“I’ve always known he’s got a lot of mettle in his soul,” Ben Zobrist, who scored two runs for Chicago, said about Davis. “The guy just shows up. He’s got ice in his veins.”
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Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Matt Eberflus 
October 13, 2017 at 2:17 am
Next up: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
October 13, 2017 at 2:51 pm
I’m predicting Dodgers win the series 4-1. That’s actually a curse on the Dodgers. Everytime I pick against the Cubs, the Cubs win. They really like making me look bad! And they also like forcing my bro Chucky to gargle shoe polish! 🙂
But, seriously, who in their right mind would pick against the Dodgers? They are rested – the Cubs are not. Their pitching staff is rested and ready to go with regular rotation – the Cubs pitching was used up in the Nationals series. Who’s left? Can’t pitch Davis every game. And Dave Roberts is a better manager than Joe Maddon.
The only way I see the Cubs winning this series is for their offense to outscore the Dodgers offense, winning games like 9-8 and 11-10.
Anyway, if they do lose I can live with it. They’ve been getting by with rubber bands and spit all season long, eventually it’s got to catch up to them. At least they didn’t lose to the toothpick. Right, Genre?
October 14, 2017 at 1:08 pm
ernie. I fully expect them to lose today. Unless they can get to Kershaw early.
I agree with most of what you posted…I’m not sure that Roberts is a “better” manager than Maddon, but he is definitely a good one.
As for your last paragraph…I think it’s spot on. Losing to toothpick would have been a real slap in the face, after finishing the 2nd half so strongly.
October 14, 2017 at 8:17 pm
Cubs draw 1st blood, and Kershaw has already thrown 67 pitches with 1 out in the 4th.
IF the Cubs can go up 10-0, I’ll keep the shoe polish locked in the cabinet…..
October 14, 2017 at 9:52 pm
Cubs down 4-2 in the seventh because their offense cannot get anything going, but mostly because they have probably the worst bullpen among the four teams remaining in the playoffs. Epstein and Hoyer have their work cut out for them in the offseason rebuilding that pathetic bullpen! Also, a better leadoff hitter than what they had this year would be nice too.
I will stick with my original pick of Dodgers in five. But the way the Cubs look in this game – tired and listless – I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers swept.
At least they beat Dusty!
October 14, 2017 at 10:59 pm
I didn’t expect them to win this one. With their bullpen, they’ll be lucky to advance.
October 15, 2017 at 8:45 am
Hey All,
I really didn’t expect the Cubs to win Game 1 (although it would have been nice). They had just come off a grueling 5 game set with the Gnats, and we had burned through out pitching staff. Before I continue, I will preface this with “I’m just a fan who sits on his couch at home to watch the games”…so, the millionaires who play/manage/coach/analyze the game MUST be way smarter than I am. Right???
With that said, my analysis is as follows:
We had gotten to Kershaw. Scored a couple runs, had his pitch count up…everything we had wanted to do. In the meantime, we were shutting out this potent Dodger offense. We were doing great.
Quintana walks 2 batters in the 5th, back to back. Then Puig hits the double off the wall. We get out of the inning knotted at 2.
Kershaw was lifted by Roberts (great for us) heading into the 6th. We had gotten to their bullpen earlier than anticipated (great for us).
At that point, the only sharp hit ball given up by Quintana was Puig’s (and, let’s face it, that boy’s a monster). Oh yeah, before I go on…that hit by Puig, you know the one where he did the “admire my work bat flip”…yet, the ball hit the base of the outfield wall (laughing my fucking ass off). WHY THE FUCK would Maddon pull Q outta the game at that point KNOWING that our bullpen was ENTIRELY gassed? Even if we’re going to lose the game, fine…but, let’s not burn through the bullpen even more than we already did the previous couple games!!! But, no…in come Rondon (who wasn’t even on the roster for the series against the Gnats). SHIT’S HIS PANTS: One pitch, one homerun, one tie game now in deficit situation.
THEN, why the fuck would you bring in Monty who obviously has a “tired arm” when you’re trying to keep the game close? Not that Lackey would do much better…but SAVE THE FUCKING BULLPEN for the next 6 games!
Quintana did a great job for us…we could have gotten AT LEAST 1 more…and maybe even 2 more…innings out of him.
However, walks are absolutely KILLING us. The 2 that Q issued in the 5th…those are the 2 runs they scored. It happened the same way the entire Gnats series. The only reason game 5 was such a fucking nail biter was because we issued 8 walks in the final 5 innings of Game 5.
Last “bitch point”. That fucking home plate umpire should have a piece of “heavy mining equipment” fall on his head (que Chucky). JHFC…he was giving Kershaw a full foot off the plate (outside to right handed hitters) and shit that was nearly hitting the dirt against our guys was being called a strike (but only for Kershaw). His strike zone was just fucking horrible. That didn’t lose the game for us, but it certainly doesn’t make it any easier to lock into a zone (while batting) when you aren’t sure if a wild pitch is gonna be called a strike!
Let’s hope we can steal Game 2 tonight and head back home all square in the series. I like our chances…I think we can get to their pitchers…we just need our starters to go really deep for us over the next 3 games (and we have the pitchers that can do it).
Later,
Jimmy D
October 15, 2017 at 8:39 pm
Great post, Jimmy D.
I agree on Quintana.
And now Carl “shit the bed” Edwards has just come in with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 5th. Wish I had a crash helmet to don…
….oh, my bad; he came through and got ’em out of the inning.
tick tock…tick tock…tick tock…
October 15, 2017 at 9:25 pm
I don’t think the Cubs’ bullpen is gonna go the distance in this series…
October 15, 2017 at 9:53 pm
Crabby Lackey in…
October 15, 2017 at 10:02 pm
A gamble that didn’t pay off. I imagine that may be last pitch Lackey threw as a Cub…maybe in his career (?).
Not too surprised by these first 2 games.
I believe Game 3 is a MUST WIN.
October 15, 2017 at 10:14 pm
ZERO plate discipline, and a Dumpster Fire for a bullpen…NOT a recipe for success.
Jansen does a good job to get KB, but then plunks Rizzo. He’s shaken up a bit…and has to pitch from the stretch. Does Contreras wait to see where his head is at…? NOPE! 3 straight swings at balls that were a foot above the strike zone.
Not gonna win any NLCS or WS games getting only 3 hits…not this team anyway!
October 15, 2017 at 11:35 pm
Same issues that have been plaguing this team all year long: No bullpen and inconsistent offense. Rizzo and Bryant need to take a look in the mirror to see if they really want it this year. They’re totally helpless at the plate right now.
And Lackey? He gawn! Oh, and John, take Pedro and Hector with you when you leave. See ya!
October 16, 2017 at 12:04 am
Joe Maddon: The New Dusty Baker!
Maddon on not bringing in Wade Davis: “We needed him for the save”
October 16, 2017 at 12:40 pm
Lackey blew a great opportunity, for him and the team. He’s been serving them up all year, right? I would have put Davis in to face Turner.
That said, I’ll still take Maddon over the toothpick chomping idiot, every fucking time! They ALL make “mistakes”…some more than others!
We’ll see a very different pitching staff next year. Cubs were lucky to get this far, that’s for sure….bullpen is WEAK.
IF the bats come alive, they have a chance…if not, wait till next year!
I don’t understand how the bats can go so silent, after the 2nd half and Nationals series. Baseball is a funny game…
October 16, 2017 at 5:39 pm
I couldn’t agree more with this comment from a Cub fan:
“Maddon has made a multitude of bad decisions. But, he has gotten away with them because the team produced. Now, with the big guns not producing, his poor decisions are highlighted. He made seven poor decisions in game seven last year. SEVEN! Pulling Hendricks too soon, putting Lester in relief in the middle of an inning, then pulling Lester too soon, bringing in a overworked and tired Chapman in the eighth inning, bunting Baez with two strikes, sending Chapman back for the ninth with no one warming up, and then not holding the runners on base in the tenth, which allowed them to take second without a throw. But, the Cubs overcame all that to win the W.S. Maddon is back to his bad decisions, once again. It seems like he spends every postgame explaining his non-traditional moves. This time it does not look like the Cubs will be able to overcome them.”
I agree, Genre, he’s better than Dusty. But, that’s not a compliment.
October 17, 2017 at 11:05 pm
Fuck this team!! 2 years out of 3 it forgets how to hit in the LCS and gets swept? WTF?! Yankees didn’t give up. They blew an 8-3 lead and they still didn’t give up. I wanted to believe this team was cool and confident and could turn it on when necessary, but they have been so overmatched the entire playoffs. They seem lost against the Dodgers-much like against the Mets in 15. Sure, the Dodgers are very good, and even with a solid effort the Cubs might lose the series-THIS IS NOT A SOLID EFFORT!!! They got lucky to win the against the Nationals only because they have their own issues. We knew this bullpen sucked and didn’t address it. Why the fuck has Maddon been so bad with managing the pitchers?! Why do you get so desperate and hack away and let them keep their pitch count down while inflating yours? Why has our best starter shit the bed 2/3 starts?
Even though I knew the Cubs weren’t the best team this year, I always thought they COULD pull it off. They were World Series Champions. They might get behind, and even lose, but they would never quit. Tonight, it seems they have quit-THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. Changes need to be made.
October 18, 2017 at 1:51 pm
Great points, Nemo. perhaps Maddon knows more than we do re: the pitchers…and has even less faith in them than us(?).
And yes, they were lucky to beat the Nationals…we can thank Dusty for that! Losing to him would have been soooooo depressing.
Thanks for re-posting in the “newer” thread.