 2 of 3 again, as they just did VS the Brewers and Cardinals. As mush as a sweep would be great and make hosting the wildcard game a great possibility, with Cole, Liriano and Burnett going, I cannot predict such a thing. I hope the day off helps Rizzo get back on track and producing big hits again. Russell also has been cold and they could use another good streak from him.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Such a huge series......I have read all about how Madden plans a HUGE party after they clinch a playoff spot. But with these wins VS the Pirates being crucial to hosting the wildcard game, how crazy do they want to get? Sure, they are a very good road team this season and with Arrieta pitching, I like their chances just fine if the wildcard game is played at PNC. But it sure would be nice to have it here instead.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Pirates lineup not available yet on MLB ... Cubs as follows:

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

What are the Cubs' numbers vs Liriano this year? Pretty sure he has shut them down. If they hit Cole well today and Liriano shuts them down again tomorrow then it might spark a debate in Pittsburgh.

He just had 1 start VS the Cubs this season on April 21st in Pittsburgh. He went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs. Gave up just 3 hits and struck out 9 in just 5 innings.

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Go Cubs!!!!

3 up, 3 down for Lester.

When do dolphin and the boys start to sweat?

Not crazy about the fact that all were fly balls. When he's on, he's getting more ground balls usually.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Due to privately weeping over the demise of the White Sox they're too dehydrated to sweat.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

The wind is blowing in steadily from CF, and none of the three balls were hit hard. I will take twenty seven 300 foot fly balls, thank you very much.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Sure would have been nice had they signed Liriano, rather than Edwin Jackson. I believe he was also a free agent at that time.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I'm dumb. Maybe I'm thinking of Mike Leake or something because it's only natural for people to confuse a white righty with a dark skinned lefty.

Wind is 7 MPH, not much of a factor. Good to see Ramirez and Cervelli ground out. Maybe that trend will continue now.

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Go Cubs!!!!

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... gWaastVhBc

Humidity 55%
Wind Speed NE 13 mph
Barometer 30.24 in (1023.2 mb)
Dewpoint 58°F (14°C)
Visibility 10.00 mi

Forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. North northeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

We're tied up!

Foreverrrr baaad, I wanna be, foreveeerrr baaad.

Great they tied it up. But it's so frustrating when Ross comes up to bat and you feel like chances of him getting a hit are so slim. He's a really good defensive catcher and by all accounts a great teammate, but the guy doesn't offer much at the plate.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Look at that fire hydrant out there in LF making plays!