3-1, Brewers. In Chicago. Tiebreaker, top of the 9th.
I think the Brewers want it more…or maybe they’re the better team.
Your thoughts?
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3-1, Brewers. In Chicago. Tiebreaker, top of the 9th.
I think the Brewers want it more…or maybe they’re the better team.
Your thoughts?
Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Matt Eberflus 
October 1, 2018 at 3:33 pm
Brewers playing too well. Really didn’t think they’d keep it up. But their offense has been lights out. Made up for any deficiencies in their pitching staff (which has played at a pretty high level too).
Cubs just don’t have it this year. Maybe they win the wild card game, I dunno. But they really don’t feel like a 95-win team.
October 1, 2018 at 6:53 pm
“An offense which has failed to show up most of the 2nd half, failed again in Game No. 163, as the Cubs lost 3-1 to Milwaukee while ceding the division to them in the process.” Jesse Rodgers ESPN
The inconsistent offense and the inconsistent pitching along with the inconsistent defense means an early exit for the Cubs. It is past time to say thank you to Joe Maddon for 2016, and time for him to be shown the door. This team needs a manger that can instill discipline and focus. Maddon is a “player’s manager.” This team needs a disciplinarian and Joe Girardi fits the bill. Fire Chili Davis while your at it.
I still believe this team has enough talent to make a serious run for another World Series title, but not with Maddon as manager.
But, knowing the Cub front office as I do, Maddon and Davis will be back and we will be saying the same thing all over again next year in October. I thought after 2016 the “Lovable Loser” mentality was finally over. I was wrong!
October 2, 2018 at 6:47 am
It’s hard to be mad a team that won 95 games and is in the playoffs for the fourth straight year (again: I never thought I’d see the day), but considering that this team led the division by 4.5~5 games going in to Labor Day weekend, lost four of the last six to the Brewers, and make it five of the last seven counting yesterday…
Fuck. The season could be over today, and for many of the same shit we’ve seen the last month: the bats go cold, and the bullpen turns into BP, all at the most inopportune times.
October 2, 2018 at 7:44 am
I agree, Pie…they don’t feel like a 95 win team. More later….
October 2, 2018 at 9:40 pm
…the bats are PATHETIC.
October 2, 2018 at 11:42 pm
The hell is wrong with Kris Bryant…?
October 3, 2018 at 12:09 am
Yeah. They weren’t beating MIL LA or ATL. Amazing how undisciplined their hitters were. Definitely agree with erniesarmy about Chili Davis.
October 3, 2018 at 12:16 am
It isn’t just Chili Davis, this team has been regressing since 2016. That pitiful performance they put in last years NLCS sealed it for me. I knew Maddon’s clown show had run out of steam. It’s time to make a change. The team is still young. Hire Joe Girardi and watch the improvement next year.
October 3, 2018 at 12:23 pm
A coach or manager sets the tone for the team. A good one keeps the team focused! They make sure no one is looking at the standings and worrying about no one but themselves. Bill Belechik is a master at keeping his players focused on their own play and not worrying about other teams, “We’re on to Cincinnati!”
Here is Javier Baez comments after the loss to the Rockies;
“We struggled the whole year, the whole year,” Baez said. “We just kept [saying] we’re going to get it back … but it never came to us. We were never in a rhythm of winning games. I think it was because we were paying attention to other teams.”
That attitude is the result of Maddon’s unending pattern of wanting players “loose” but unfocused. Maddon is the problem!
October 3, 2018 at 9:35 pm
1) Sorry, Ernie…two more years, unless the Cubs REALLY shit the bed…
2) WTF did somebody do to have to write a 1000 word apology to Brewers fans? Fuck them, the Cubs would be in the playoffs if they hadn’t dropped four of six to those fuckers.
3)…aaand hockey season started tonight.
October 4, 2018 at 9:42 am
406 wins counting postseason games over 4 seasons. That is an average over 100 wins per year under Maddon. The next closest are the Dodgers at 396, they would have to win it all this year to pass 406. This is the most winning Cubs baseball we have ever seen in our lifetimes. Joe is going nowhere unless there is real significant regression. Regarding that, next year bothers me a little, the aging pitching staff especially. Hopefully Darvish is 100% and better than ever, because Lester and probably Hamels will be back but they are getting older. Hitting needs to get back to launch angles and selective aggression.
October 4, 2018 at 1:36 pm
Looks like you guys got what you wanted,
AP- Joe Maddon will return as skipper for a fifth season, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said Wednesday.
“He’s the manager of this team and I’m very happy about that,” Epstein said.
Happy about that? Yeah, sure, if one WS championship is all you wanted, then I guess so. I think this team was and is young enough for multiple championships. But, it appears i”m outvoted.
I will say this right now on the record; if Maddon doesn’t change his managerial methodology (ever changing lineups and poor bullpen management) the Cubs will NOT make the playoffs next year. I also will go on the record by predicting that the Cubs will NEVER win another WS with Maddon as manager.
Save this, Genre, I will stand by my prediction.
October 5, 2018 at 12:22 pm
Fair enough, Ernie…prediction noted! I hope you’re wrong about that… 🙂
Funny how perceptions can vary.
Given what the Cubs were up against in 2018 – including major injuries to several key players, numerous postponements early on that forced the Cubs to play 30 days in a row late in the season, Addison Russell “fucking up” – I think this might have been Maddon’s most impressive season managing yet.
It would have been a sham to cut him loose after 4 consecutive years of making the playoffs (when was the last time that happened?), and as dave posted “406 wins counting postseason games over 4 seasons. That is an average over 100 wins per year under Maddon”.
Not to mention, the magnificent 2016 World Series win, which hadn’t happened since 1908/in our lifetimes.
It took a special team led by a very special manager to overcome those 108 years of futility. Sure, they could have shit-canned Maddon like the Yankees did to your guy Girardi…but Maddon earned the right finish out his 5-year deal
They didn’t extend that contract, so I won’t be surprised if Maddon is gone after 20019 if the Cubs fail to win the WS. And if they go that route, I’d be ok with Girardi having an opportunity to step in…after all, he is an ex-Cub.
The bats going cold were the main reason they tanked, IMOP. There are stats to support that (cue Yeti), Look at runs scored 1st half vs. 2nd half. Look at the record in games where the Cubs scored 2+ runs vs. the 40 games – 25% of the season – where they scored 1 run or were shutout(!). I was going to write “how the fuck does that happen”…but how the fuck does a team go 108 years without winning a championship? HA HA HA HA HA HA
If anybody’s ass is on the line, perhaps Chili Davis deserves consideration….as well as players who haven’t produced at the plate for a couple of years.
You’ve probably already seen this…but here’s Theo’s take on it, at least in part… https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/what-happened-cubs-offense-2018-theo-epstein-provides-honest-assessment
Yeah, Lester could have probably gone 9 innings in the Wildcard game if Maddon hadn’t pulled him early, but it wouldn’t have mattered…because the Cubs forgot how to hit the fucking ball!
Oh well…wait till next year.
I apologize for not being more consistent with posting Cubs threads this season…I’ll try to set aside more time to keep up with it next year.
Thanks very much to Fro and all of you who help to keep this site “going” by sharing your thoughts and opinions…please continue to let it rip……All the Best!
(tick…tock…tick tock…tick tock…)
October 5, 2018 at 5:35 pm
Well…well…well, you don’t say, Theo. Gee, what a shock –
“But while Epstein did his best to put that issue to bed, he was refreshingly honest to the point that he revealed not everyone in a Cubs uniform is always happy with Maddon’s methods. The team president fessed up that certain players are a little frustrated with Maddon’s constant lineup shuffling, something that’s been a Maddon trademark since he arrived on the North Side ahead of the 2015 season.”
I would be willing to bet that its more than a few “certain players.” It’s like I said, either he changes his methods, or he’s gone after next year.
October 5, 2018 at 5:45 pm
“If anybody’s ass is on the line, perhaps Chili Davis deserves consideration….as well as players who haven’t produced at the plate for a couple of years.”
Genre, my friend, we definitely agree on that! I think Russell is gone. I would seriously consider moving Rizzo for a starting pitcher. I like Rizzo a lot, but he isn’t clutch. Baez swings at too many pitches outside the strikezone to be much of a threat to those quality pitchers in the playoffs. Happ and Schwarber aren’t producing either. The rest are o.k. But the one that is seriously hurting this team offensively is Jason Hayward. But, with that stupid bloated contract, they can’t move him.