The Second Half Really Begins

To piggyback on Cubby Blue's guest post, now that the Cubs finished that four game warm-up they can start the second half. And before we get too excited about leapfrogging the Brewers and gaining ground on the Cardinals, a quick look at the schedule shows the Brewers still have eight chances to beat down that Nationals piñata and the Cardinals another four, while the Cubs just have a three-game set versus the league slumpbuster.

Speaking of the schedule, starting on September 11th, this is the Cubs last four weeks of regular season baseball in 2009.

3 at Pittsburgh

3 vs. Cincinnati

4 vs. Milwaukee

3 at St. Louis

3 at Milwaukee

4 at San Francisco

3 vs. Pittsburgh

3 vs. Arizona

Hopefully that last week won't be a big letdown after 14-straight against teams that are very much in the race at the moment.

Back to the task at hand, I certainly don't think the series is do or die against the Phillies, but getting swept by the World Champs sure would take all the fun out of the weekend sweep over the Nationals. Hopefully they can hang with the Phillies and at least take one and hopefully two. The Phillies do have one of the worst starting staffs in the league(4.82 ERA, 13th in the NL) and the Cubs will miss Cole Hamels, so the starting pitching match-ups favor the Cubs, but the Phils have also won eight straight and have taken a pretty commanding lead of the NL East.

Join the fun in Parachat tonight...

Fukudome	Rollins
Theriot	Victorino
Lee	Utley
Ramirez	Howard
Hoffpauir	Ibanez
Soriano	Werth
Fontenot	Feliz
Hill	Ruiz
Lilly	Lopez

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Dolorous Jon Lester 04/24/2024 - 04:07 pm (view)

I don’t buy that. They had been doing that for years.
They did it with Matt Holliday. They did it with John Lackey. They did it with Mark Mulder. They did it with Jason Heyward, who had a great year for them. I’m sure there’s more but those come to mind immediately.
I attribute it more to a breakdown in what they’re doing in terms of development than a culture thing.
TarzanJoeWallis 04/24/2024 - 04:30 pm (view)

They won those trades and sacrificed their culture. That’s exactly their problem.
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/24/2024 - 04:38 pm (view)

The other part that’s kind of crazy is they made two very high profile trades, one for Goldschmidt and one for Arenado, and they very clearly won those trades. They just haven’t been able to develop players the last handful of years the way they usually do.
I guess the moral there is it’s hard to stay on top of your game and be good at what you do in perpetuity.
TarzanJoeWallis 04/24/2024 - 04:25 pm (view)

Marmol was extended at the beginning of the year. Two years I believe.
crunch 04/24/2024 - 04:54 pm (view)

Jesse Rogers @JesseRogersESPN
Craig Counsell doesn’t have a timetable for Cody Bellinger who technically has two cracked ribs on his right side. CT scan showed it today.
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/24/2024 - 04:13 pm (view)

Thought it might have been David Peralta given the open 40 man spot and how PCA has played so far.
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/24/2024 - 04:13 pm (view)

I hope they keep Mozeliak a few more years. Marmol too!
crunch 04/24/2024 - 04:44 pm (view)

wow, counsell coming with the early lineup. rarity.

canario/tauchman/happ RF/CF/LF
crunch 04/24/2024 - 04:08 pm (view)

PCA called up.
crunch 04/24/2024 - 04:54 pm (view)

welp...

bellinger...fractured rib.

a not-very-ready PCA will probably be called up when it would be much better for him to be in AAA getting regular ABs.

Cubs MLB Roster

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