2016 postseason game thread

Ranma · Post #781 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:42 am

Neddy wrote:**** to me is a defensive utlity player in this series, not a primary pinch hitter with two runners on scoring position.

Dude just made an error with 1 out. **** is doing nothing with the bat and in the field. I knew we should have kept Barnes on the roster over him.

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Neddy · Post #782 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:43 am

Ranma wrote:
Neddy wrote:**** to me is a defensive utlity player in this series, not a primary pinch hitter with two runners on scoring position.

Dude just made an error with 1 out. **** is doing nothing with the bat and in the field. I knew we should have kept Barnes on the roster over him.

Yeah I agree. we could have used Ruiz's bat instead of **** there if we had Austin to back up Grandal.

Neddy · Post #783 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:44 am

only reason why **** got added was because he got a HR off of Lester, so he better get one tomorrow.

Neddy · Post #784 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:44 am

son of a...
that error is costing this inning and possibly the game now.

Ranma · Post #785 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:46 am

The Cubs are feeling more and more confident with their bats. My fears are being realized and I blame our pitching and play-calling by Grandal for this coming about.

Neddy · Post #786 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:48 am

well, this about seals Kershaw's start tomorrow.

Ranma · Post #787 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:51 am

Neddy wrote:well, this about seals Kershaw's start tomorrow.

Roberts said that Kershaw would absolutely not start Kershaw, but we know what he said about using Kershaw in Game 5 in the NLDS. I still think he goes to Maeda since Kershaw will start in Game 6 regardless. The arguement for Game 5 is that Kershaw could be used in relief in Game 7 if necessary.

Neddy · Post #788 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:51 am

Ranma wrote:The Cubs are feeling more and more confident with their bats. My fears are being realized and I blame our pitching and play-calling by Grandal for this coming about.

to be fair, Urias pitched a gem through the first 3 innings. it took a lucky bunt by Zobrist with two bloopers to open up that inning. other than that 1 HR, he pitched rather well.

and Stripling is crumbling. damn, that error is looking larger than ever. terrible call by Dave bringing in **** for that at bat and keep him for defensive sub. should have left Andre in left, keep Kendrick to replace Utley at 2B. or it should have been Puig.

Ranma · Post #789 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:52 am

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Neddy · Post #790 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:55 am

Ranma wrote:
Neddy wrote:well, this about seals Kershaw's start tomorrow.

Roberts said that Kershaw would absolutely not start Kershaw, but we know what he said about using Kershaw in Game 5 in the NLDS. I still think he goes to Maeda since Kershaw will start in Game 6 regardless. The arguement for Game 5 is that Kershaw could be used in relief in Game 7 if necessary.

we have to go with Kershaw tomorrow. we can't lose another home game and go back to Chicago knowing we have to win both. we can split that but not both. Kershaw being available is obviously a bonus, but Maeda won't go very deep tomorrow if started, we will be wasting our pen along with the probable loss against Lester. cannot go into Chicago needing both games with depleted pen. no way.

Neddy · Post #791 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:57 am

damn. another blown call.

Neddy · Post #792 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:58 am

Dave must have given up if Avilan is still in there to face yet another righty.

Neddy · Post #793 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:00 am

what is up with our players not keeping their eyes on the ball when catching them? Utley did the same barehanded and Grandal wasn't watching the ball when he could have fielded it clean and tag Rizzo out!

Ranma · Post #794 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:02 am

Neddy wrote:to be fair, Urias pitched a gem through the first 3 innings. it took a lucky bunt by Zobrist with two bloopers to open up that inning. other than that 1 HR, he pitched rather well.

As well as Urias was pitching early, I noticed that he left a few pitches over the plate even during the first 3 innings. He certainly wasn't helped by Grandal's play-calling, but Julio needed to execute his pitches better. Maybe it's too much to expect from a 20-year-old but he was noted for being composed and not letting the situation affect him. Yeah, it was unrealistic to expect that in the playoffs during his starting debut, which prompted my fears for this game. Still, I was hoping that he would limit the damage before exiting in the 4th inning but the moment was clearly too much for him.

You mentioned that his fastball placement was clustered in the same area of the strike zone, which I'm certain the Dodgers talked to him about spreading around and out of the strike zone. Dustin Nosler even noted in an article today discussing Urias's start in comparing Urias's earlier less effective starts during the regular season to the more effective ones in his later starts. Also, like you said, he should have used his improved curveball more, especially since the Cubs have been struggling against that very pitch this season.

Neddy · Post #795 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:03 am

wow that error by **** ended up mounting this inning to be a 5 run event. can you imagine if Dave called upon Puig instead of ****, and Puig got a hit and Kendrick made the defensive play at 2nd?

Post #796 » by **Kilroy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:04 am

Yaz with 2 errors on a single play... Too late to trade him?

Why the hell did he still have his mask on?

Neddy · Post #797 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:06 am

Ranma wrote:
Neddy wrote:to be fair, Urias pitched a gem through the first 3 innings. it took a lucky bunt by Zobrist with two bloopers to open up that inning. other than that 1 HR, he pitched rather well.

As well as Urias was pitching early, I noticed that he left a few pitches over the plate even during the first 3 innings. He certainly wasn't helped by Grandal's play-calling, but Julio needed to execute his pitches better. Maybe it's too much to expect from a 20-year-old but he was noted for being composed and not letting the situation affect him. Yeah, it was unrealistic to expect that in the playoffs during his starting debut, which prompted my fears for this game. Still, I was hoping that he would limit the damage before exiting in the 4th inning but the moment was clearly too much for him.

You mentioned that his fastball placement was clustered in the same area of the strike zone, which I'm certain the Dodgers talked to him about spreading around and out of the strike zone. Dustin Nosler even noted in an article today discussing Urias's start in comparing Urias earlier less effective starts during the regular season to the more effective ones in his later starts. Also, like you said, he should have used his improved curveball more, especially since the Cubs have been struggling against that very pitch this season.

yeah. but what is his weakness today at age 20 will be his strength at age 30. once he learns to master 4 corners of the home plate, pitching in a tight cluster will allow him to waste little pitches, and throw strikes consistently at the corners at will and conserve pitch count while going deep like Greg Maddux.

but for now, yeah man he did leave some right down the middle. his stuff is so good at such young age he is getting away with them but he must learn to paint the corners.

Ranma · Post #798 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:06 am

Geez, we're flubbing balls left and right while playing against the best defensive team in baseball. The Dodgers have been quite careless with the ball in this game. It's fitting that we're losing this game by losing sight of doing the little things that win games by taking our eyes off the ball.

Ranma · Post #799 » by **Ranma** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:10 am

I have been wondering why we haven't been using Alex Wood more in this series. At the very least, we could see how he's doing since coming back from his injury.

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Neddy · Post #800 » by **Neddy** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:11 am

Kilroy wrote:Yaz with 2 errors on a single play... Too late to trade him?

Why the hell did he still have his mask on?

for whom tho? he is the best offensive catcher with the best in business in terms of framing. his throwing ability is above average too. it is his damn stubbornness of pitch calling, but he is still very young and playing for less than 3 million which he is grossly underpaid, and is not a FA until 2019.

what i wish for is that we let Ruiz go after this season, bring up Austin and have him split time with Grandal. I believe Austin may not have the SLG but have OBP and BA to compensate and can catch about 40% of the time and eventually get Grandal traded for a ransom when Will Smith is ready.