2019 Gameday Thread
Cubs @ Mets: Lester vs. deGrom (Game 133)
CHC (71-61): LHP Jon Lester (10-9, 4.49 ERA)
NYM (67-66): RHP Jacob deGrom (8-7, 2.56 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT
That 10-7 win was one of the tensest games I can remember that included an early 10-1 lead. With that win in hand, the Cubs clinched the series and go today for a sweep of the Wild Card hopefuls in Flushing. It'll also be another shot for the Cubs to creep beyond 10 games over .500. Jon Lester sets himself to the task. Lester has gone through a rough August, squishing two decent starts between a trio of flops. Even the good starts were shaky, as his command left him to the tune of eight walks in those eleven innings. Rajai Davis has a .907 OPS against him in 52 at bats and should be part of the usual strategy to take advantage of Lester on the basepaths. Amed Rosario is 5-9 off the lefty.
- Read more about Cubs @ Mets: Lester vs. deGrom (Game 133)
- 2 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Cubs @ Mets: Hendricks vs. Syndergaard (Game 132)
CHC (70-61): RHP Kyle Hendricks (9-9, 3.20 ERA)
NYM (67-64): RHP Noah Syndergaard (9-6, 3.71 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT
The Cubs started the road series with a win over Marcus Stroman and continue with another tough match-up today. Hendricks takes the mound, fresh off a very good performance against the Giants that yielded him a win. He pitched seven scoreless, collecting seven strikeouts and allowing three hits along the way. The Mets most dangerous hitters have seen little of Mr. Tenure Track, but Todd Frazier is 3-12 with two doubles and two walks. The bullpen should be extremely well rested following an off day and an 8-inning start from Yu.
Cubs @ Mets: Darvish vs. Stroman (Game 131)
CHC (69-61): RHP Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.43 ERA)
NYM (67-63): RHP Marcus Stroman (7-11, 3.18 ERA)
First pitch 6:10pmCDT
The Cubs reversed course in their last series, following a sweep of the Giants with a sweep at the hands of the Nats. The Cards defeated the Brewers on the Cubs' day off and now lead the North Siders by 3 full games. The Cubs will look to pull another about face and gather some rare road wins against the Mets, who trail the Cubs in the race for the second wild card spot by only two games.
- Read more about Cubs @ Mets: Darvish vs. Stroman (Game 131)
- 7 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Cubs vs. Nationals: Series Thread (Game 128-130)
The Nationals roll into the Windy City scrapping for a Wild Card spot. The Cubs have a dog fight going with St. Louis, who matched the Cubs with a win Thursday and trail by only half a game going into the series. (Add to that drama the excitement of players' weekend! Yipee!) See below for the daily match-ups.
Cubs vs. Giants: Hendricks vs. Samardzija (Game 127)
CHC (68-58): RHP Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 3.37 ERA)
SF (63-64): RHP Jeff Samardzija (9-9, 3.54 ERA)
First pitch 1:20pmCDT
My heart doesn't believe it, but the Cubs today will try for their fifth win in a row and a sweep of the Giants. Can you believe that game yesterday counted as a win the same as, say, a solidly played 5-2 victory? Baseball is nonsense. Kyle Hendricks takes the mound and his performance should be key to this game, given that five relievers labored in last night's "victory." He last got a no decision against the Pirates on seven innings, one earned run, and only one strikeout. Current Giants are 27-125 off of him with a .556 OPS against him. Belt is 6-16 with the squads only homerun off of the righty.
Cubs vs. Giants: Darvish vs. Rodriguez (Game 126)
CHC (67-58): RHP Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.21 ERA)
SF (63-63): RHP Dereck Rodriguez (5-6, 4.79 ERA)
First pitch 7:05pmCDT
The Cubs kept pace with the Cardinals by winning their third in a row, pushing the Giants back down to .500 in the process. Darvish takes the mound today. He must be itching for a win after shutting out the Phillies for 7 innings, striking out 10, and getting a no decision in the process. On July 23 he allowed four earned runs to the Giants in six innings of work. Alex Dickerson took him deep and is 2-3 with a homerun and a double off of Darvish. As a group, current Giants are 16-77 off of the righty with a .552 OPS and 17 strikeouts to only two walks.
Cubs vs. Giants: Hamels vs. Beede (Game 125)
CHC (66-58): LHP Cole Hamels (6-4, 3.69 ERA)
SF (63-62): RHP Tyler Beede (3-7, 5.77 ERA)
First pitch 7:05pmCDT
The Cubs swapped Bote for Cishek before the game, bolstering a bullpen that recently got back Craig Kimbrel as well. That plus the two wins the team put together at the end of the road trip should help them put their Pennsylvania struggles behind them. Meanwhile, Cole Hamels prepares to take on the Giants at Wrigley.
- Read more about Cubs vs. Giants: Hamels vs. Beede (Game 125)
- 3 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Cubs @ Pirates: Series Thread (Games 122-124)
The Cubs may want to flee the state after that performance in Philadelphia, but they only make it as far as the western side of Pennsylvania. There, they find the last place Pirates waiting for them. The Pirates ended an 8-game skid by taking the first two in their last series, against the Angels. The Pittsburgh club is firmly in the role of spoiler following that 8-game losing streak and a 9-game losing streak that lead them into the trade deadline. The Cubs head into the series in a tie with the Cardinals and only 1 game ahead of the Brewers. See below for the matchups.
Cubs @ Phillies: Darvish vs. Smyly (Game 121)
CHC (65-56): RHP Yu Darvish (4-6, 4.43 ERA)
PHI (62-58): LHP Drew Smyly (2-6, 6.96 ERA)
First pitch 6:05pmCDT
Yu Darvish continued to get hurt by the long ball, allowing three homeruns in what seemed like it should have been a stellar start last time out. He struck out nine and walked none, but gave up three homeruns and four earned runs in Cincinnati. His strikeouts and walks have been trending in the ace direction for about two months. Citizen's Bank is not, however, a good place to hide out from the dinger. Harper is 0-2 with a walk against Darvish. Dickerson is 4-10 with a homerun, and Cesar Hernandez is 4-8 with a triple.
Cubs @ Phillies: Hamels vs. Nola (Game 120)
CHC (64-55): LHP Cole Hamels (6-3, 3.09 ERA)
PHI (61-58): RHP Aaron Nola (10-3, 3.67 ERA)
First pitch 6:05pmCDT
Hamels returns to his old stomping grounds for the first time as a visitor. He struggled in his last start, going only 3 innings and allowing five runs, four earned, in Cincinnati. Before that he was solid, and prior to that spent a month on the I.L. He got a no decision against the Phils on May 22 in his only start against his former team, allowing 3 earned runs on 9 hits in 4 innings. He's held Bryce Harper to 9-37 with one double and 8 walks. Realmuto is 4-11 with two doubles off of Hamels.
- Read more about Cubs @ Phillies: Hamels vs. Nola (Game 120)
- 33 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Recent comments
crunch (view)
SF snags b.snell...2/62m
Cubster (view)
AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.
Arizona Phil (view)
The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24).
However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time).
Arizona Phil (view)
Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.
Arizona Phil (view)
For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024:
* bats or throws left
Angel Cepeda, INF
* Miguel Cruz, P
Yidel Diaz, C
* Albert Gutierrez, 1B
Fraiman Marte, P
Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B)
Derniche Valdez, INF
Edward Vargas, OF
Jeral Vizcaino, P
And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.
Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect.
F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season.
The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher).
Arizona Phil (view)
DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically.
Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).
Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day.
Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.
The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster
Arizona Phil (view)
Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required.
They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).
If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.
If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option).
Childersb3 (view)
Phil,
Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?
Arizona Phil (view)
In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!
And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).