They've got a lot easier job though. Scoring is way down from what it was in the height of the steroid era in 2003.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

It shows that the Cubs are not good in low scoring or close games.

They are still a very good team with an incredible record, but they are not invincible. Low scoring close games are way more likely to be played in October than 8-2 blowouts.

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Thanks Elmhurst Frank

What are other teams records when they score fewer than 4 runs? Do the Cubs deviate significantly?

Without context the stat means nothing.

These words now form your single dumbest thought in the history of the board.

Cubs pitchers are now being punished because they hold opponents to too few runs, and they play on too good of a team.

This is the exact opposite of JORR's thoughts. The Cubs pitchers are bad because they win too easily.

My goodness. I need to bookmark this treasure.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Who is punishing them? The Cubs do not have a good record in close, low scoring games. That is a fact.

If this staff really was the best in the last 50 years, they would win more 1 run games than they lose. They would be better when they score fewer than 4 runs. So far, this has not been the case.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Cool.

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Frank making some irrefutable points here. Folding like a lawn chair in one run games isn't really embracing the target. Cubs are front running frauds.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

White sox are 36-36, I think.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

And 36-0 if you remove Quintana.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

You'd have to post the Nats and Rangers and a couple other elite teams records to make a point..but it is possible You stumbled upon something

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C'mon now. Quintana would be like 2-36.

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Frank is right.

This Cubs team likes it when they get to wallop on teams but when someone puts up a fight they have a tendency to roll over. The Cardinals reentered the race for the NL Central with that sweep, Cubs no longer have MLB's biggest division lead. You'd think with those kind of early-season stakes they wouldn't quit after dropping a few close ones, but they completely gave up in that last game (with their "ace" on the mound). Not a good omen, Cardinals are the last team you would want in the rearview mirror.

He isnt right about anything yet. He gave a stat with no context. I dont even know where he got it because I tried to look at lunch and I cant find it unless he went thru every single individual Cubs game result. But there is no way that a founding member of the Subdivision was so desperate to bash the Cubs that they went thru that level of insanity.

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Actually they're definitely the 1st team I want. Seeing as that means they're not ahead in the standings...ya dig?

So I just decided to be crazy. I misread Frank's original stat, I thought it was 4 runs or fewer. Taking 4 runs or fewer into account, here are the records for three top teams. The Rangers are better but the Cubs are right there with the Nats. Hardly fair to call it atrocious. I would guess if you went thru most of the league, the winning %s when scoring 4 runs or fewer would be similar.

Rangers 15-20
Nats 13-27
Cubs 10-22

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James Shields. That is all.

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Just so I'm clear, the criticism is the Cubs win far too many games blowing the other team out?

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You know me like that.

Correct.

The Subdivision is

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

James Shields gave up 1 run in 5 innings today, that matches the peformance of the great Jake Arrieta yesterdat.

Settle down Vespucci.

Incorrect.

The criticism is that the so called best pitching staff of the last half century cannot even muster up a .500 record in 1 run games.

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Maybe he should win AL Cy Young!

I guess that's a problem.

It would probably be more of a problem if they weren't apparently, then, 43-3, in the rest of their games and winning 2/3 of all their games at a .935 clip.

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You know me like that.

Just did some quick math. If this trend continues, in fact, if they lost every game where they score 4 runs or less at this pace, they'll win 101 games and every playoff series that they play.

World Series Champions.

Great stat.

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You know me like that.

Not if they run into James Shields.

Good point.

He's 2-0 this year in games that he wins.

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You know me like that.

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Dat's eggsactly right. And Arrioyo hasn't won a game in games he's lost.

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