MLB: ***Official 2018 Chicago Cubs Season Thread***

[CycloneErik]

Disappointing split

This one was so ready to be a blowout win. Guys were seeing the ball, good hits, good swings, and then it kept falling apart with runners on base.

Should have run that guy early and worn through their bullpen today. Sigh.

 

[YeahBuddy]

8, 1, 10, 0.

So damn frustrating.

 

[ISUCubswin]

Unfortunately not seeing anything different from last year. I'm not totally sure why I expected different - maybe it was the coaching changes that I thought would bring improvement. Our bullpen is better but our starters are pitching like they haven't had any rest the last 5 months.

I do think Zobrist is out of the funk he was in all of last year. But right now, our bats are bad and our pitching is bad.

7 - 47 with RISP

 

[Rural]

They made some good notes early questioning why the Marlins "needed" to be torn down in order to win.
That outfield was ready to win right now. It wouldn't have been that difficult to build a winner with what they already had.

Baseball in Florida doesn't work.

 

[Clonefan32]

Unfortunately not seeing anything different from last year. I'm not totally sure why I expected different - maybe it was the coaching changes that I thought would bring improvement. Our bullpen is better but our starters are pitching like they haven't had any rest the last 5 months.

I do think Zobrist is out of the funk he was in all of last year. But right now, our bats are bad and our pitching is bad.

7 - 47 with RISP

This was my thought on the series. It's still early, but man does this feel alot like last year.

- Failure to drive in runs with RISP? Check.
- Confounding inability to hit sub-par pitching? Check.
- Starters not able to get quality starts? Check.
- Inability to put together back to back games? Check.

It's alot of the same.

On the good side, Addy and Zo look better. So does Schwarber.

 

[cyhiphopp]

Disappointing, but I think they'll figure something out or make some changes.

 

[CYdTracked]

It's just 4 games in, not concerned yet as there are still 158 games to go in the season but yes it is frustrating to see some of the same bad habits already showing up. Good to see Schwarber, Addy, and Zobrist all off to a good start and hell even Heyward is hitting .286 at the moment! You figure that Contreras and Rizzo will eventually find their groove at the plate and get hot and hopefully Baez stops corkscrewing himself into the ground every time he swings and just put the ball in play. Really hope we don't screw up Happ like we did Schwarber last year in the leadoff spot. 8 K's in 13 AB is a little alarming.

Glad to see the bullpen looking sharp so far but the starting pitching better start going deeper soon else these guys are going to be tired out in a hurry and that is a bad thing for the 2nd half of the season if these guys are used this much consistently.

 

[ClonesTwentyOne]

Would be good to sweep the reds. Brewers are rolling early.

 

[BigJCy]

 

[BigJCy]

We either strikeout or hit the ball hard right at somebody.

 

[CyJack13]

Fire Chili Davis!

 

[FerShizzle]

Fire Chili Davis!

It's more on Joe. He really needs to rethink his order and sit down a couple guys and say "look, if you want to play, your primary focus is getting on base and not hitting home runs. Big swings and strikeouts are going to get you a seat on the bench." These hitters need some discipline.

He could also start to move guys around in the field more. For example, Bryant was such a better hitter when he was playing a different spot in the field everyday. Put him in LF or RF and let Baez play 3rd every now and again or get LaStella in the lineup more than once every 2 weeks. He has so much versatility in his players, but uses it in very uncreative ways.

 

[CyJack13]

It's more on Joe. He really needs to rethink his order and sit down a couple guys and say "look, if you want to play, your primary focus is getting on base and not hitting home runs. Big swings and strikeouts are going to get you a seat on the bench." These hitters need some discipline.

He could also start to move guys around in the field more. For example, Bryant was such a better hitter when he was playing a different spot in the field everyday. Put him in LF or RF and let Baez play 3rd every now and again or get LaStella in the lineup more than once every 2 weeks. He has so much versatility in his players, but uses it in very uncreative ways.

He had a career high OPS last year while playing almost exclusively 3B.

 

[BigJCy]

 

[chuckd4735]

Its early, so Im far from freak out mode yet. But take away the first game of the season, and WOOF!

 

[CloneFan4]

Five games in and I'm already considering taking a break from watching games.

 

[CloneinWDSM]

Five games in and I'm already considering taking a break from watching games.

I haven’t been able to watch more than about 5 minutes (when Schwarber hit his first HR) so far this year. That seems like a very good thing.

1 hit against the 0-3 Reds’ #5 pitcher..

 

[ClonesTwentyOne]

Five games in and I'm already considering taking a break from watching games.

Baseball can be a long and stressful sport.

 

[VeloClone]

I haven’t been able to watch more than about 5 minutes (when Schwarber hit his first HR) so far this year. That seems like a very good thing.

1 hit against the 0-3 Reds’ #5 pitcher..

I have only been able to watch the conclusion of one game. Well that conclusion ended up being longer than most full games but that is another story.

 

[BigJCy]