Bear Down Wildcats

While I agree that the one game wildcard is horseshit I don't like the idea of more teams in the playoffs. It should be hard to get there and only the best should make it. I'm more inclined to go with Hater and use season head to head to decide a tie breaker like al the other sports.

Most of the playoffs and schedules are perfect as is for the major sports.

Here are the few changes I would make to them.

NFL-Keep playoffs exactly as is except remove the bye week between the NFC and AFC titles games and Super Bowl. Give every team in the NFL two bye weeks in season.

NHL-Perfect as is

MLB-I would like to get rid of interleague play but I dont mind it too much as I am trying to go to all the parks with my wife and we prefer to go when the Diamondbacks or Cubs play. I would also like to see the playoffs seeded by record after the Wild Card game.

NBA-Regular season is bull shit so I would make the playoffs only 8 teams or keep at 16 but the first round is all home games for the higher seeded team

Chicat wrote:

azgreg wrote:

Chicat wrote:Best team in the National League all year and a two game losing streak means their season is over.

So dumb.

Do you have an alternative to the one game playoff for the division?

Either get rid of the one game Wild Card altogether, or reduce the season by a week (156 games total), add 3 more teams to the playoffs and have a 3 game series all at the higher seed’s stadium to start.

This year in the NL first round you’d have....

1 Milwaukee vs 8 Washington
2 Dodgers vs 7 Pittsburgh
3 Atlanta vs 6 St. Louis
4 Chicago vs 5 Colorado

Can Bryce Harper & Max Scherzer pull off a miracle?
Will the Cubs bats turn it around?
Can the Cards keep the magic going against all the young talent on the Braves?

Much much better than what we’ve got in my opinion.

Don't like the idea of adding more teams. In your example no way do Pittsburgh or Washington deserve to be in the post season. 162 games should determine the best 5 teams in each league that get an opportunity to win it all. Also, need to consider weather when you are talking a total of 4 rounds of baseball even with a 156 game schedule.

I do agree that after 162 games a 1 game wild card is silly an unfair. A best-of-3 series would have less impact on the schedule and avoid a quality team from having "just a bad day."

Kind of like the Yankees tonight.

EastCoastCat wrote:

Chicat wrote:

azgreg wrote:

Chicat wrote:Best team in the National League all year and a two game losing streak means their season is over.

So dumb.

Do you have an alternative to the one game playoff for the division?

Either get rid of the one game Wild Card altogether, or reduce the season by a week (156 games total), add 3 more teams to the playoffs and have a 3 game series all at the higher seed’s stadium to start.

This year in the NL first round you’d have....

1 Milwaukee vs 8 Washington
2 Dodgers vs 7 Pittsburgh
3 Atlanta vs 6 St. Louis
4 Chicago vs 5 Colorado

Can Bryce Harper & Max Scherzer pull off a miracle?
Will the Cubs bats turn it around?
Can the Cards keep the magic going against all the young talent on the Braves?

Much much better than what we’ve got in my opinion.

Don't like the idea of adding more teams. In your example no way do Pittsburgh or Washington deserve to be in the post season. 162 games should determine the best 5 teams in each league that get an opportunity to win it all. Also, need to consider weather when you are talking a total of 4 rounds of baseball even with a 156 game schedule.

I do agree that after 162 games a 1 game wild card is silly an unfair. A best-of-3 series would have less impact on the schedule and avoid a quality team from having "just a bad day."

Kind of like the Yankees tonight.

The reason why Pittsburgh and Washington don’t deserve a playoff spot this year is because they gave up. Same goes for Philly and Arizona. None of those teams mail it in if there are more slots available. It was even worse in the AL.

As for weather considerations, if owners & players would agree to go back to playing doubleheaders, we could really shorten the number of weeks.

The mlb season should shave off a month of games

Alieberman wrote:The mlb season should shave off a month of games

You’re just mad that the Cubs stopped hitting in August.

Shame about the Cubs but man that is baseball. I hate the one game playoff and the Cubs and rockies had 2. Really unfair.

The cubbies played good down the stretch even not hitting. The Brewers were insane though and some how forged the title. That is where I am disappointed.

I would like to see the game go to 156 games and have the wildcards play a best of 3 (1-1-1) played in 4 days. The division winners get 5 days off from the end of the season and the best record gets the wildcard winner.

After the Cubs started 3-8 this year they have been hot. They are now 12-10, 2 games behind the Cards. The Cards are who I expect to be fighting the Cubs for the division the rest of the season. And the comeback is strange. Lester has been on the DL for a couple of weeks. Brandon Morrow, the closer, has been out for a while. Bryant, Schwarber, and Rizzo are hitting around .200, although their batting is starting to pickup. It's the bottom of the order that is doing great. Jason Heyward is hitting .339 and has an OBP of .461, Contreras is hitting .322 and has on OBP of .467. And their new players Descalso and Zugunis are hitting over .300. And the best part is the pitching staff, especially the starters (without Lester who is starting on Thursday). The Cubs have given up 2 or fewer runs in 9 of their last 13 games, 4 are shutouts.

The Cubs have taken the first 2 from the red hot Dodgers and going for the sweep on Thursday with Lester returning. I hope he is not that rusty.

It appears the Cubs are going to acquire Craig Kimbrel for a 3-year $43mil contract. They are awaiting a physical. The money opened up thanks to Ben Zobrist leaving and on a restricted list. Zobrist doesn't get paid while he is on leave.

https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/craig-kimbrel-cubs-deal" target="_blank

What trade did the Cubs make?

Alieberman wrote:What trade did the Cubs make?

Giants left-hander Derek Holland for cash considerations.

Joe Maddon is out as manager of the Cubs

So it looks like David Ross is the choice to replace Maddon.

What’s hilarious is that Cubs fans (at least going by social media and talk radio) have been talking about Ross being their top choice ever since the beginning of the season when Maddon didn’t get extended. But now they’re pissed because they read two articles on Joe Espada and they think the Cubs screwed up by getting a guy who is too friendly with the current players.

Cubs fans always live in fear of the team making bad decisions.

I like the hire. But it will probably be the wrong choice,,, because... you know... the Cubs...

Alieberman wrote:Cubs fans always live in fear of the team making bad decisions.

I like the hire. But it will probably be the wrong choice,,, because... you know... the Cubs...

I think it’s a sub-par hire because Ross is essentially the same guy temperamentally as Maddon. When the Cubs needed a kick in the ass the past couple of years Maddon was right there to tell them “don’t worry, it’s just one game, we’ll get ‘em tomorrow...”. Ross strikes me as the same guy.

On top of that, he’s got no coaching experience. He hasn’t had to make those tough in game choices, nor has he had to bench a guy or make any kind of personnel decisions.

I’m actually really surprised Theo made this move. Makes me think he’s on his way out in the next year or two and won’t have to own their slide back to being a bloated, aging, and bad team.

if you're David Ross, or a Cubs fan, this isnt exactly what you want to hear from the head cheese or his puppet, i mean new manager

"I will be making my own decisions and continue with feedback from the group," Ross said in his introductory news conference Monday. "I want to stay true to who I am. These guys responded to me when I was here as a player. I don't think that will change as a manager."

Epstein was even more blunt in his assessment, making sure everyone understands Cubs brass won't be pulling the strings with its first-year manager.

"If you're a front office and you want a puppet, you don't hire David Ross," Epstein said. "Anyone that knows Rossy, knows that. He is absolutely his own man."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/279 ... nager-cubs

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsspo ... -five/amp/" target="_blank

Wrigley ranked #1, not a surprise. I would love to go around the US and see a game in every park. How fun would that be.

azcat49 wrote:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsspo ... -five/amp/

Wrigley ranked #1, not a surprise. I would love to go around the US and see a game in every park. How fun would that be.

so when my son turned five we made a pact to try and see a baseball game at every stadium together.

before corona virus hit we had a trip (just him and i) planned in August this summer to fly to Minneapolis and see a game at Target Field and then jump in a sprinter van and drive to Milwaukee, Chicago (which we've been) St Louis, Kansas City, Field of Dreams in Iowa (Yanks vs White Sox) Denver, Phoenix, San Diego (which we've been) and end at Angels stadium.

obv that all has been shelved and we are super bummed to say the least.

PARKS WE'VE VISITED TOGETHER

Angels
Dodgers
A's
Giants
Mariners
Padres
Cubs
White Sox
Red Sox
Yankees
Pirates

out of those we've been to together, Pittsburgh and San Fran are #1 A/B with Wrigley, Fenway, Seattle and San Diego being phenomenal in their own right just a hair off in the next tier

That is really to bad. Those memories are priceless. Hopefully next year though. We are planning a big trip next year somewhere for a few months. This year is a bust

I loved wrigley but I thought Fenway was a cut above

Jose Quintana cut his pitching hand thumb. Apparently bad enough to need surgery. Yikes.

Yikes

Offensively, I like what the Cubs have done. Pederson is definitely an upgrade over Schwarber. Both on offense and defense. I also like their offensive lineup. I see Nico Hoerner at 2nd base. If the offense plays at their potential they will be very good.

I think the defense will be very good too. Much better than last year. Every position is solid. Happ is coming into his own now that he is penciled in CF.

The bullpen should be better. Kimbrel is still young enough and is showing his form is coming back That is important.

I am disappointed with what happened with the starting staff. Why would you trade Darvish? Trade him for a lesser player (Davies), and then throw in Caminiti, who is a good hitting catcher, makes no sense. They did sign Arrieta who I figure is an even trade with Lester. Consequently, there are question marks at the 4 and 5 spots in their staff. They will have to be filled with young unproven pitchers. Right now I'd say it will be Williams and Mills. It is a question mark. Other than Pittsburgh any team in the central could win the division. The Cubs have a chance to make the playoffs, but they could have done much better with cerebral decisions.

The Cubs will finish four games under .500

Vegas Insider has the Cubs win total at 79.5 games.

I'm giving the Cubs about 97 more years to get this figured out.... but that's it.

Great play for the Cubs.... leading them to a 0-6 loss....

The Cubs just threw their first combined no-hitter tonight against the Dodgers. Tepera, Chafin, and Kimbrel in the bullpen are lethal. The Cubs are now 27-0 whenever they get a 3 run lead.

Is it me or have there been a lot of no hitters this year?

This is the 8th no-hitter. I wonder how much it has to do with foreign substances on the baseball.

Ehh, pitchers have always used sticky stuff or other substances. Spitballs, Vaseline, rosin, pine tar, sun screen, mucus,… the list goes on and on.

The no hitters this year are a fluke, and most likely caused by more use of the shift than ever and batters knowing that when it comes time for contract negotiations everyone will be looking at home runs and RBIs and not singles they hit softly the other way. So they’re swinging for the fences even down 0-2 in the count. No one chokes up and just tries to put the ball in play.

The World Series era is officially closed.

They traded Baez too…

A sad week in Chicago

The good news is that only like 20% of Chicago gets the Cubs’ network, so only a 1/5th of their fans will have to endure them being terrible for years.

3 Cubs remain from their WS team

I am a diehard Cubs fan and will still follow them. There weren't willing to pay the players without results. We saw this coming when Yu Darvish was traded to SD this season for peanuts. Add Caratini to that trade (who we could have used this season) and it became apparent that Rickets was ready to sink the ship.

Christopher Morel's first MLB at bat.



That wasn't the only MLB debut. P Brandon Hughes also pitched in his very first game and struck out the first 4 official batters he faced and 5 out of 6.



https://www.mlb.com/news/cubs-rookie-br ... -mlb-debut

The Cubs were 34-57 after July 16th. They are now 71-86 (37-29) and won 9 of their last 10. I like how they have progressed. Their starting pitching is really good, even without Hendricks. This would be better if I were using PowerPoint.

Starters:
era age
Justin Steele 3.18 27
Marcus Stroman 3.66 31
Keegan Thompson 3.69 27
Drew Smyly 3.45 33
Adrian Sampson 3.10 30
Wade Miley 3.34 35
Hayden Wesneski 2.33 24 He has been incredible in his few starts.
Javier Assad 3.62 25

Granted these players have been injured for much of the season

Kyle Hendricks 4.80 32
Alec Mills 9.68 30
Adbert Alzolay 5.63 27

next season my starters would be Steele, Thompson, Wesneski, Stroman, and Hendricks. A lot of these players are going to come out of the pen. The pitching alone out put the Cubs in the playoff picture. I really like the center players, Hoerner, Madrigal, and Morel.

Let's see what the Cubs do this offseason. If they can get something for Hendricks I am all for it. I would keep Contreras because of his intangible qualities. He think he is really good at working with players and believe he will become a good manager when he retires. His value is more than his stats.

I am excited for next season. The franchise has matured. I love the players who came up from the minors this season, especially in pitching. Add to that, the team has more money to spend. I would like to resign Contreras. He is a really good player, but his intagibles are off the chart. I find him a team leader, and he will make a good manager. He is worth resigning, and he can be the DH a lot of the time. The Cubs have money to spend.

At the beginning of next season may be the first time I bet on sports. I want to see if the Cubs are underrated at the beginning of the season. If they are I will bet that they will make the playoffs. I believe they could win the central next season. But there are still a lot of variables. I can't wait until next season starts.

I really like the Cubs team this year and believe they will make some noise.

For one their pitching. They rank 5th in MLB. I love their starters, and when Kyle Hendricks returns they should be better. They have a solid farm system of pitchers too.

The hitting ranks 3rd in MLB. Patrick Wisdom is tied for 1st in HR. He hit 5 in four days. The Cubs are 3rd in stolen bases. Nico Hoerner, the leadoff hitter is tied for 1st in MLB with 9 SB.

I love their lineup. Hoerner, Swanson, Happ, Suzuki, Bellinger. And the defense up the middle is exceptional with Swanson, Hoerner, and Bellinger. This is going to be a fun season.

Oh my.

Just so happened to be at last night's Cubs home game. Cubs won 7-2 last night with Drew Smyly picking up the win to go 5-1. Gorgeous weather with temps right around 70F at first pitch. Seats about a dozen rows behind Cubs dugout. Guy one seat in front of us caught a stray foul ball. Right outside stadium is very densely urban w/ lots of sports bars and the L Train stops in the distance.

The Cubs are 15-4 since July 18, and now would qualify for the post season as a wildcard. They just took 2 of 3 from Atlanta, the best team in baseball. They have been hitting well, have arguably the best up the middle defense (Swanson, Hoerner, Bellinger), and a lot of good young players.

Jordan Wicks

An assessment on the Cubs going into the home stretch. 23 of the last 32 games are against playoff contenders. A 3 game series against Milwaukee starts on Monday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are starting Taillon, Steele, and Hendricks. This series will likely have implications on the postseason. The next few days are going to be fun. Milwaukee is about to win their 8th in a row. If the Cubs play well in the home stretch they will have earned their spot in the playoffs.

Taillon pitched bad up to the all-star break. Yet, other than a couple outings, he's pitched much better. Steele is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Hendricks, the professor, is a Greg Maddox type pitcher. I think Ross needs to pull him a little earlier when he gets tired. Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki are hot right now. I live the infield 3rd to 1st of Candelerio, Swanson, Hoerner, and Bellinger. That is a really good defensive infield. I love the way Javier Assad has pitched since being brought up, and Jordan Wicks had a historic debut in his first MLB start. It takes the sting out of Marcus Stroman's rib injury.

The Cubs have a lot of young talent. They will be better next season. That is what makes me excited. Amaya is an emerging catcher. Christopher Morel doesn't get enough time on the field. The thing is the Cubs are young overall. There is a lot of talent. I am excited about the stretch run this year, but next year can be special.

For sports 23-24 is a special season. The Cubs, of course. But UA football and basketball shows potential to be memorable. Not many times in my life I have been this optimistic in the teams I love. I am going to eat this season up. Next season may even be better.

This is his major league debut, but he is not a rookie. He is 30 years old and pitched in Japan at the pro level for 8 years. I consider Japan's baseball on par with MLB (that is a good thing). A no-hitter going into the 6th inning. I like. I would consider him the top 2 starting pitchers on the Cubs, along with Justin Steele.

Down the street to last night Padres game. Vs Cubs.

Cub 5 - Padres 1.

Chicago off to a 7-4 start.