I swear it feels like they never win at home when the wind is blowing in

More than a feeling


They dont. But, live the homerun, die by the homerun. Though last year's playoffs they didnt rely on the homerun too much. Lots of multi hit rallies. You need those in the post.

Few things...

Why take Lester out just because a guy got on base? Holy fuck.

Why was Lester in the game at all? I hope this doesn't become a trend in baseball. It was dumb when Hinch brought in Verlander and it was dumb last night. Save your best bullets for must win games.

I need Almora and Happ in the lineup tonight. We can win this game but we need to score a crooked number early. Can't count on Hendricks to be as good as Game 1.

Yea, this Going for the throat in Game 4 thing is new and will only last til it totally back fires.

Dodgers did it with Kershaw in Game 4 against Nats last year, too.

At least Astros and Dodgers were winning their games. Cubs down 1-0 and that 1 felt like 10 the way Strasburg was throwing.

Almora if its Gonzalez, Happ if its Roark

I had no idea Kershaw pitched Game 4 vs Nats last year. He pitched Game 5 too. Wow.

One thing that I thought of with this latest trend in the playoffs is the psyche of the relievers. You have basically told all your relievers besides the closer to just sit and watch the game. We have no faith in you at all and then they wonder why they might come in finally and blow up.

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Elections have consequences.

I had that wrong. I was thinking the save was Game 4.

I was thinking of a previous year where they threw him on 3 days rest up 2-1. It worked out, they won. I think you avoid 3 days rest like the plague if you can. Id only do it in elimination games.

I am not even going to worry about the mess that was the bullpen last night. The fact of the matter was the Cubs had horrible at bats. I feel like Zobrist should have had a triple (only one out at the time of his hit) and then scored on Addy's long fly out. Then Addy fails to make a rather routine play. Arrieta was walking off to the dugout as Addy fumbled that ball. The tone of the game was set in those sequences.

Strasburg's fastball was exact same speed all night, and they kept fouling it off. Then they would swing at that low change.

They weren't scoring last night.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Russell played it wrong. There was no reason to charge the ball that hard with Zimmerman running. He's a talented fielder but lacks good instincts.

Zobrist would have been out by a mile if he tried for third. He's so damn slow.

I disagree. I was sitting with a perfect view of the whole thing. Besides, the second out at third is an acceptable risk. But it was early in the game, so I understand the caution. The Cubs looked horrible at the plate, notably Bryant and Baez.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Bryant might be a bum slayer. Anyone that keeps good stuff down... Bryant can't do a thing. Strikeout on a changeup 3 times in a row.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Yeah everyone knew what was coming.....there a familiar pattern to most at bats. I thought for sure that the Cubs would adjust on the third time through. But nope.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

The espn radio folks were making it seem that the Strasburg change was devastating after his gas though.

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Elections have consequences.

He definitely is, but that's not a knock.

And its not really bumslaying so much as mistake Crushing. Even the best guys will make mistakes.


But yea, the changeup is his achilles heel.

Hendricks also makes a lot of batters look stupid and Strasburg throws 10mph harder than he does.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Of course it was. There was a 15 MPH difference in speed and lots of movement. But they were missing the fastball, which was exactly 95 MPH all night. Then with two strikes, it was a change below the knees. At some point, you have to recognize that pattern.

Look at Daniel Murphy, he "dinked" two balls that were outside, one that Bryant made a nice play on and another that was hit. You have to shorten up your swing and adjust.

The Cubs has two legit hits against Strasburg all night. They gave away at bats all night. Their defense was crappy as well, three missed plays by my count (Russell, Baez, and one of the relievers).

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Hawaii (fuck) You

BTW, I kept thinking, "even Bernsie can turn on a 95 MPH fastball.". Man how that D-bag and his thoughts get stuck in your head.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

That is not really a Cub strong trait.

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Elections have consequences.

I've said for some time he's a bum slayer. He seems tight out there and I'd rather have Rizzo or Zobrist in a pressure situation. People who ripped all year on Zobrist, remember what he does in the playoffs. The opposite of tight.

This team does not deal well with elite speed pitchers. Need only go back to the Mets two years ago.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Bryant homered to tie Game 3 in SF. He homered to tie and take the lead in two win or go home games in the World Series.

Zobrist has what? 2 hits in the series? Bryant has more I believe.

who would you rather have at the plate when you have to have a hit? Bryant or Rizzo? Bryant or Zobrist? Playoff series, elimination game?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Bryant has struggled this series, but he did have a big hit vs Strasberg to win game 1.

To make it seem like Bryant has not been able to hit in the playoffs is just wrong tho. He had a bunch of big hits last year.

I would rather have Bryant up right now than Zobrist in a big situation.

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

fair enough. I would not.

Now, if I needed a homer, obviously that would change things. But just a hit, just a contact play to move runners or start a rally, it would be Jay, Zobrist or Avila.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

It's insane. Our whole section knew a changeup below the knees was coming with 2 strikes and the idiots still swung. If our dumbasses in the stands knew then how the hell does a pro ballplayer not know?!?!

If you don't swing and it's a fastball? Oh well! You were going to strike out anyways ya fuck.

He did qualify it by saying it would have to be a straight pitch repeated every time and that he would get as many looks at it as he wanted.

Still, I was standing behind the Sox bullpen catcher in the stands when Quintana was warming up one time. Looking at him pitch from that perspective, the ball was seemingly in the catcher's mitt the instant it left his hand...and he wasn't throwing 95.

I think watching games on TV does a disservice to just how good these professional athletes are at their craft.

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

Im not knocking those guys. Zobrist is hard to judge, he's always been that guy but he's getting old and it's showing. For the last couple years, Id say Zobrist. He was good for KC, too.

But Bryant's big hits are forgotten very quickly when he has a bad game. Maybe that just comes with being a superstar.

I'm not sure who Id pick at this point. If going off this year, maybe Cone-treras

Does the W redeem Strasburg?

In my opinion it does not. Sure it is a salve but how do you avoid the character defining truth that he balked on taking the ball in an elimination game while on full rest.

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

Getting a piece of it is believable, turning it around is absurd. It would probably knock the bat out of his hand if he got the barrel around.

Pretty terrible job by the Nats there.


But he's been so dominant, I think you'd be pretty crazy to criticize at this point.

I'm not here to defend Dan.

However, make of this what you will. I went to the remote in DeKalb and while there met a guy who had worked with Dan in the CBA, and also in minor league baseball, I think before that. He said in college Dan was a SS on a club team, and so I asked him that question. He said without a doubt Dan could hit a straight 95 MPH heater. Said Dan was a pretty good athlete back in the day, better at baseball than basketball but not terrible at basketball either, before he blew out his knee.

Guy runs a buffalo wild wings in South Elgin. Dan had me show him my collection of Zander Hollander basketball books.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.